Music at Noon – Julia Kuhn & Caroline Oltmanns

For the past ​four decades, residents of Youngstown and the surrounding communities have had the opportunity to experience the combined magic of music and art on Wednesdays, when The Butler Institute of American Art and Dana School of Music and University Theatre present the weekly Music at Noon Series. Surrounded by breathtaking American art in numerous galleries, faculty, students, and guest artists take center stage in The Butler’s Beecher Court, and audience members are treated to selections from multiple genres that range from classical to jazz, world music to contemporary pieces, pop tunes to favorites from The Great American Songbook, and more. The tremendously popular Music at Noon series promises a dynamic and ever-changing program.

Music at Noon concerts are held each Wednesday that YSU is in session beginning at 12:15 P.M. They are free and open to the public, and free parking is available at the Butler and in other adjacent lots for a minimal cost.

German violinist Julia Kuhn is an internationally sought after concertmaster, chamber musician, soloist, and teacher. She has appeared as leader and soloist with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE), The English Concert, the Irish Baroque Orchestra, The Hanover Band, The Mozartists, and the Orquestra Barroca Casa da Música Porto, among others. She is principal second violin with the Academy of Ancient Music and guest principal second violin with Camerata Salzburg. Julia is a dedicated violin teacher who has taught masterclasses and workshops on modern and baroque violin in the USA, UK, Hong Kong, Brazil, and Germany. She is artistic director for the St Blasius Early Music Summer Concert Series in Kaufbeuren, Germany, and curator for the OAE’s Night Shift 23/24 concert series.

‘Caroline Oltmanns is fast becoming a star in the piano world, which is heavily evident in her refined, crystalline playing and charismatic persona’ (Donald Hunt, Pianist Magazine). She reveals in her playing a deep connectivity between music and culture. Her impeccable musical phrasing combined with an engaging stage presence have attracted audiences both in the US and abroad. Oltmanns has recorded six solo CDs on the Filia Mundi label. Her latest concept album Ghosts features Robert Schumann’s last work ‘Ghost Variations’. Caroline Oltmanns’ playing has been broadcast globally on radio and television stations, and she was featured on the documentary series Living the Classical Life. She serves as a jury member of national and international competitions including the Cleveland International Piano Competition. As an International Steinway Artist, Steinway Spirio Recording Artist, Fulbright Scholar, and recipient of the Stipendium der deutschen Wirtschaft, she is Professor of Piano at Youngstown State University and holds degrees from the Staatliche Musikhochschule Freiburg and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Her musical mentors were Robert Levin, John Perry, Vitaly Margulis, and Malcolm Frager.

For additional information, contact Katie Merrill, Cliffe College Coordinator of Community Engagement and Events, at 330.941.2307 or kamerrill@ysu.edu.