Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Berklee College of Music
Violin Masterclass
Sunday, April 11, 2021
6:00-8:00 pm CST
Application Deadline: March 27, 2021
Masterclass Observers are welcome and must register in advance.
Violinist Sharan Leventhal has toured four continents as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. Since winning the Kranischsteiner Musikpreis at the 1984 International Contemporary Music Festival in Darmstadt, Germany, she has built an international reputation as a champion of contemporary music, and has garnered 30 grants and awards from such institutions as the NEA, Aaron Copland Fund for Music Recording, Chamber Music America, New Music USA, and the Fromm and Koussevitzky foundations. Her more than 130 premieres include works by Gunther Schuller, Ben Johnston, Virgil Thomson, William Kraft, Pauline Oliveros, Taina León, Simon Bainbridge, Scott Wheeler, Matt Aucoin, and Fred Hersch.
Leventhal has appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras, is a founding member of the Gramercy Trio, the Kepler Quartet, and Marimolin, and appears regularly with the Boston Artists Ensemble. She can be heard on the New World, Northeastern, Newport Classic, Naxos, Navona, GM and Catalyst labels, and has recorded broadcasts for the BBC, ORF (Austria), Musikradion (Sweden), WGBH-Boston, and WNYC.
Leventhal teaches at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Berklee College of Music, and has served on the faculties of Brandeis University and Michigan State University. During the 1990s she taught regularly at the Bruckner-Konservatorium in Linz, Austria. Known for her detailed approach to effortless playing and injury prevention, she has successfully helped numerous players suffering from tendonitis, nerve damage and other playing related injuries. Summer teaching has included the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival, FOOSA (Fresno, CA), Interlochen Arts Camp, and The Asian Youth Orchestra in Hong Kong.
Leventhal has served as chamber music editor for the American String Teachers Association’s publication (AST), as chair of the national Studio Committee, and as president of the Massachusetts chapter. She continues to be an active member of the MA-ASTA board, and presents regularly at ASTA’s annual national conference. Leventhal is the founder and director of Play On, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting active participation in music making. Her music blog is titled, Just tuning In.