Great music ... nearby
Originally from Guanajuato State in Mexico, Miguel Guillén is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying violin under Russian violinist and pedagogue Julia Bushkova at the UNT College of Music. Miguel started his musical education at the age of 7 in his hometown of Celaya. At the age of 8, he entered the Celaya City Conservatory of Music and began his studies with Spanish professor Claudio Alvarez. During the first years of his classical music training, he entered the Youth Orchestra of the Celaya Conservatory and after one year of playing he was named concertmaster. During this period, he gave numerous concerts and recitals and participated in masterclasses in the states near his hometown. At the age of 16 he began to study with the principal violist of the University of Guanajuato Symphony Orchestra, Djamilia Rovinskaia. During his studies with professor Rovinskaia he played several recitals and chamber music programs all over the state of Guanajuato. In 2017 he was part of the Youth Mexican Orchestra led by maestro Urquieta and in the same year he was a member of the Cultural Institute of Leon Chamber Orchestra where he acquired most of his chamber music skills and often played as a soloist. He was also often invited to perform with Capella Guanajuatensis, a baroque ensemble based in the city of Guanajuato.
In 2021 he was awarded an undergraduate string quartet scholarship at the UNT College of Music to pursue his career in the United States as a professional musician. As a chamber musician, Miguel has participated in various masterclasses with renowned musicians such as The Miró Quartet, Chloé Kiffer, Grigory Kalinovsky, Horacio Contreras, The Merz Trio and Philip Setzer from the Emmerson String Quartet.
Gabriel Parker was born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Being fortunate enough to have grown up in a musical family, he started studying violin from age 3 and piano from age 5. Music has always been his main passion. He has won various local, national, and international piano and violin competitions such as the Keith, Gilliam, Meinders, and Buttram competitions from the Oklahoma City Music Olympics, Hubbard-Males Piano Competition, Steinway & Sons Junior Piano Competition and Music Teachers National Association Competition.
He has studied with internationally renowned teachers such as Tamás Ungár and Andrey Ponochevny and attributes much of his current musical development to his childhood teachers Greg Fisher, Peter Nguyen, and Mihee Song. He is currently a senior at the University of North Texas studying under Professor Julia Bushkova with a full scholarship from the undergraduate string quartet program and has been a member of the Kintsugi Quartet since 2021.
International Chamber Series 3
Friday, January 24, 2025
7:30 PM
Kintsugi String Quartet
Kelsey Felton is a young, aspiring violist native to Tampa, Florida, where she completed the first year of her undergraduate degree at the University of South Florida. She is currently in her fourth year, pursuing a bachelor of music degree in viola performance at the University of North Texas under the tutelage of Dr. Susan Dubois. In 2022 Kelsey was the recipient of UNT’s competitive undergraduate string quartet scholarship and serves as violist of the Kintsugi Quartet.
Kelsey acted as principal violist of the University of South Florida Symphony Orchestra from 2021-2022 and is now a member of UNT’s Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, Kelsey is an avid Baroque violist, performing with UNT’s Baroque Orchestra, the Dallas Bach Society, and the Lafayette Musicians. In 2024 Kelsey joined the Ensemble Fantasmi on a tour through Brazil, performing a variety of early sacred and chamber works. Ms. Felton’s affinity for chamber music has taken her to festivals including the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Brancaleoni International Music Festival, Round Top Music Festival and the Madeline Island Chamber Music Festival where she has collaborated with members of the Arianna String Quartet, Julliard String Quartet, Brooklyn Rider and more. Most recently, she has helped develop UNT’s Chamber Outreach Program, an initiative dedicated to bringing chamber performances and presentations to Denton ISD schools.
The Kintsugi Quartet is a string quartet founded in 2022 at the University of North Texas. All four members are the recipients of UNT’s Competitive Undergraduate String Quartet Scholarship and are in their fourth year of undergraduate studies pursuing bachelor’s degrees in music performance. The quartet has worked under the mentorship of Professors Horacio Contreras, Simón Gollo, and Dr. Chloé Kiffer and has participated in numerous masterclasses with prominent chamber groups and musicians such as the Dover Quartet, Merz Trio, Miró Quartet, violinist Philip Setzer of the Emerson Quartet, and violist Jordan Bak. The quartet strongly believes in educating and inspiring the public through community outreach. The group strives towards this goal through the use of presentations and performances at various venues including local middle and high schools, retirement homes, and churches.
PROGRAM
HAYDN: Quartet No. 62 in C Major, Hob. III:77, “Emperor”
TCHAIKOVSKY: Quartet No. 3 in E-flat Minor, Op. 30
Eric Rau is in his fourth year of undergraduate studies at the University of North Texas pursuing a degree in cello performance as a student of Professor Nikola Ruzevic. Originally from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Eric started playing the cello at the age of five and previously studied under Dr. Elizabeth Morrow of the University of Texas at Arlington. He has participated in summer programs including the Interlochen Arts Camp and UNT’s Summer String Institute.
Eric has been featured as a soloist with the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra, the Fort Worth Civic Orchestra and the Northeast Orchestra of Tarrant County after winning the organizations’ concerto competitions. In April of 2023 he placed second in his category at the Rudolf Matz International String Competition in Croatia.
From 2021-2023 Eric served as co-principal in UNT’s Concert Orchestra and since the fall of 2023 has served as assistant principal in UNT’s Symphony Orchestra. Eric is also an active member of the Kintsugi String Quartet of UNT, a section cellist in the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra and a former member of the award winning Helicon Trio.