Accomplished violinist and Michiana native Amy Kauffman offers duo recital at Goshen College Jan. 18

Accomplished violinist and Michiana native Amy Kauffman offers duo recital at Goshen College Jan. 18

GOSHEN, Ind. — New York City Metropolitan Opera Orchestra’s violinist, Amy Kauffman, returns to her home community with her husband Cornelius (Neil) Dufallo, a highly accomplished composer and violinist, to present a recital Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. in Goshen College Music Center’s Rieth Recital Hall. The duo will be accompanied on piano by Goshen College Associate Professor of Music Beverly Lapp.

A Topeka, Ind., native and 1992 Bethany Christian High School graduate, Kauffman was a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, winner of the Music Teachers’ National Association-Yamaha competition for string players, winner of the Elkhart County Symphony student concerto competition and concertmaster with the Indiana All-State Orchestra while in high school.

Kauffman is now a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra’s first violin section. Formerly a member of the Houston and Pittsburgh Symphonies, she holds an undergraduate degree and Performer’s Certificate from Indiana University where she studied with Miriam Fried and Yuval Yaron, and a master’s degree from the Juilliard School, where she worked as teaching assistant to violin professor Ronald Copes. Kauffman studied baroque violin with Stanley Ritchie at Indiana University and has performed with early music groups in New York, Boston and Rochester. A founding member of Trio La Popliniere, she has been heard with the ensemble at the Bloomington (Ind.) Early Music Festival and on NPR’s “Performance Today.”

“Goshen College evokes many good memories of music lessons with [retired Goshen College music professors] Lon and Kathryn Sherer,” Kauffman said. “In the years that my mother, Deb Kauffman, has been working in the Music Department, Neil and I have enjoyed watching the facilities grow and improve. We’re excited to have the opportunity to play in the beautiful new recital hall, and we’re looking forward to collaborating with piano faculty member Beverly Lapp.”

Dufallo enjoys an active career as an interpretive artist, composer improviser and teacher. He is currently performing with the International Sejong Soloists, the contemporary music group Ne(x)tworks and the fusion band NurseKaya. For the last three seasons he has been featured as soloist and conductor with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra. The New York Times recently praised him as “expert soloist” after his performance of Augusta Read Thomas’ violin concerto, “Spring Musings.” He has performed on NPR, WNYC and WFMU and has recorded for Mode, Tzadik and RCA. Dufallo was on the teaching faculty of SUNY Fredonia from 1999 to 2002. He was recently awarded a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki, and was awarded the Richard French prize for doctoral research.

The recital repertoire includes “Sonata for Two Violins in F Major” by Vivaldi, “Suite in G Minor for Two Violins and Piano” by Moszkoski, Gulliver Suite” by Telemann, several Bartok Duos,” “Three American Folk Hymn Settings:” by Kenji Bunch and “Blue in Green” by Bill Evans, arranged by Jesse Mills.

Admission to the recital is $5 general admission and $3 seniors and students. Tickets available at the door.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.