Kelly Hall-Tompkins: Fiddler on the Roof Broadway Cast Album Receives Grammy Nomination for Best Musical Theater Album!

It has been an exciting fall with so many wonderful projects, both new and ongoing.  Firstly,  I am so proud of my "Anatevka family," our wonderful Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway Company.  I cannot believe we have been together and on this amazing journey for almost 13 months now - the time has flown as I have definitely been having fun!  And I can't believe that it is so soon coming to a close on December 31st.  (Click HERE for Tickets!) But as one last milestone testament to our work this year,  we were thrilled to discover that our cast recording has received the Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album!

Feature in Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture

I was recently informed by the operations manager of the New York Pops orchestra that upon visiting the new Smithsonian Museum, he found my 2nd CD "In My Own Voice" featured in an interactive exhibit!  He was thrilled to see it and I am thrilled and honored to be included.  I look forward to visiting the Museum in March when I am in Washington to receive my Sphinx Medal of Excellence. U.S. Premiere of Violin Concerto by German Composer Siegfried Matthus with the Oakland Symphony and Michael Morgan, conductor I met Siegfried Matthus when I was a Masters student at the Manhattan School of Music and concertmaster of both the school's orchestras.  At the end of my first year, we played a concert conducted by Kurt Masur which featured his friend Matthus' "Manhattan Concerto" for orchestra.  Since the piece began with a violin cadenza and featured numerous solos throughout, Mr. Matthus came to know my playing.  A few years after graduation, when I was in Berlin, I met with him and, remembering my work fondly, he wrote a duo piece for me and my husband. We have kept in touch and I was honored when he reached out and invited me to perform the U.S. premiere of his latest violin concerto, entitled "Dream of A Summer Night."  I performed the wonderfully atmospheric and capricious the concerto on November 18th with the wonderful Oakland Symphony and Michael Morgan conducting.  I even returned on the second half of the concert to play works of John Williams, including the Theme from Schindler's List and Excerpts from my beloved Fiddler on the Roof.  I was received so warmly by the orchestra and the Oakland Community.  Maestro Morgan and I have already made plans to work together again and I'm very much looking forward!  I also look forward to continuing to perform the Matthus Concerto here and abroad. --------- --------- --------- Reviews "Kelly Hall-Tompkins was a splendid soloist...bringing soulfulness and expressive warmth..." - San Francisco Chronicle ______________________ "...(Matthus) a spectacular start to the evening... Hall-Tompkins played the Schindler’s selection with luminosity and then added sparkle with the excerpt from the Fiddler role she is currently performing on Broadway..." - San Francisco Classical Voice __________________________ "an assured soloist in Kelly Hall-Tompkins, who played the violin part with precision... Hall-Tompkins is a fine musician." - Mercury News __________________________ Kelly Hall-Tompkins' violin playing so impressed me when I heard her many years ago that I relished this opportunity to  hear her again... On this occasion, Ms. Hall-Tompkins made [the Matthus] her own, so convincing was her interpretation...Hall-Tompkins has an expressive, warm tone. She vibrates every note, creating beauty everywhere... Of particular interest was the violin cadenza, played with impressive virtuosity by the soloist. After intermission, Hall-Tompkins returned to play more popular selections from "Schindler's List" and "Fiddler on the Roof". These were richly and expressively intoned." - Piedmont Post New Feature Article in EpochTimes, Chinese-American Newspaper : Kelly Hall-Tompkins on Exploring Inner Voices and Following Possibilities By Catherine Yang, Epoch Times | December 19, 2016 AT 9:34 AM NEW YORK—The art of music in Kelly Hall-Tompkins’s hands is everything it is meant to be—communication between humans, highly creative, and an exploration of our emotional depths. When she plays, you want to truly listen. “Music is the greatest of all the arts, I think,” said Hall-Tompkins, an acclaimed violin soloist and chamber musician. “The language of harmony is so interesting, so rich, so vast. It’s like alchemy.”  Ever since she was a child, what resonated with her most in all her experiences was music—classical music, specifically... MORE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5iTMlf1H8Y "If I Were a Rich Man" arranged by Kelly Hall-Tompkins for violin solo (arranged by Kelly Hall-Tompkins) AND Fiddler Rhapsody and Scherzo - arranged by Oran Eldor Commissioned by Kelly Hall-Tompkins   Developed with Kelly Hall-Tompkins and Oran Eldor Also featuring Stephen Benson/Jim Hershman, guitar, Michael Blanco, bass and Joshua Camp, accordion Now over 85,000 Total You Tube Views!  THANK YOU for watching! "The Fiddler: Expanding Tradition" on Tour in 2017! (dates in Florida and North Carolina and more TBA!  Please contact Kelly for booking inquiries)