Thursday, January 27, 2022

Kelly Hall-Tompkins: Wynton Marsalis Violin Concerto at Overture Hall

Photo: Patricia Johnson

Violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins writes:

I hope this email finds you well. I just returned from an incredibly exciting weekend performing for my first time out the Wynton Marsalis Violin Concerto with the Madison Symphony in their stunning Overture Hall. This wonderful masterpiece is enormous in scope, with a Mahler-sized orchestra and it draws from so many aspects of my musical life - classical, jazz and roots-style fiddling. And as my husband Joe is a percussionist, yet another point of connection for me is that part of one of the 3 cadenzas features a bit of a jam with the principal percussionist. I was thrilled to hear the score come to life around me, to be the first violinist to perform the work after the original dedicatee, the wonderful violinist Nicola Benedetti, and to receive standing ovations at each of the 3 performances at Overture Hall. I play this piece not only from memory, but from a deep love of the score. Fingers crossed that I may be able to share the recording with you, but in any case, I look forward to performing it again soon- stay tuned! In the mean time, I'm happy to share with you here the reviews, some concert photos, a conversation about the piece with conductor John DeMain and a great media piece from NBC15 of Madison.

I'm also thrilled that the Madison Symphony took a deep interest in my Music Kitchen Forgotten Voices World Premiere at Carnegie Hall. Not only did they invite me to speak about it with members of the board and the media, but we just might see some of my new friends from Madison at Carnegie Hall!

Thank you so much for your interest in my work. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Warm regards,

Kelly

The Reviews Are In:

“The shining star of this weekend’s program is Wynton Marsalis’s Violin Concerto, an unparalleled piece that reflects the composer’s diverse expertise in both jazz and classical idioms…Kelly Hall-Tompkins effortlessly synthesized the various musical traditions — folk, jazz, classical — Along with breadth, this concerto demands depth, and Hall-Tompkins’s virtuosity was on display from the first to the final note…gorgeous ...a thrilling musical conversation… great expertise transitioning from lusciously sweet tones to wonderfully sour dissonances...”

-The Cap Times, Matt Ambosio

"Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is one of the world's great musicians and his “Concerto in D for Violin and Orchestra” is probably going to go down as a masterpiece of 21st century music...violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins...did a wonderful job and the presentation was a big success...Hall-Tompkins played brilliantly."

-Channel 3000, Bill Wineke

(Read the full articles here)