Sharan Leventhal @sharanleventhal

Violinist

Book Sharan Leventhal for a groupmuse
Boston, MA
6 Played at 6 groupmuses!

Sharan Leventhal @sharanleventhal

Violinist

About

Music is a partnership between performer and audience. Intimate events like Groupmuse concerts offer ideal opportunities to engage and interact, to share musical experiences.

My own musical adventure began before I held my first violin, just before my 6th birthday. The beauty of the violin’s sound captivated me; I had to beg for one for two years. Since “first contact’” I have traveled four continents as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher, and made countless friends along the way. I have also been fortunate to have many of my endeavors supported by grants from the NEA, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music Recording, Chamber Music America, New Music USA, and the Fromm and Koussevitzky foundations, and other institutions. Currently I am on faculty at The Boston Conservatory, where I teach violin, chamber music, and contemporary performance.

A variety of experiences have deepened my relationship with music, including studying tango, as well as baroque dance and ornamentation. My love of contemporary music has also provided fertile ground for exploration. I have premiered over 125 pieces (solo and chamber works, and concertos) and engaged in all kinds of interesting collaborations.

In 1986, I teamed up with marimbist Nancy Zeltsman to form Marimolin. Over the next 11 years the duo premiered 85 compositions, received numerous high-profile grants, recorded 3 CDs, and presented master classes across the United States and Europe. Along the way, we effectively launched a new genre while also developing relaxed and interactive performance practices (from casual attire to audience engagement) now common in the new music world.

Currently, I am recording with the Kepler Quartet (and in close collaboration with the composer) the third and final CD of the string quartet cycle of Ben Johnston. These remarkable, fiendishly difficult, and rarely performed compositions are written in extended just intonation. The recordings have received critical acclaim – the second disc (New World Records) ranked high on many best classical CD of 2011 lists, and placed second in the category of best chamber music CD in BBC International).

As a visual artist and dancer, interdisciplinary projects are natural for me. One example is Where Sound and Motion Meet, an interactive exploration of the link between music and dance, for Gramercy Trio (my ensemble with pianist Randy Hodgkinson and cellist Jonathan Miller). The project provides a platform for examining the implicit assumptions we have about music and for exploring the kinesthetic and imaginative responses it evokes. I am now developing a new Gramercy project with visual art.

In 2012, I presented a lecture recital (which I called Sound Thinking) on the evolution of western musical language for the American College of Family Trial Lawyers. I was the first artist/speaker ever invited to present at the society’s annual meeting. Since then, I have given similar talks elsewhere.

For a Groupmuse event I would be happy to present concerts of solo repertoire (baroque and/or contemporary), or, if a piano is available, sonata recitals, or interactive programs such as Sound Thinking (one version could be listening to the difference between the wilds of the American landscape (Copland) versus the bucolic English countryside [(Vaughn Williams), with a brief look at what makes them so effectively different).

Music

I am happy to tailor a concert for the presenter. Here is a list of some of the works I could program.

Unaccompanied repertoire:
J. S. Bach - Sonata No. 1 in G Minor for Solo Violin; Partita No. 3 in E Major for Solo Violin
G. P. Telemann - Fantasies for Unaccompanied Violin: No. 9 in B Minor; No. 10 in D Major
Martin Butler - Bluegrass Variations (1988)
Joan Tower - Platinum Spirals (1976)
Seymour Shifrin - Concert Piece (1959)
Virgil Thomson - In A Bird Cage (1940)

With Piano:
W. A. Mozart - Sonata in E Minor K. 304 (1778)
Johannes Brahms - Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 108
Maurice Ravel - Sonata for Violin and Piano (1927)
Aaron Copland - Sonata for Violin and Piano (1943)
Ralph Vaughn Williams - Lark Ascending (1914)
John Cage - Six Melodies for Violin and Keyboard (1950)

Videos

Audio

Upcoming groupmuses

Programs

Host one of these programs in your space!

Past groupmuses (5)

  • Classical Brunch at the Burren!

    Sunday, Feb 23, 2020 11:00 AM EST

    • Neighborhood: Davis Square, Somerville
    • Composers: Bach, Telemann, Adams
    • Instruments: solo violin
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened about 4 years ago

  • A Violin & Art Soirée

    Saturday, Nov 9, 2019 7:00 PM EST

    • Neighborhood: Newton Corner, MA
    • Composers: Bach, Telemann, Adams
    • Instruments: solo violin
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened over 4 years ago

  • Welcome to Autumn!

    Saturday, Sep 21, 2019 4:30 PM EDT

    • Neighborhood: Brighton, Boston
    • Composers: Bach, Telemann, Kurtag
    • Instruments: Solo Violin
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened over 4 years ago

  • Lovely concert of classical music

    Sunday, Dec 30, 2018 7:30 PM EST

    • Neighborhood: Newton Centre, Newton
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened over 5 years ago

  • Relax on Sunday afternoon

    Sunday, Nov 13, 2016 4:00 PM EST

    • Neighborhood: 14 clarendon st newtonville ma
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened over 7 years ago