PSO violinist joins Pitt Symphony

The University of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is almost ready to finish what it started…. The University of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra is almost ready to finish what it started.

Tonight it plays at Bellefield Hall, continuing its ongoing performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6. Only the second and third movements will be presented tonight, with the fourth and final to be reserved until the season’s final concert – a classical music cliffhanger, if you will.

University of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra featuring Laura Motchalov Bellefield Hall Auditorium Tonight at 8 Free

If two movements aren’t enough for those in need of a serious dose of dulcet tones, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s own Laura Motchalov joins the roster tonight as a featured soloist. A violin student since the age of four, she will perform Carl Nielsen’s Violin Concerto.

Bellefield Hall is not, however, the only venue she’s playing outside the PSO this season.

Motchalov is one of the talented 48 performers who were invited to compete in the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition in Denmark later this spring, for which she will perform the same concerto she plays tonight. Now in its eighth year, the violin competition pits musicians from around the globe against each other, performing works by the likes of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.

Denmark plays host to Carl Nielsen competitions for clarinet and flute, as well. Originally from Canada, Motchalov could be the first Canadian to take a prize in any category since the competitions began in 1980. Tonight’s concert will also feature new music composed by Pitt graduate student Benjamin Harris. Admission is free to the public.