News  Events  Third Annual Evening of Hope

Artistic Performance
Evening of Hope
May 14, 2007

Musical Program

Brahms Four Ballades for Piano, Op. 10
No. 1 in D minor
No. 2 in D major
Brahms Quintet in F Major

Artists

Misha Dichter

Now in the fourth decade of a distinguished international career, Misha Dichter traces his musical heritage to the two great pianistic traditions of the 20^th century: the Russian Romantic School as personified by Rosina Lhevinne, and the German Classical approach that was passed on to him by Aube Tzerko, a pupil of Artur Schnabel. Mr. Dichter reveals this dual legacy in his solo recitals, chamber music performances, and appearances with virtually all of the world’s major orchestras, performing the grand virtuoso compositions of Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky, as well as music from the central German-Viennese repertoire—works by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms—that embody more introspective structural and spiritual quality. His performances and recordings of music ranging from Mozart through Stravinsky have made him a favorite of audiences around the world.

Born in 1945 in Shanghai, where his Polish parents had fled at the outbreak of World War II, Mr. Dichter came to Los Angeles with his family at the age of two and began his piano studies a few years later. While still a student at Juilliard, he launched his international career with at stunning triumph at the 1966 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

Mr. Dichter lives with his wife Cipa in New York City. They have two sons, two grandsons and a granddaughter.

David Halen (violin) joined the Saint Louis Symphony in 1991 and was named concertmaster in September 1995 under Music Directors Leonard Slatkin and Hans Vonk. He has been guest concertmaster and given master classes at Indiana University, the Manhattan School of Music, the National Orchestra Institute at the University of Maryland, the New World Symphony and the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. He is currently the Artistic Director of the Innsbrook Institute, an intensive program designed to provide outstanding young students with the highest level of classical music instruction and performance opportunities. Mr. Halen plays on a 1753 Johannes Baptiste Guadagnini violin, made in Milan, Italy.

Mike Chen (viola) began playing with the Saint Louis Symphony in 2003. Mike earned both his bachelor’s and masters’ degrees from Northwestern University. In recent years, Mike has performed with the Chicago Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, and Detroit Symphony. He has taught chamber music in the Chicago Youth Symphony, Chicago Academy for the Arts, and the Western Springs School of Talent Education, and taught for many years in the Chicago area prior to coming to St. Louis.

Heidi Harris (violin) first joined the Saint Louis Symphony in 1992 upon graduating from the New England Conservatory. In 1995 she left to join the Chicago Symphony but returned in 1998 as Assistant Concertmaster, and in 2005 was appointed Associate Concertmaster. Heidi began her musical studies on the Suzuki Method at the age of 4 years old in her home town of Salt Lake City, Utah. By the age of 13 she made her debut as soloist with the Utah Symphony. She attended high school at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. Heidi is married to Principal Bassist Erik Harris. They share a home in Clayton, Missouri, with their son Asher, age 5, daughter Eden, age 2, and their puppy dog Pickles.

Daniel Lee, cello, made his orchestral debut in 1990 with the Northwest Chamber Orchestra. Now Principal Cellist of the Saint Louis Symphony under Music Director David Robertson, Daniel Lee was Principal Cellist of the San Diego Symphony under the direction of Jahja Ling from 2004-2005. Recipient of a 2001 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Daniel Lee graduated from the Curtis Institute, where he was a student of Orlando Cole, a renowned pedagogue and founding cellist of the Curtis String Quartet. He completed his studies with Paul Katz, founding member of the Cleveland Quartet, in the prestigious Artist Diploma Program at the New England Conservatory.