Melia Watras

Described as “staggeringly virtuosic” by The Strad, violist Melia Watras has distinguished herself as one of her instrument’s leading voices: as a soloist, recording artist, and cofounder of the acclaimed Corigliano Quartet. An accomplished and adventurous performer, Watras has championed the works of living composers throughout her career. She has commissioned, premiered and recorded numerous new compositions, while appearing onstage at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, and Alice Tully Hall. Highlights of the upcoming season include the New York City premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winner Shulamit Ran’s Perfect Storm (a solo viola piece that was written for and given the world premiere by Watras), and the release of Short Stories, Watras’s third solo CD.

A versatile performer, Watras has enjoyed collaborations with dance and theater. She played viola and danced in the premiere of Kathryn Sullivan's At Home, at the Merce Cunningham Studio in New York City. Music from her Viola Solo CD was featured in director Sheila Daniels’s production of Crime and Punishment at Intiman Theatre, and she worked as music consultant for Braden Abraham’s production of Opus at Seattle Repertory Theatre.

Melia Watras was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and began her musical studies on the piano at age 5. Soon after, she turned to the viola and made her debut at age 16, soloing with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Her formal studies took her to Indiana University, where she studied with Abraham Skernick and Atar Arad, earning Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and the prestigious Performer’s Certificate. While at Indiana, Watras began her teaching career as Professor Arad’s Associate Instructor, and was a member of the faculty as a Visiting Lecturer. She went on to study chamber music at the Juilliard School while serving as a teaching assistant to the Juilliard String Quartet.

Watras serves as Associate Professor of Viola at the University of Washington, where she is chair of Strings, and a Donald E. Petersen Endowed Fellow. Watras currently resides in Seattle with her husband, Corigliano Quartet violinist Michael Jinsoo Lim.  She plays a viola made by Samuel Zygmuntowicz.

The Carlsen Cello Foundation

Dr. Ray Carlsen is the founder of The Carlsen Cello Foundation. His devotion to musicians and their access to instruments is admirable. Thank you Dr. Carlsen for your important role in the northwest musical community. Below is an excerpt from his website explaining the mission of the foundation. To learn more go to: www.carlsencellofoundation.org

The mission of the Carlsen Cello Foundation is to make fine cellos available to deserving students. The Foundation loans out instruments on a long-term basis to students selected through teacher recommendations and video performance.

For a string player, the opportunity to learn and perform on a quality instrument is priceless. Talented students are often held back by struggles with an instrument whose tone is inferior and whose construction makes intricate technical material virtually impossible to play. Cellists entering competitions or taking orchestral auditions are at a serious disadvantage without a good cello. A truly fine cello allows technical facility and expressive freedom unattainable on a lesser instrument.

For the majority of students, it is increasingly difficult to own or even to have the opportunity to practice and perform on a beautiful instrument. These students must look to the few organizations and individuals who can help put in their hands an instrument that enhances their talent and can propel their career forward.

The Carlsen Cello Foundation seeks to offer as many deserving students as possible the chance to play a quality instrument. There are many ways to help this cause. Please visit the rest of this site to find out about how to make cash or in-kind contributions and how to borrow an instrument.

Kevin Hekmatpanah

Deeply committed to teaching, cellist Kevin Hekmatpanah is an Associate Professor at Gonzaga University, where he has taught since 1994. He is currently a member of the Spokane Symphony Orchestra. His teachers have included such nationally renowned pedagogues as Stephen Kates, Fritz Magg, and Gabor Rejto, and he has received coaching from such internationally celebrated artists as Yo-Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell, and Janos Starker.

Mr.  Hekmatpanah is a conductor and seasoned artist and has presented hundreds of solo and chamber performances throughout the country, including locally with the Kirkland Performance Center in Seattle. He has also presented concerts of the complete works for Cello and Piano by Beethoven and over twenty cycles performing all Six Bach Suites. As a soloist he has performed with various ensembles, including the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, the Richmond Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs in Colorado, the Southern Arizona Symphony, Gulf Coast Symphony, and the Vashon Chamber Orchestra. He recently presented a recital in Tromsø, Norway. A full list of his performances and awards can be found on his website, www.kevinhekmatpanah.com

“Hekmatpanah held his own via his own distinctive features as an artist. His playing is very dramatic, often to extremes. He juxtaposes sensitivity with an almost reckless abandon, which gives his performance a gripping flair ... the Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations [was] a piece which seems to have been written expressly for Hekmatpanah, as a vehicle for the expression of his impressive technical skills, with its virtuosic passage work and spectacular cadenza.”--- Sidelines; Murfreesboro, TN

His award winning sound has been released on a CD containing cello sonatas by Franck, Debussy, and Chopin. To request it please contact Mr. Hekmatpanah directly through email: hekmatpanah@gonzaga.edu

Karissa Zadinsky

Our featured customer this month is fifteen year old cellist, Karissa Zadinsky. Karissa lives in Issaquah, and is an honors student at the Pacific Cascade Freshman Campus. She is the 2010 Performing Arts Festival of the Eastside Concerto Competition winner, and recently was a featured guest with Gerard Schwarz on King 5’s “New Day Northwest” morning television show.  She has served as principal cellist of the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra and has collaborated as a chamber musician with Mark O’Connor as part of the 2008 Seattle Symphony Summerfest. She studies with Dr. Leslie Hirt Marckx and Meeka Quan DiLorenzo, as well as participates in master classes and music festivals in the area.

Karissa is from a very musical family. Arthur, her father, is a first violinist with the Seattle Symphony, her mother Debra is a violin and viola private studio teacher, coach, and performer. Her older brother Derek is a double bassist studying at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. 

When it was time for Karissa to move to a larger instrument than her 3/4 size cello, Rafael Carrabba went well out of his way to help us find her current ideal 7/8 size cello, which she will be performing on with the symphony. He quickly made perfect tonal adjustments and changes suggested by her teachers and was very patient with us as we made this important purchase decision. Mr. Carrabba has always provided excellent service to serious Zadinsky studio students over the past 20 years and has always paid impeccable attention to detail. We are very fortunate to have such a fantastic luthier and his dedicated, highly talented team here in Seattle.

Karissa Zadinsky will be performing throughout May in Seattle, if you would like more details, please return to our front page.

Mannfried Funk

Cellist and teacher, Mannfried Funk started the cello at the age of five at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and studied with Margaret Rowell, Barton Frank, Paul Olefsky, Ramy Shevelov and Zara Nelsova. He has won a number of solo competitions including the prestigious Pacific Musical Society award at age 11, the California cello club award, the Alameda music teachers award and, locally the Don Bushell Competition.

Mr. Funk came to Seattle as a member of the Seattle Symphony, Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Seattle Opera. Currently he has been active as a soloist, teacher and recording cellist for the movie industry. He has performed in the United States, Europe, Japan, South America, Middle East and former Soviet Union. He has also held various Principal Cello positions and was on the U.S. tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Music of the Night". Prior to arriving to Seattle he was Principal and Coprincipal Cello of several orchestras in South America and Coprincipal Cellist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute.