Summer Festival Subscription Concert 1
Katerina Chatzinikolau, Christian Colberg, Zuill Bailey, and Robert Koenig
Friday, June 6, 7 p.m. – Harrigan Centennial Hall
Kick off the 2025 Sitka Music Festival with an electrifying evening of chamber music featuring an all-star ensemble: violinist Katerina Chatzinikolau, violist Christian Colberg, cellist Zuill Bailey, and pianist Robert Koenig. Their performance will showcase a diverse and thrilling program, from Poulenc’s expressive Sonata for Violin and Piano to Hubay’s virtuosic Carmen Fantasie, culminating in Beethoven’s masterful String Trio in C Minor, Op. 9 No. 3.
Program
Francis Poulenc – Sonata for Violin and Piano
Jenö Hubay – Carmen Fantasie
—Intermission—
Ludwig van Beethoven – String Trio in C Minor, Op. 9 No. 3
About the Artists
Katerina Chatzinikolau, Violin
Violinist Katerina Chatzinikolau has been hailed by the Rheinische Post as a musician of "sparkling vitality and virtuosity". She has made significant strides in her career, including becoming the first-ever female concertmaster in the history of Greece. Since 2023 she is holding the concertmaster position of the Athens State Orchestra. She has held prominent positions as concertmaster of the Duisburger Philharmoniker at Deutsche Oper am Rhein and of the Bergische Symphoniker.
Since January 2025 Katerina is guest professor at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in the department Musical Studies. Katerina is Youth Ambassador for the Hellenic Institute of Cultural Diplomacy promoting Greek heritage and culture through music.
Her solo debut with conductor Christoph Eschenbach at the International Kalamata Music Days in July 2022 marked a significant milestone.
Katerina is a multiple award-winning artist. She is winner of the first prize of the Golden Classical Music Awards, the eMuse International Music Competition, the Thöne International Competition and a prize winner of the London International Music Competition, the Panhellenic Young Soloists Competition and the Alois Kottmann Prize.
Katerina is a tireless explorer with a great desire to offer new artistic approaches. She produces her own music videos that reflect her creativity and remarkable technical skills as virtuoso in original compositions for violin solo. Her videos on Youtube and Instagram reach millions of people worldwide.
In the recent years Katerina has established a rapid career as a soloist. As a soloist she has been invited to perform at prestigious venues the Cologne Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, the rbb-Rundfunksaal Berlin, the Royal Theatre of Thessaloniki, the Beethovenhalle Bonn, the Laeiszhalle Hamburg, the Liederhalle Stuttgart and the Ruhrtriennale.
As a chamber musician Katerina played in famous concert halls around the globe such as Beijing Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Lanxess Arena Cologne, the BarclayCard Arena Hamburg, the Allianz Arena Munich & Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, National Theater Kuala Lumpur, Singapore Raffles Center.
She has performed with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Bremerhaven Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonie Südwestfalen, Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, Athens Philharmonia Orchestra, Vamos Orchestra, Neues Rheinisches Kammerorchester Köln, Neue Philharmonie Westfalen and Cognimus Kollektiv and the Athens State Orchestra.
Zuill Bailey, Cello
Zuill Bailey, widely considered one of the premiere cellists in the world, is a Grammy Award winning, internationally renowned soloist, recitalist, Artistic Director and teacher. His rare combination of celebrated artistry, technical wizardry and engaging personality has made him one of the most sought after and active cellists today.
Mr. Bailey has been featured with symphony orchestras and music festivals worldwide. He won the Best Solo Performance Grammy Award in 2017, for his recording of Michael Daugherty’s Tales of Hemingway, with the Nashville Symphony led by Giancarlo Guerrero. His extensive discography includes his newest release – the world premier recording of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Cello Concerto with the Santa Rosa Symphony.
Mr. Bailey received his Bachelor’s Degree from the Peabody Conservatory where he was named the 2014 Johns Hopkins University Distinguished Alumni, and received a Master’s Degree from the Juilliard School. He performs on the “Rosette” 1693 Matteo Gofriller Cello formerly owned by Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet.
Christian Colberg, Viola
Violist, violinist, and composer Christian Colberg, began his musical studies at the age of four in his home country of Puerto Rico. At sixteen, he continued his studies at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, in Baltimore Maryland. Mr. Colberg is currently the Principal Viola of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Prior to joining the CSO, he was Assistant Principal Viola with the Baltimore Symphony. Other positions currently include serving as Principal Viola of the Bellingham Festival of Music and Aspen Music Festival Chamber Orchestra. In addition he is Artist-faculty at the Aspen School and has also held teaching positions at both the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
His main teachers include, Alexander Schneider, Saul Ovcharov, Charles Libov and Shirley Givens. Recipient of numerous awards, including the Alpha Delta Kappa Foundation Fine Arts grant, Colberg has also been recognized by the House of Representatives and the Senate of Puerto Rico for his achievements in the field of classical music.
As an active chamber musician, Mr. Colberg has collaborated with such artists as, Gary Karr, Milton Katims, Augustin Hadelich, Leon Fleisher, Samuel Sanders, Joseph Silverstein, Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, and Marvin Hamlisch. Chamber music collaborations include, the Muir, Cypress and Ariel String Quartets and with the Silk Road Festival in China.
Mr. Colberg performed his Viola Concerto with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in October, 2018 (Read review in Cincinnati Business Courier.) He has performed it with numerous orchestras, including the Puerto Rico Conservatory Orchestra and Música de Cámara in New York City. The second movement of his concerto, "Aldonza", was used as the competition piece for the 2014 Primrose International Viola Competition. In June, 2018, The Rant - For Two Violas, was also premiered at the International Viola Congress in Los Angeles. In 2024, the third movement "Sancho" of his Viola Concerto was used as the mandatory piece for the Sphinx Competition.
Robert Koenig, Piano
Now in his third decade as a much sought-after performing artist, Canadian pianist Robert Koenig has performed throughout the world to great acclaim as a collaborative pianist and chamber musician. His partnerships with many of today’s leading classical artists have seen him grace many of the world's most important stages including New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Washington’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Boston’s Jordan Hall, San Francisco’s Herbst Theater, Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, Vancouver’s Chan Center, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Taiwan’s National Theater, Hong Kong’s City Hall, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, Paris’ Louvre Museum, Brussels’ BOZAR, and Amsterdam’s Het Concertgebouw. These frequent recital appearances have seen him collaborating with many of this generation’s most renowned musicians, including Augustin Hadelich, Sarah Chang, Hilary Hahn, Pamela Frank, Ida Kavafian, Kyoko Takezawa, Esther Yoo, Paul Huang, Roberto Diaz, Jonathan Moerschel, Zuill Bailey, Sara Sant’Ambrogio, Jennifer Kloetzel, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Miro String Quartet, St. Lawrence String Quartet, and members of the Tokyo and Juilliard String Quartets. Of significance is Koenig’s frequent partnership with legendary late violinist Aaron Rosand that resulted in many successful recital tours throughout the world, in addition to a recorded legacy of live performances. Koenig’s 25-year collaboration with renowned American violinist Elmar Oliveria continues to see the pair travel the globe in recital performances as well as in multiple acclaimed recordings for the Artek and Biddulph Recording labels. His additional recording activity includes a GRAMMY nominated CD for Naxos of William Primrose Transcriptions for Viola and Piano with violist Roberto Diaz as well as recordings for Decca, Cedille, Eroica, Ambassador, Centaur, and CRI.
A favorite at summer festivals, Koenig has performed at such prestigious festivals as Ravinia, Aspen, Saratoga, Chamber Music Northwest, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Caramoor, Banff, Mostly Mozart, Campos do Jordao Festival in Brazil, and Interlochen Summer Arts Festival. A strong advocate for new music, he commissioned American Composer Lowell Liebermann to write his Piano Trio for flute, cello and piano, Op. 87 and gave the world premiere at the National Flute Association Convention in Nashville, TN.
Mr. Koenig’s 2019-20 season includes performances at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, The Forum in Harrisburg, PA, Bankhead Theater in Livermore, CA, and recitals in Copenhagen and Brussels. In addition to a southern California tour with well-known Camerata Pacifica, he will also perform Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra in Virginia.
A native of Saskatchewan, Canada, Koenig is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he studied with renowned collaborative pianist Dr. Vladimir Sokoloff. In addition to his decade long association with the Juilliard School where he served as staff pianist, he was formerly Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS. Since 2007, Koenig has been Professor and Head of Collaborative Piano at the University of California Santa Barbara where he has served as the Chair of the Music Department and Head of Performance. In 2022, Koenig was appointed as the Artistic Director of the Palm Springs International Piano Competition. His summers are spent at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp where he is Coordinator of Collaborative Piano.
About the Sitka Music Festival
The Sitka Music Festival (SMF) inspires audiences, sparks creativity, and strengthens community across Alaska through world-class chamber music performances, education, and artist training.
For over 50 years, SMF has presented classical music at the highest artistic standards. Festival musicians have traveled to more than 40 Alaskan communities, including remote villages off the road system, sharing music with audiences who might not otherwise experience live chamber music at this level. In turn, visiting artists are enriched by the deep cultural traditions and unique landscapes of Alaska. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, SMF remains committed to bringing exceptional music experiences to communities statewide.