Week Two at the Mean Queen: Chamber Music & Americana
Continue the celebration of the 54th Sitka Summer Music Festival with another unforgettable evening of world-class live music, great food, and community spirit at the Mean Queen!
📅 Tuesday, June 10
⏰ Doors open at 5 p.m. | Music begins at 6 p.m.
📍 Mean Queen
Settle in for an up-close classical and Americana experience in a relaxed, welcoming setting. Order your favorite food and drinks from the full Mean Queen menu and enjoy an evening of incredible performances.
🎟 Reserve Your Spot:
Seating is limited! Get your tickets in advance to guarantee your place.
This week’s program will feature a mix of stunning classical works and Americana favorites performed by:
🎻 Kurt Nikkanen, violin
🎹 Maria Asteriadou, piano
🎻 Zuill Bailey, cello
🎻🎻 Mark & Maggie O’Connor – Americana Duo
Join us for a one-of-a-kind night of music and celebration—don’t miss it!
Program TBA from the following musicians:
Mark & Maggie O’Connor – Americana Duo
Grammy-winning Americana music duo Mark and Maggie O’Connor fell in love after playing violin together at a New York City gala in 2014. They soon married and have been inseparable on stage and off ever since.
Mark O’Connor is a triple Grammy winner and seven-time CMA Musician of the Year, renowned for his virtuosity on fiddle, guitar, and mandolin. He has also made his mark as a modern classical composer, breaking new ground with Appalachia Waltz and The Fiddle Concerto.
Maggie O’Connor is a Grammy-winning violinist with a master’s degree in classical violin performance from the Peabody Conservatory. She has also performed with the O’Connor Family Band and shines as both a violinist and vocalist.
Their latest album, Life After Life, showcases their genre-defying compositions, breathtaking musicianship, and soulful storytelling, bringing together classical and American roots music in an unforgettable way..
Kurt Nikkanen, Violin
American violinist Kurt Nikkanen is an international soloist of the highest order. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, he began his violin studies at the age of three, later studying with Roman Totenberg and Jens Ellerman. At twelve he gave his Carnegie Hall debut, performing with the New York Youth Symphony; two years later he was invited by Zubin Mehta to perform the Paganini Concerto No.1 with the New York Philharmonic for a Young People's Concert. He studied with Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard School.
Mr. Nikkanen regularly receives invitations from leading orchestras and presenters in the USA and Europe, and has toured Japan and the Far East. He has worked with many of the world’s most renowned conductors, including Hirokami, Jarvi, Kreizberg, Fischer, Litton, and Nelsons. In North America he has appeared with the symphonies of Dallas, Saint Louis, and Detroit, the Minnesota Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Cleveland Orchestra, and in Europe with the BBC Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and the Dresden Staatskapelle.
Mr. Nikkanen has recorded works including William Walton’s Violin Concerto (Nimbus Alliance) and has given premieres of contemporary compositions, including Thomas Adès’ Violin Concerto with the New York City Ballet Orchestra. He is also the concertmaster of the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Mr. Nikkanen lives in New York City with his wife, pianist Maria Asteriadou.
Maria Asteriadou, Piano
Heralded as “an artist with intense personality, virtuosic flair, unusual poise and intimate contact with style” by The New York Times, Greek pianist Maria Asteriadou is an acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue.
A Steinway Artist, she has appeared in recitals and as a soloist with orchestras worldwide, including the Moscow Radio Symphony, Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Athens Camerata, and many others. She has performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and major halls in Europe and South America. She is a champion of contemporary music, premiering works by composers including Dimitri Mitropoulos, Nikos Skalkottas, and George Tsontakis.
Ms. Asteriadou has recorded the complete piano and string chamber works of Nikos Skalkottas for the BIS label, receiving critical acclaim from BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone. She serves as a faculty member at Manhattan School of Music and Kutztown University, where she is a Professor of Piano and Chamber Music. She is the Artistic Director of the Kutztown University Summer Chamber Music Festival and frequently gives masterclasses in the U.S. and abroad.
For her commitment to teaching and inspiring young musicians, Maria Asteriadou was inducted into the Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame.
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 premiere recording of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Cello Concerto with the Santa Rosa Symphony.
In 2021, he released his second recording of the Bach Cello Suites for PS Audio’s Octave Records label, recorded and mixed in stereo and multichannel sound. He has appeared in a recurring role on the HBO series Oz and has been heard on NPR’s Morning Edition, Tiny Desk Concert, Performance Today, BBC’s In Tune, and SiriusXM’s Symphony Hall.
Mr. Bailey received his Bachelor’s Degree from the Peabody Conservatory, where he was named the 2014 Johns Hopkins University Distinguished Alumni, and his Master’s Degree from the Juilliard School. He performs on the 1693 “Rosette” Matteo Gofriller Cello, formerly owned by Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet.
He is the Artistic Director of El Paso Pro-Musica (Texas), the Sitka Music Festival and Cello Seminar (Alaska), Juneau Jazz and Classics (Alaska), the Northwest Bach Festival (Washington), and the Classical Inside Out Series at Mesa Arts Center (Arizona). He is also Director of the Center for Arts Entrepreneurship and Professor of Cello at the University of Texas at El Paso.