USAO Extends ‘Fiddle Fun’ Violin Workshop Registration to Aug. 6

CHICKASHA – Local students have a unique chance to work one-on-one with one of the world’s premiere violinists at “Fiddle Fun” this summer at the University of Science and Arts. Internationally known violinist and conductor Yuval Waldman will teach the violin camp, scheduled Aug. 6-11 on the USAO campus.

The weeklong camp has undergone some changes to accommodate participants. Daily hours of the program have been changed to 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with no lunch. Registration has been dropped to $325 per student aged 6-11, and participants can now register up to the morning of the event.

“Fiddle Fun” is designed as a “total immersion program for violinists and violists of all levels,” planners say. Waldman, serving as guest director for the program, performed before a crowd at USAO in March, where he also taught a master class.

The Russian-born Israeli musician has performed across the globe as a soloist with major orchestras in concerts and on radio and television. Following his New York debut in the International Series of Carnegie Hall, Jeunesse Musicales, Waldman has made appearances across the United States, Canada, Europe and Israel.

Information about the program and registration is available from the USAO Office of Academic Affairs at (405) 574-1221 or from Rhenada Finch, event coordinator, at (405) 278-1584.

In addition to acclaim for his performances of standard repertory, Waldman is well known for his thoughtful and stylish performances and recordings of Baroque music, both as a violinist and as a conductor. He has championed rarely performed 19th century masterpieces and has commissioned and premiered numerous works by contemporary American and Israeli composers.

Waldman has been described as “brilliant” by Musical America and “spectacular” by the New York Times.

Some of Waldman’s career highlights include conducting on the Congressional steps in Washington, D.C. in a memorial concert on September 11, 2002, welcoming the millennium in a Benedictine monastery in Rome, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel in Moscow and conducting Bach’s “Mass in B Minor” for Portuguese villagers in Madeira.

Waldman currently directs the World Bank Mozart Festival in Washington, D.C., New American Chamber Orchestra in New York City and is first violinist of the Kinor Quartet.