Violist Peter Minklet to Perform at NSU

NATCHITOCHES – Violist Peter Minkler will perform at Northwestern State University Thursday, medical Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall. Admission is free. The public is invited to attend. He will be accompanied by Northwestern State as part of an all Brahms program.

A longtime member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, he also holds the position of principal viola of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society Orchestra. Prior to his arrival in Baltimore, Minkler served as associate principal viola with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. An avid and versatile musician, Minkler is highly sought both locally and nationally as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. He has commissioned “Dark Bells,” a major new work for viola, chorus and orchestra by composer Jonathan Leshnoff. Based upon the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe, this oratorio will receive its world premiere in May with Music Director Andrew Constantine and the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Philharmonic.

Minkler was praised by the Baltimore Sun an inspiring artist who “makes the viola sing.…” He was awarded Baltimore’s prestigious Mary Sawyers Baker Prize, and is a two-time recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council’s Individual Artist Award in Classical Music Solo Performance. Minkler began his undergraduate studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music and earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music.

Minkler has released two solo CDs on the Centaur Records label, both garnering favorable reviews. The first, “Viola Seul,” is a compilation of seven unaccompanied viola works. In a review, allmusic said, “Minkler’s playing is…thoroughly musical, insightful, witty, and highly nuanced…this album is likely to please anyone interested in solo string works or just solid, unpretentious, musical artistry.” The second, recorded in collaboration with pianist Lura Johnson and entitled, “Inner Voice,” features four major works of the 20th century. The recording of Pärt’s “spiegel im Spiegel” on the CD was used in the trailer for the movie “Gravity.”