Shostakovich Unveiled

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Montana State Universitywill host a virtual presentation and demonstration of music from composer Dmitri Shostakovich.

“Shostakovich Unveiled,” part of the Preludes and Performances series, will take place 11–11:50 a.m. on Thursday, March 25, and will be broadcasted from the Reynolds Recital Hall on MSU’s campus. The event, in collaboration with the MSU Alumni Foundation and MSU School of Music, is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required.

The audience will enjoy excerpts of a prerecorded performance of scherzo from Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 interspersed with segments of live discussion about the performance. Shostakovich is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century, known for his inventive harmonic language.

The performance will feature award-winning violinist Cade Fiddaman, a sophomore in the School of Music. Lori Rosolowsky, a pianist, educator, singer-songwriter and founder of Open Sky Artists, will perform the orchestral part on piano.

Fiddaman and Rosolowsky will give listeners a behind-the-scenes tour of aspects to listen for in the concerto and share anecdotes about their journey learning and performing the piece together. The event will be moderated by Michaela Bader, director of development at the MSU Alumni Foundation, and will include a Q&A session.

Fiddaman is a double major in music and mechanical engineering with an aerospace minor and a student in the MSU Honors College. He has won every competition he has entered this academic year, including the 2020 MSU Concerto Competition and the 2021 MASO Young Artists Competition. He recently competed in the Music Teachers National Association’s national competition and is awaiting his results. As a result of these accomplishments, he will be featured as a soloist with various Montana symphonies in 2021-22.

Born and raised in Bozeman, Fiddaman has studied violin with Samuel Park and Carrie Krause, among others, before joining the studio of Angella Ahn at MSU, who has mentored him on this work. At 16, he joined the Bozeman Symphony and has played in classical concerts around Montana for fundraisers and other community events. Now a member of the MSU Symphony, Fiddaman is interested in a variety of styles and also plays Celtic fiddle for several groups around Bozeman.

Rosolowsky owns Open Sky Artists, a performing artist management and consulting firm for independent creatives and arts institutions. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Oberlin College, her doctorate at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and worked as an environmental scientist before returning to her first love, music. Rosolowsky and her husband, Mark, are active members of OLLI at MSU and she chairs the Preludes and Performances series.

Attendees must register by 10 a.m. on March 25. For more information or to register, visit montana.edu/olli/register. Upon confirmation, participants will receive an email with the Webex link and instructions to join the program.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at MSU is a program of Academic Technology and Outreach at MSU. ATO works across the university to support and advance its land-grant mission through unique and innovative opportunities for outreach and engagement.

Contact: Bobbi Geise, 406-994-6550 or olli@montana.edu