The concert opens with Franco-Brazilian composer Elodie Bouny’s striking homage to the Amazon rainforest and the destruction it has faced in the form of Ignis II—meaning “fire.” The piece serves as a contemporary complement to Mendelssohn’s exquisite and romantic Violin Concerto, which features a turning-point cadenza as a center jewel. Award-winning soloist Amaryn Olmeda brings Mendelssohn’s virtuosic and vivacious melodies to the stage. Countering the sparkling energy of the concerto, but no less joyful, Dvořák’s pastoral Symphony No. 8 vividly depicts Czech songs and dances through rich, pleasing melodies and harmonies. The symphony reflects the composer’s musings on the implications of nature, as well as his own experience enjoying its benefits.

Program

Roberto Minczuk, conductor
Amaryn Olmeda, violin

ELODIE BOUNY   Ignis II
I. Introito
II. Ignis

MENDELSSOHN  Concerto in E minor for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 64
I. Allegro molto appassionato
II. Andante
III. Allegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace

INTERMISSION

DVOŘAK  Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88
I. Allegro con brio
II. Adagio
III. Allegretto grazioso
IV. Allegro ma non troppo

About Amaryn Olmeda

Winner of First Prize and the Audience Choice Award at the 24th Annual Sphinx Competition, American violinist Amaryn Olmeda is a rising star sought after for her bold and expressive performances as a soloist and collaborator. Violinist.com says of Olmeda, “…her commanding stage presence, infallible technique, and interpretive ability already rival that of international concert stage veterans.”

Highlights of the 2025-2026 season include debut performances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Tallahassee Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Williamsburg Symphony, and Shreveport Symphony, as well as return appearances with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Des Moines Symphony, Stockton Symphony, and Auburn Symphony. Olmeda will also debut in recital at the Celebrity Series of Boston.

Olmeda made her Lincoln Center solo debut in the 2024 Summer for the City Series. Later that season, she returned for her solo debut at David Geffen Hall in the New York Philharmonic’s Kravis Nightcap Series with violinist Hilary Hahn and principal ballet dancer Tiler Peck. She made her Carnegie Hall solo debut on the Sphinx Virtuosi tour at the age of 14, garnering rave reviews.

Recent highlights include debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Omaha Symphony, and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra at their New Year’s Concert Series, earning her a nomination for the San Francisco Classical Voice Audience Choice Awards. In 2023, she recorded Carlos Simon’s Between Worlds on Deutsche Grammophon, praised by The Strad as “an impressive reading by the young musician.” In 2022, Olmeda performed for the San Francisco Conservatory Gala with Yuja Wang. At 13, Olmeda became the first member of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Opus 3 Artists’ Artist Apprentice Program.

Born in Melbourne, Australia in 2008, Amaryn Olmeda studies at the New England Conservatory of Music with Miriam Fried. She previously studied with Ian Swensen at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Olmeda performs on a violin made by J.B. Vuillaume in 1864.

The Classics Series is presented by the

The Coffee Concert Series is presented by