70th Anniversary Special: Interview with Almita & Roland Vamos

In advance of WFMT’s 70th Anniversary on December 13, 2021, WFMT celebrates two of the adults behind the Chicago area’s finest young performers: violin and viola teachers Almita and Roland Vamos. Their past students include Rachel Barton Pine, Jennifer Koh, Benjamin Beilman, and Ryan Meehan of the Calidore Quartet; and their present students appear on Introductions rather frequently, as well as ensembles they coach through the Music Institute of Chicago Academy. This feature-length interview with Robbie Ellis goes into their personal histories and their teaching styles, and features WFMT archival audio of performances by their students, past and present. Listen to the episode below. Coming up On WFMT’s 70th anniversary on Monday December 13, 2021, current Vamos students Abigail Park, Tara Hagle, Elinor Detmer and Esme Arias-Kim will perform live as part of two different teenage string quartets. More details on the program page. Playlist Eugène Ysaÿe: Solo Violin Sonata No. 3, Ballade (excerpt) Esme Arias-Kim, violin First broadcast on Introductions, November 21, 2020. Jean Sibelius: Valse, Op. 81, No. 3 Karisa Chiu, violin; Inah Chiu, piano First broadcast on a Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert, January 4, 2017. Johann Sebastian Bach: Solo Violin Sonata No. 3 in C, BWV 1005: I. Adagio Maya Anjali Buchanan, violin First broadcast on Introductions, May 12, 2018. Max Bruch: Double Concerto in E minor, Op. 88: II. Allegro moderato Almita Vamos, violin; Roland Vamos, viola; Eugenia Monacelli, piano Recording supplied by Almita Vamos. Felix Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 44, No. 2: II. Scherzo (excerpt) Pacifica Quartet: Simin Ganatra & Kyu-Young Kim, violins; Kathryn Lockwood, viola; Brandon Vamos, cello First broadcast on Live from WFMT, January 19, 1998. Peter Tchaikovsky: Serenade for strings, Op. 48 1st movement (excerpt) Music Institute of Chicago Academy Orchestra; Roland Vamos, conductor First broadcast on Introductions, May 2, 2009. Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A, BWV 1015: 1st movement Rachel Barton Pine, violin; Paul Cienniwa, harpsichord First broadcast on Live from WFMT, November 1, 2010. Robert Schumann: String Quartet in A, Op. 41, No. 3: III. Adagio molto (excerpt) Calidore String Quartet: Jeffrey Myers & Ryan Meehan, violins; Jeremy Berry, viola; Estelle Choi, cello First broadcast on Impromptu, 19 October, 2016. Amy Beach: Romance, Op. 23 Isabella Brown, violin; Milana Pavchinskaya, piano First broadcast on Introductions, July 24, 2021. Transcript MUSIC: Esme Arias-Kim playing Eugène Ysaÿe’s Solo Violin Sonata No. 3, Ballade. Music fades under talking. ROBBIE ELLIS: It’s a couple of days before WFMT’s 70th anniversary. And this program, Introductions, has been part of that history for 13½ of those years featuring the Chicago area’s finest young performers Saturday after Saturday. And there are a couple of names that keep coming up on our episodes time and time again. (Montage of David Polk, Michael San Gabino, Robbie Ellis and Lisa Brownstone mentioning the names ...