Ella Saputra, 16, violin

This week Introductions features violinist Ella Saputra of Schaumburg, a student of Desirée Ruhstrat. Ella is a member of Midwest Young Artists Conservatory and a fellow of Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative. Today she presents a recital of Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Jonathan Bailey Holland, and the complete Alexander Glazunov Violin Concerto. Thank you to pianist Beilin Han, and to the Music Institute of Chicago for letting WFMT record in Nichols Concert Hall. Biography Ella Saputra, 16, is a sophomore at James B. Conant High School in Hoffman Estates. She began her musical studies at the age of four, and is currently studying violin with Desiree Ruhstrat. Ella is a fellow of the Chicago Musical Pathways Initiative, a program dedicated to the development of young musicians of underrepresented ethnic groups in classical music. She has received top prizes and awards from the Sejong Music Competition, Music Festival in Honor of Confucius, Society of American Musicians, Walgreens Concerto Competition, as well as the DePaul Concerto Festival for Young Performers. Ella has performed as a concerto soloist twice with Midwest Young Artist Conservatory ensembles, as well as with the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago as a winner of the DePaul Concerto Festival Junior Division. She is also an enthusiastic orchestral section musician. She is a member of the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory and is involved in the Intensive Chamber Music program. Her chamber group, the Ardente String Quartet, was one of the finalists in the 2020 Saint Paul National String Quartet Competition and was awarded the audience prize. The quartet was featured on Introductions in August 2020. Playlist Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Sonata No. 2 in a minor I. Grave Ludwig van Beethoven: Romance No. 2 in f minor Jonathan Bailey Holland: Opus One Alexander Glazunov: Violin Concerto in a minor, Op. 82 Ella Saputra, violin Beilin Han, piano