Premier Violinist Stephanie Arado Named Assistant Professor of Violin

Violinist Stephanie Arado

After a nationwide search, the University of Minnesota School of Music announces that violinist Stephanie Arado will be appointed to the role of Assistant Professor of Violin. Our community is excited to welcome this outstanding performer and teacher to our school this fall. 

“I'm thrilled to have such an inspiring colleague to collaborate with on a regular basis!” said strings colleague and Search Committee member Korey Konkol, professor of viola. “Ms. Arado captivated the Violin Search Committee with her provocative teaching philosophy, creative ideas, and stunning interview recital.”

Professor Arado hosts a violin studio in Minneapolis, where she served as Assistant Concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra for twenty-two years. She currently is an Artistic Director for the Bakken Trio, a local chamber music consortium. “Stephanie will bring a wealth of professional experience to impart upon our School of Music students -- whether it be from her many years as Assistant Concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra as well as her many chamber music performances throughout the region including the Bakken Trio, an award-winning ensemble for which she serves as Co-Artistic Director,” Professor Konkol shares. “Ms. Arado's merging of a teaching/performing position is a natural progression in her illustrious career, and we are lucky to have such a consummate artist share their artistry with us.” 

Her career encompasses a wide range of performance and teaching experience. Born in Chicago, Professor Arado played her first solo recital at the age of eight and went on to debut with the Chicago Symphony at the age of twelve. She continued her solo career, performing  as soloist with the Detroit, St. Louis and Minnesota Orchestras as well as many others across the nation. Active in competitions in her early years, she was a prize winner in several prestigious competitions, winning first prize in the Julius Stulberg and Irving M. Klein Competitions and was a semi-finalist at the Tchaikovsky International Competition.

Fellow committee member Mark Russell Smith, Artistic Director of Orchestral Studies, commented, “We are so glad to have Stephanie Arado join the UM violin faculty. I am particularly excited to have Stephanie share her expertise as an orchestral violinist with our students. She is a musician with spectacular gifts, and the ability to share those gifts. We are indeed fortunate, and I look forward to collaborating with her for years to come.” 

Professor Arado has influences from a number of musical mentors, including Almita and Roland Vamos, Paul Kantor, Dorothy Delay, Paul Rolland, and Camilla Wicks. She received her Bachelors of Fine Arts from Western Illinois University (Macomb, IL)  and her Masters of Musical Performance from the Juilliard School (New York City). Ms. Arado has participated in chamber music festivals both nationally and internationally and has coached and performed with such masters as Paul Tortelier, Joseph Silverstein, Joel Smirnoff, and Yuri Bashmet. For eight years she has maintained a teaching studio in Minneapolis and has led master classes at Bowling Green University, Interlochen Center for the Arts, St. Olaf College, Drake University, Madeline Island Chamber Music, and the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival.

A recipient of a McKnight Foundation Grant for Performing Artists, Professor Arado continues to perform in recitals and as a freelance musician in orchestral and chamber music settings throughout the Midwest.

“We are thrilled and fortunate to welcome Professor Arado to the School of Music as a member of our distinguished strings faculty,” shares Michael Kim, Director of the School of Music and Professor of Piano. “Her students and our musical community will greatly benefit from her wide-ranging performing experience, superior artistry, and commitment to teaching and interdisciplinary initiatives.”
 

Tutti. (Italian) all. every musician to take part.
Tutti is the annual publication of the University of Minnesota School of Music.

Read the Fall 2020 | Volume 21 of Tutti.

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