(PRINCETON, NJ) -- On April 30, Westminster Conservatory will present “Happy Birthday, Rachmaninoff!” as part of its Faculty Recital Series. The performance will feature two members of the string department faculty, Dr. Dennis Krasnokutsky, viola, and Christine Mello, cello, and guest artist Dr. Maja Rajković, piano. The recital will take place at 7:30pm in Bristol Chapel (101 Walnut Lane) in Princeton. Admission is free; masking is optional.
The evening’s repertoire will include The Girl with the Flaxen Hair by Claude Debussy as arranged by Mello for solo cello; an arrangement for viola of the Sonata in G minor, op. 19 for cello and piano by Sergei Rachmaninoff; and by the same composer, the Vocalise from 14 Romances, op. 34.
Principal violist of the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey and the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Krasnokutsky is an internationally acclaimed soloist and chamber musician. He is a member of the award-winning Rowan String Quartet and a founding member of the Samuel Barber String Quartet.
Krasnokutsky has collaborated with an array of artists including renowned Serbian pianist Maja Rajkovic, Hilary Hahn, Bella Hristova, Sara Chang, Jonathan Biss, Frank Sinatra Jr., Bernadette Peters and more. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from Rutgers University.
Mello is a multi-genre cellist and music educator who is passionate about bringing the power and beauty of music-making to wider and more diverse audiences. A Philadelphia native, she first took cello lessons at St. Maria Goretti High School for Girls with cellist James Cooper. She continued her cello study at Temple University and in the cello studio at Curtis Institute of Music with Orlando Cole and Metta Watts.
Mello is an active performer in several orchestras and theater groups, and has had solo engagements in Boston, Philadelphia and New York City. She is the co-owner of the record label 2622 and has released classical recordings on all major platforms with pianists Tom Fosnocht and João Paulo Casarotti. Mello is the cellist/vocalist/co-songwriter for the art-pop band The Tristans and the rock duo Mello & Holaday.
Rajković graduated from the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, Serbia, and earned both her master’s and doctorate from the Academy of Music in Belgrade. She also attended advanced studies at the Scuola di Alto Perfezionamento Musicale, in Italy.
Rajković is a laureate of several national competitions, including the Carlo Soliva International Competition (Italy, 1984) and the International Rachmaninoff Competition (1993). In 1994, she won audience first prize and third prize at the 24th Jeunesses Musicales International Competition. Rajković was awarded the silver medal for special achievement on the concert stage from the University of Arts in Belgrade and Performer of the Year from Musica Classica, in 2013. She has recorded and performed with numerous symphony orchestras and ensembles, including the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Radio and Television Symphonic Orchestra, St. George Strings, Belgrade Strings and Camerata Serbica.
Established in 1970, Westminster Conservatory is the community music school of Rider University. Welcoming young musicians of all ages, skill levels, instrument preferences and economic backgrounds, Westminster Conservatory provides focused one-on-one lessons. In addition, the Conservatory offers a wide range of classes and performing ensembles to engage every student, from the beginner to young maestros, regardless of age. Westminster Conservatory of Music is a nationally recognized institution, maintaining active membership in the National Guild for Community Arts Education.
