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Live from the Mead Witter School of Music presents:
Trio Collage

Iva Ugrčić, flute
James Waldo, cello
Alyona Waldo, piano

Trio Collage seeks to champion historical and contemporary chamber works featuring the unique sonorities of flute, cello, and piano. The musicians are highly sought after as performers, educators, and arts entrepreneurs, with professional affiliations to core Madison performing arts organizations such as the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Overture Center, the Mead Witter School of Music, and Edgewood College.

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Program

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An award-winning Serbian flutist Dr. Iva Ugrčić, known for her “amazing virtuosic technique, impeccable intonation, and gorgeous rich tone throughout the registers” (The American Prize 2023), is one of the most exciting and adventurous flutists in the international pantheon. Her performances, both as a soloist and a collaborator in chamber and orchestral settings, have graced renowned music festivals and venues across the world.

Named the “Musician of the Year for 2018” by the Well-Tempered Ear and “Woman to Watch 2022” in BRAVA Magazine, Dr. Ugrčić enjoys unique and versatile career as a performer, speaker, coach, entrepreneur, and music advocate.

As an entrepreneur, Iva is the Founder & CEO/Artistic Director of LunART, an award-winning nonprofit organization whose mission is to support, promote, and celebrate all women in the arts as well as the Owner & Coach at Artistic Wealth Coach, LLC., offering financial and career coaching services to artists and creatives globally.

Dr. Ugrčić’s most recent solo album, “Gates of dream,” featuring flute works by contemporary Romanian composer Doina Rotaru, was released through music & arts and available on all streaming platforms. This album underscores her steadfast commitment to showcasing works by women composers. As the Flute View Magazine wrote: “Ugrcic’s interpretation is nothing short of brilliant, as she brings out the nuances of Rotaru’s score with precision and emotion… Iva Ugrcic’s album of Doina Rotaru’s music is a testament to her mastery as a flutist and her ability to breathe life into complex compositions” (Viviana Guzman 2024).

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Cellist James Waldo’s “nuanced, richly ambered” playing (Lucid Culture NYC) can be heard in diverse chamber music and recital settings. Notable concert appearances include Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully and Merkin Halls, Piccolo Spoleto, the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival, Midsummer’s Music, LunArt Festival, and the Clazz International Festival in Tuscany. For the 2024-25 season, Waldo will returns to Magisterra Soloists in London, Ontario for three concerts through the 2024-25 season, where he will perform chamber music and works for solo cello. Equally comfortable on modern and period instruments, Waldo is principal cellist of the Madison Bach Musicians, and is a founding member of LeStrange Viols, whose freshman album William Cranford: Music for 4, 5, and 6 Viols received honorable mention in Alex Ross’ best recordings of 2015 in The New Yorker. As a recitalist, Waldo and his pianist spouse Alyona A. Waldo have performed at numerous festivals and series together across North America, Europe, and Asia. Waldo was principal cellist of the Cecilia Chorus of NY from 2013-2018, and has performed with the New Jersey Festival Orchestra, the Princeton Symphony, the New York Pops, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.

Waldo received his Doctor of Musical Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the tutelage of Uri Vardi, and his Master of Music degree from Mannes College, under the tutelage of Timothy Eddy. Waldo studied chamber music with Parry Karp, Laurie Smuckler, Mark Steinberg, Marcy Rosen, Todd and Daniel Phillips, and Jacob Lateiner. He studied jazz and arranging with Les Thimmig. He has recently appeared as soloist with the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra, and will return to perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in April 2025. Waldo is a champion of new music. He has served yearly as a co-commissioner for the Cello Teaching Repertoire Consortium since 2022, and as an adjudicator for LunArt Festival’s call for scores for the past two years. His playing will be featured in the forthcoming chamber music album of works by composer Laura Elise Schwendinger. Waldo currently serves as Lecturer of Cello at the Mead Witter School of Music.

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A native of Voronezh, Russia, pianist Alyona Aksyonova Waldo has pursued an accomplished and versatile career as a chamber musician, collaborative pianist, and educator. Recent engagements include faculty artist for the Third Coast Chamber Collective’s 2024 Summer Festival and Adult Chamber Music Retreat, the Clazz International Music Festival in Arcidosso, Italy; concert soloist with the Edgewood Chamber Orchestra, and as a freelance collaborative pianist, performing at faculty and student recitals at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Mead Witter School of Music. Alyona has performed across the U.S., Europe, and Asia as a member of the cello/piano team A.W.Duo. As a chamber musician, performance highlights include Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC, performances with cellist Sara Sant’Ambrogio at the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival, and New York City venues including Carnegie Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Polish, Russian and French Consulates, and Lincoln Center. Alyona was pianist of the Listen Closely Chamber Music Initiative, presenting concerts of historical and newly commissioned works for the people of uptown Manhattan. In Russia, Alyona was winner of the Gavrilin Governor’s International Competition, the finalist of the International Gnessin Piano Competition in Moscow, and concert soloist with the Voronezh Academic Symphony Orchestra. Other notable positions include staff pianist for the La Lingua Della Lirica Festival in Novafeltria, Italy; faculty of the International Piano Festival in Portland, ME; and staff pianist for Mannes Preparatory Division. She received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Mannes College, the New School for Music (NYC), under the tutelage of Vladimir Feltsman and Pavlina Dokovska. Now living in Madison, WI, Alyona is active as a collaborative pianist and music educator.

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“Live from the Mead Witter School of Music” is a chamber music series held the second Sunday of each month at the Hamel Music Center during the academic year.

The series is made available by the generosity of donors to the David and Kato Perlman Live from the Mead Witter School of Music Fund.