Tzavta #43
Tzavta x ChamberFest West
On Sunday July 16th, we are honored to host phenomenal musicians and brothers Nicholas Swensen and Jonathan Swensen for a performance and conversation with Calgary Philharmonic Concertmaster, Diana Cohen. A collaboration with Chamber festival, both Nicholas and Jonathan will perform a solo.
Nicholas Swensen, viola
Nicholas Algot Swensen (b. 1999) is a Danish/American violinist and conductor. A top prize winner of competitions such as the Juilliard concerto competition, Primrose international viola competition (Los Angeles), Nedbal international viola competition (Prague) and Øresunds Soloist competition he has been a soloist in concertos by Walton, Bartok and Mozart collaborating with Odense Symphony orchestra, The Juilliard Orchestra and the Colburn Orchestra most recently in collaboration with conductor Sir Antonio Pappano. He has received numerous acknowledgments from foundations such as Leonie Sonning prize, P2 Danish radio award, Carl Nielsen foundation, Wilhelm Hansen foundation and Jacob Gade foundation. He has played chamber music all his life and has performed with celebrated musicians such as Andras Schiff, Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff, The Danish String Quartet, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Trio con Brio, and others. His first serious music studies were taken in Lübeck, Germany with prof. Barbara Westphal whereafter he studied in Copenhagen with Lars Anders Tomter and most recently in New York with Heidi Castleman. He has studied conducting at the Malko Academy for young conductors in Copenhagen with Fabio Luisi and at the Panula Academy in Helsinki with the legendary Jorma Panula. Nicholas plays on a viola by brothers Amati from 1616 kindly loaned to him by Anders Sveaas Almennyttige Fond.
Jonathan Swensen, cello
Rising star of the cello Jonathan Swensen is the recipient of the 2022 Avery Fisher Career Grant and was featured as Musical America’s ‘New Artist of the Month’ and ‘One to Watch’ in Gramophone Magazine. Jonathan fell in love with the cello upon hearing the Elgar Concerto at the age of six, and ultimately made his concerto debut performing the work with Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música.
September 2022 saw Jonathan’s debut recording ‘Fantasia’, on Champs Hill Records receive rave reviews on its release, including from Gramophone, BBC Music, and The Strad which printed “An exciting young talent emerges. I would gladly buy a ticket to see Swensen on the strength of this appealing calling card.”
Jonathan has performed with orchestras including the Philharmonia Orchestra, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Mobile Symphony, and the Greenville Symphony. He made his critically acclaimed recital debuts at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater and New York’s Merkin Concert Hall, Boston’s Jordan Hall, the Morgan Library and Museum, and the Krannert Center’s Foellinger Great Hall.
