Recent Projects — Uri Vardi

In Recent Years, Uri Vardi has Initiated Four Major Projects:

—The St. Petersburg School – Music for Cello. In the St. Petersburg project, Vardi researched, performed and recorded (with pianist Uriel Tsachor), compositions written by Russian-Jewish composers, many of which had never been previously recorded. In 1997 Beth Hatfutzot (the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv) released the recording on a CD, which was favorably reviewed by the Jerusalem Post.

—Fusions, a chamber music project sponsored by the University of Wisconsin- Madison and the Consulate General of Israel in NYC. Fusions was a chamber music project of Jewish music and Arabic art music, culminating in a commissioned Trio for Oud, Cello and Piano. In this project, Vardi collaborated with Oud artist Taiseer Elias and pianist/composer Menachem Wiesenberg. The project toured Israel and the U.S and was positively reviewed by major newspapers such as the Washington Post and the Boston Globe. This successful chamber music project was the inspiration for the commission of a full orchestral composition.

—The Forty Steps, a double concerto for cello, oud and symphony orchestra. In 2007 Joel Hoffman composed Forty Steps for Taiseer Elias and Uri Vardi. It was premiered on the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s 2007-2008 concert series in March 2008. Listen here on WPR for an interview about this project.

—The National Summer Cello Institute (NSCI) was a unique program exploring the relationship between body awareness, creativity in performance and teaching, and prevention of music related injuries. The institute started on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, changed its name to Your Body Is Your Stead (YBIYS), and relocated to Caroga Lake NY. This Institute currently is geared towards professional and graduate cellists, violinists, and violists. It has been co-sponsored in the past by The College Music Society, the UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music, and is currently presented by Caroga Arts Collective.