Department of Music

The University of Virginia McIntire Department of Music presents a recital by Amadi Azikiwe on Saturday, March 1, 2014 at 3:30pm in Brooks Hall with a masterclass beginning at 5:30. These events are supported by the Eleanor Shea Music Trust and are free and open to the public.

Amadi Azikiwe, violist, violinist and conductor, has been heard in recital in major cities throughout the United States, such as New York, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Houston, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., including an appearance at the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Azikiwe has also been a guest of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at the Alice Tully Hall in New York, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.  He has appeared in recital at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, on the “Discovery” recital series in La Jolla, at the International Viola Congress, and at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Since then, he has performed throughout Israel, Canada, South America, Central America, India, Japan, Hong Kong, and throughout the Caribbean.

As a soloist, Mr. Azikiwe has appeared with the Prince George’s Philharmonic, Delaware Symphony, Virginia Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Fort Collins Symphony, Virginia Beach Symphony, Roanoke Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Western Piedmont Symphony, Salisbury Symphony, the Gateways Music Festival Orchestra, the City Island Baroque Ensemble of New York, the National Symphony of Ecuador, and at the Costa Rica International Music Festival. He has also toured with Music from Marlboro, and performed at the Sarasota, Tanglewood, Aspen, Norfolk, and San Juan Islands Festivals, El Paso International Chamber Music Festival,  Salt Bay Chamber Festival, Maui Classical Music Festival, Missouri Chamber Music Festival, Yachats Music Festival, Staunton Music Festival, Carolina Chamber Music Festival, and the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. Mr. Azikiwe’s performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today”, “St. Paul Sunday”, on WNYC in New York, WGBH in Boston, WFMT in Chicago, and the BBC, along with television appearances in South America.

Historic Brooks Hall is on University Avenue adjacent to University of Virginia’s Rotunda and directly across the street from St. Paul’s Memorial Church and the Bank of America.

The closest parkiing is at "the Corner" across from Brooks Hall in lots on Elliewood Avenue, University Avenue, Fourteenth Street, and Wertland Street.

For more information please call the McIntire Department of Music at 434.924.3052

Recital Program with Debby Azikiwe, piano

Quotes about Mr Azikiwe:

“Violist Amadi Azikiwe is a musician who plays so effortlessly that the listener does not fully appreciate what has been accomplished until reflection after the fact. … He captured perfectly the spirit of the Jewish prayer (Bruch’s Kol Nidre, Op. 47) and the technical feats demanded by the Paganini (Sonata per la Grand Viola)” – Raoul Abdul, New York Amsterdam News New York, NY

“Most delicious of all were Azikiwe’s warm tones and ardent phrasing in the second movement-there was a little master class in rubato here.  He then leapt into the finale with some stunning fingerwork.” - David Perkins, The News and Observer Raleigh, NC

“Violist Amadi Azikiwe clarified not only the work’s structure, but also revealed a depth of power and lyric beauty.  A wide, rich palette of tone further enhanced the remarkable young artist’s expressive approach to the music…”- Sharon McDaniel Democrat and Chronicle Rochester, NY