Sundays @ Icicle Creek: Madeline Hildebrand & Oksana Ejokina, piano
$25 ($15 student)
- Madeline Hildebrand, piano
- Oksana Ejokina (Ezhokina), piano
Acclaimed Canadian pianist Jon Kimura Parker describes Madeline Hildebrand as "an extraordinary young artist whose communicative skills convey the essence of all that she plays. Her pianism is of the highest level, and she has an instinctive understanding of beautiful sound."
Madeline Hildebrand is currently pursuing her Doctorate degree at Stony Brook University studying under Gilbert Kalish, Christina Dahl, and Oksana Ejokina. Her playing has taken her coast to coast in Canada and the US, Italy, Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, and Romania. Her recent engagements have included a performance of Philip Glass' Etudes alongside Glass himself, a concerto performance with the Thunder Bay Orchestra, appearances with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and a house concert tour across southern British Columbia through Living Room Live.
Hildebrand has played in established Canadian Prairie concert series such as Virtuosi Concerts, the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg, Agassiz Chamber Music Festival, and GroundSwell to name a few. She has performed with Canada's foremost chamber musicians, such as violinist Andrew Wan, and cellist Ariel Barnes. She is the gold medalist of the 2012 WMC McLellan competition and the silver medalist of Canada's prestigious Eckhardt Grammate Competition in 2013. Madeline recently held the position of interim artistic director for Canada’s Virtuosi Concerts, where she developed their Young Artist Program.
As a Stony Brook University (New York) doctoral candidate, Hildebrand won the prestigious position as an IDEA (inclusivity, diversity, equity, accessibility) grad. In this position Hildebrand is crafting pathways through curriculums for new interdisciplinary degree programs, and devising service-learning projects for the music department. An advocate for interdisciplinary arts, Hildebrand prides herself in performing music "in the margins." Hildebrand’s recent concert programs have featured composers who employ the use of digital technologies; her unique concert programming was featured at Banff’s Classical: Evolution program 2022. Passionate about sharing new works, Hildebrand’s playing can be heard on Canadian composer T. Patrick Carrabré’s latest Western Canadian Music Award winning album, 100,000 Lakes.
Pianist Oksana Ejokina appears frequently as guest recitalist and chamber musician on concert series across the United States and abroad. She has performed with the Seattle Symphony, St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic, Symphony Tacoma, Olympia Symphony, Auburn Symphony Orchestra, and played in venues such as the Phillips Collection in Washington DC, Benaroya Hall in Seattle, Davies Orchestra Hall in San Francisco, and Klassik Keyifler Festival in Turkey. A dedicated performer of new music, she has premiered works by Marilyn Shrude, Wayne Horvitz, Bern Herbolsheimer, and Laura Kaminsky, among others. She has been featured on multiple live radio broadcasts on such stations as WFMT-Chicago, KUOW and KING FM in Seattle, Maine Public Radio, and NPR's Performance Today.
Oksana has performed with the Seattle Chamber Players, Avalon String Quartet, violinists Ian Swensen, Paul Kantor and Andrew Jennings, and cellists Johannes Moser and Meta Weiss, among others. Two of her long-term collaborations are with pianist Christina Dahl and Volta Piano Trio, whose recordings for the Con Brio label received accolades in multiple international music magazines, such as The Strad, Gramophone, and American Record Guide. The Strad called Volta's recording of Schubert and Ravel piano trios "…elegant and sprightly… true to the essence of the music," while Gramophone noted its "exquisite sheen and vibrancy."
Oksana holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from University of Stony Brook, where she studied with Christina Dahl. Her other teachers include Leonard Richer and Donald Walker. A sought-after teacher, Oksana is Chair of Piano Studies and Associate Professor of Music at Pacific Lutheran University, where she teaches piano and academic courses in Piano Literature and Piano Pedagogy. In addition, she is a recognized and established pre-college teacher, whose students regularly win competitions in WA state and beyond.
Oksana has given piano and chamber music masterclasses in colleges and universities across the US and is in demand as an adjudicator for the Washington State Music Teachers Association. A passionate music education advocate, she has been associated with the Icicle Creek Center for the Arts for over twenty years, serving as Artistic Director of several flagship classical music programs including the International Chamber Music Festival and Institute.
About Madeline Hildebrand, piano
About Oksana Ejokina (Ezhokina), piano
Russian-born pianist Oksana Ejokina appears frequently as guest recitalist and chamber musician on concert series across the United States and abroad. Oksana is the pianist of the Volta Piano Trio, whose recordings received accolades in multiple international music magazines, such as The Strad, Gramophone and American Record Guide. A sought-after teacher, Ejokina is Chair of Piano Studies and Assistant Professor of Music at Pacific Lutheran University. She has been associated with the Icicle Creek Center for the Arts for nearly fifteen years serving as Artistic Director of several flagship classical music programs.
https://www.plu.edu/music/staff/oksana-ezhokina/