Brook Green Suite by Holst

Conducted by Ellin Liu

Watch Ellin perform on harpsichord as part of the Academy Quattro here.

Ellin Liu is 11 years old, 6th grade from Hill Middle School. She has been studying conducting for almost two years. Ellin has conducted Western Spring Suzuki orchestra in Hammerschmidt Chapel, Elmhurst and Wentz Concert Hall, Naperville.  Her current conducting teachers are Mr. Sung Han and Mr. Victor Yampolsky from Northwestern University. In addition to her conducting, Ellin also studies piano with Pawel Checinski.  She loves and very much appreciates being the keyboard player (both harpsichord and piano) of the Camerata Chicago Academy over the last 18 months, and is enjoying the opportunity of conducting the Camerata Chicago Academy, mentored by Maestro Drostan Hall.  Aside from music, Ellin loves to make new friends, travel to different places and read comic books.

Lowery Concertino for Viola and Strings

Performed by Aditi Prakash.

Aditi Prakash, Viola

Aditi Prakash began her musical studies at the age of four under the direction of Nancy Jackson, at the Western Spring School of Talent Education. Since then, she has been a part of many ensembles along with the Camerata Chicago Academy, including the Allegro!!! String ensemble, the Chicago Consort, the Elgin Youth Symphony, and the Bella Corda advanced string ensemble at Naperville North High School. With these groups, she has travelled both nationally and internationally to places such as St. Louis, Atlanta, Seattle, China, and Greece.

In 2013, Prakash began to study under the direction of Tom Wermuth. Since then, she received the Lawrence and Betty Wermuth Memorial Scholarship in May 2015. Her musical career soon became strongly influenced by chamber music, as she acted as first violin for the Maud Powell String Quartet at the Elgin Youth Symphony, as well as first violin in the Mendelssohn and Daughters String Quartet at Naperville North. With these groups, she has played music of composers such as Mozart, Grieg, and Brahms, and has acted as a soloist in Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro, for string quartet and orchestra.

Additionally, she received first place in the Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity Competition in 2013, Honorable Mention in the Glen Ellyn-Wheaton Music Club Competition in 2014 and 2016, and in 2015, she soloed Wieniawski’s Concerto No. 2 in D Minor with her high school orchestra.

Most recently, Prakash participated in her third year at the ILMEA District and All-State festivals, in which she received Honors. Furthermore, she toured Seattle with her high school orchestra, where she was given the Maestro award for best soloist. Prakash plans to pursue music as a career as she enters her final year in high school.

Suite for Solo violin, viola and strings by Atterberg

Ellen Maloney (violin) and Max Lowery (viola)

Ellen Maloney, Concertmaster	Max Lowery, Principal Viola

In Addition to Ellen Maloney’s current position as Concertmaster for Camerata Chicago Academy Orchestra, she is also a member of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, CYSO Chamber Music Program, Glenbard West Orchestra and Glenbard West String Quartet. Read Ellen’s full biography. Ellen played with the professional Camerata Chicago in 2015 with our Sylvia McNair series at the Wheaton College Artist Series.

Max Lowery, Composer and Principal Viola, performed the Telemann Viola concerto with the Camerata Chicago Academy Orchestra in May 2015, to great acclaim. His musical talents will continue to delight the audience at Academy concerts as a composer following his great success with Symphony No 1 performed on December 19, 2015.

Watch some brilliant videos of Ellen performing Bach and Max performing Telemann.

Max’s latest work is a Concertino for viola and strings to be performed with considerable panache by Aditi Prakash with the Camerata Chicago Academy Orchestra! Recently Max was invited to participate in professional Camerata Chicago’s Rising Star Series. Here he is in rehearsal on April 28, 2016:

Camerata Chicago Academy Orchestra 2015