“From Paris to Vermont: A Musical Lineage 75 Years in the Making” with Deborah Buck and Orli Shaham
October 18 at 2:00 pm
This program explores the rich compositional legacy connected to Kinhaven’s co-founder, Dorothy Dushkin, her brother-in-law—violinist and arranger Samuel Dushkin— and a circle of musicians who studied in Paris under the legendary Nadia Boulanger. This recital includes fun music by Stravinsky, Copland, Gershwin, Caroline Shaw, and a few other American composers that are closely connected to this legacy.
Igor Stravinsky/Samuel Dushkin – Divertimento IV. b) Variation & c) Coda – 4~ Sam Dushkin collaborated closely with Igor Stravinsky in the composition of his Violin Concerto. Stravinsky also composed his Duo Concertante and his Divertimento, both for violin and piano, to play with Dushkin on concert tours.
Igor Stravinsky/Sam Dushkin – Berceuse from The Firebird – 1′ Stravinsky and Sam worked together on this transcription together, but this piece is also connected to another composer on his album, Bruce Adolphe and ultimately to Kinhaven and Sam Dushkin via Kyung-wha Chung.
Gershwin/Dushkin – Short Story 2:30’ This was arranged by Samuel and was based on two earlier Gershwin piano pieces. It was a collaboration between the two friends and premiered in 1925, with Dushkin frequently performing and recording the piece.
Aaron Copland: from Two Pieces for Violin and Piano 1926 – I. Ukulele 4:40’ and II. Nocturne 6’ (11’) Copland dedicated these to pieces to Samuel. After Copland’s studies in Paris in the early 1920s, he believed it was essential for American composers to gain recognition in Europe as well as in the United States. With this goal, he returned to Paris in 1926 and wrote two new works for an all-American concert that Nadia Boulanger was organizing. He invited violinist Samuel Dushkin to perform them with him.
Caroline Shaw – Broad and Free – 8’ Inspired by the 1905 NYTimes account of Fritz Kreisler’s recital at Carnegie Hall – Samuel Dushkin studied with Fritz Kreisler. Caroline attended Kinhaven’s Senior Session.
Allen Shawn – Winter Sketchbook IV. Presto 3:40’ Attended Kinhaven’s Senior Session in the 1960’s
Nicolas Scherzinger – New Commission/Violin and Piano work 3’ Kinhaven’s Composer in Residence for 15 years (2007-2022)
Max Grafe – New Commission for Solo Violin 3’ Kinhaven’s Composer in Residence (as of 2025)
with Deborah Buck, violin, and Orli Shaham, piano
- Biographies
Violinist Deborah Buck has been hailed by The Strad for her “surpassing degree of imagination and vibrant sound.” Equally at home in recital halls, symphony stages, recording studios, opera houses, and even on Saturday Night Live, she maintains a versatile career as a chamber musician, concertmaster, recitalist, educator, and artistic leader.
Recent performance highlights include recitals at BargeMusic (NYC) with pianists Orli Shaham and Orion Weiss, performances on series such as GatherNYC, Lyrica Chamber Music (NJ), Reflections in Music (NYC), Sands Point/Four Seasons of Music (NY), Small Spaces/Orchestra Lumos (CT), and annually at the Telluride Chamber Music Festival (CO).
Dedicated to broadening the expressive range of her violin playing, Buck has premiered numerous works written for her, including DeBut for solo violin by John Harbison and Fantasia on Beethoven’s Spring Sonata by Bruce Adolphe. In 2025, she recorded September, a newly commissioned work by Curtis Stewart from his 24 American Caprices, as well as a new joint arrangement of Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s Louisiana Blues Strut with percussionist Yousif Sheronick. She was also featured, to critical acclaim, on a recent Avie Records release devoted to the music of Bruce Wolosoff. In 2026, Buck will receive two new commissions by Nicolas Scherzinger and Max Grafe as part of an upcoming recording project celebrating the legacy of new music fostered at Kinhaven Music School.
From 2002 to 2019, Buck was a member of the acclaimed Lark Quartet, whose boundary-expanding commissions helped redefine the contemporary string quartet repertoire. The ensemble collaborated with and commissioned numerous Pulitzer Prize–winning composers, recording extensively for Endeavor, Koch, and Bridge Records, and championing works by composers including Jennifer Higdon, John Harbison, Daniel Bernard Roumain, and Paul Moravec.
Buck is frequently invited to serve as guest Concertmaster and has recently held that role with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra which included performances with Yo-Yo Ma. As Concertmaster, she has been engaged by the Phoenix Symphony, the West Virginia Symphony, and most recently by Palm Beach Opera. Appointed by Music Director Michael Stern in 2022, she is currently the tenured Concertmaster of Orchestra Lumos. Previously, she held the same position with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera Guild Orchestra, and St. Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra in Los Angeles.
As a soloist, Buck made her Lincoln Center concerto debut with the Little Orchestra Society and has since appeared with orchestras including the Princeton Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and Orchestra Lumos. Buck’s recital appearances include The Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.), Dame Myra Hess Series (Chicago), and Bargemusic (NYC), with live broadcasts on Los Angeles radio stations WFMT and KKGO. Her versatility also extends to film and television, including the violin solos for Turner Classic Movies’restored silent film The Scarlet Letter.
A dedicated educator and musical leader, Buck served for over a decade on the faculty of the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music as Head of Strings and Chamber Music. Since 2011, she has been Co-Executive Director and Artistic Advisor of Kinhaven (VT) and currently serves on the faculty at Montclair State University.
A consummate musician recognized for her grace, subtlety, and brilliance, the pianist Orli Shaham is hailed by critics on four continents. The New York Times called her a “brilliant pianist,” The Chicago Tribune referred to her as “a first-rate Mozartean,” and London’s Guardian said Ms. Shaham’s playing at the Proms was “perfection.”
Orli Shaham has performed with many of the major orchestras around the world, and has appeared in recital internationally, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. She is Artistic Director of Pacific Symphony’s chamber series Café Ludwig in California since 2007 and was Artist in Residence at Vancouver Symphony (USA) in 2022-2024.
Highlights of Ms. Shaham’s 2025-2026 concert season include Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto at the Classical Tahoe Festival, performances of Light Forming by David Robertson with St. Louis and Nashville symphonies, and the premiere of a concerto for violin and piano by Reena Esmail she commissioned with her brother, the violinist Gil Shaham, with the National and Virginia symphonies.
In 2026, Orli Shaham releases an album of American chamber music with members of the Pacific Symphony, including works by Margaret Brouwer, Avner Dorman, Reena Esmail and Viet Cuong. Her 2024 box set of the complete sonatas by Mozart received accolades worldwide. Ms. Shaham’s discography also includes her acclaimed solo album, Brahms Inspired; John Adams’ Grand Pianola Music with the pianist Marc-André Hamelin and the San Francisco Symphony, with the composer conducting; and American Grace, featuring Steven Mackey’s Stumble to Grace, written for her, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Orli Shaham is on the piano and chamber music faculty at The Juilliard School and is Chair of the Board of Trustees of Kaufman Music Center. She is a major presence on public radio as Co-Host and Creative for NPR’s From the Top and was host of Dial-a-Musician, a radio feature series she created. She is regularly featured on the popular music education platform Tonebase, including masterclasses on Mozart’s piano sonatas and a lecture-performance about Clara Schumann.
Orli Shaham is a Steinway Artist.