At just 24, Julie Albers has made her mark on the music world with her superlative artistry, intense musicianship and charismatic performing style. The Ann Arbor News said of Albers, Her playing was flawless, rich and passionate.

Julie Albers will perform on Thursday, February 17 at 7:30pm in Bowker Auditorium at the University of Massachusetts. Albers will be accompanied by pianist Angela Jia Kim. The program will include Beethoven’s Variations in E-flat Major on Bei Männern and Sonata No. 3 in A Major for Cello and Piano, Op. 69, Bach’s Suite No. 2 in d minor, MBV 1008, Schumann’s Adagio and Allegro for Cello & Piano, Op. 70, and Massenet’s Médtiation from Thaïs. This performance is part of the Thomas F. Parker Young Artist Community Residency.

Julie began playing violin with her mother at the age of two and switched to cello at age four. Raised in Longmont, Colorado, Julie moved to Cleveland during her junior year in high school to pursue studies through the Young Artist Program at The Cleveland Institute of Music.

She was the recipient of The Cleveland Cello Society Scholarship (Senior Division Prize); later that year, she was awarded the Grand Prize at the XIII International Competition for Young Musicians.

In February 1998, Albers made a wildly received debut with The Cleveland Orchestra, performing Dvorak’s Cello Concerto, one of the cornerstone works of the instrument’s repertoire. The Evansville Courier & Press said of her performance, Julie Albers brought The Victory audience to their feet. Albers’ musicality, dramatic flair, brilliant style an control establish her as a world-class virtuoso. Albers’ stunning debut launched her international career. The following season she enjoyed debut invitations at New Zealand’s Dunedin Sinfonia and Auckland Philharmonia, Germany’s Philharmonisches Orchester Augsburg and Osnabrücher Symphonieorchester, and a tour of France with the Orchestre Symphonique de Douai. She began of her 2001-2002 season by winning Second Prize from Munich’s Internationalen Musikwettbewerbes der ARD, at which time she was also awarded the Wilhelm-Weichsler-Musikpreis der Stadt Osnabrück 2001. While in Germany, she also recorded solo and chamber music scores of Kodály for the Bavarian Radio, performance that have been heard throughout Europe. In November 2003, Ms. Albers was named the first Grand Prize laureate of South Korea’s Gyeongnam International Music Competition.

Described by critics as a superb colorist with playing that is full of life and fantasy, pianist Angela Jia Kim has delighted audiences around the world in recital, orchestral, and chamber music performances. In a time of increasing sameness in styles and cultures, Angela Jia Kim has devoted herself to the subtle shades of the great French masters, classicists, and other luminaries of the piano literature, bringing their elegant voices to the public with freshness and poeticism. Critics and audiences have responded, and Angela Jia Kim has been engaged and re-engaged in many of the world's great musical centers including New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, Paris, Warsaw, Toronto, and Montreal.

Albers will be teaching master classes and giving demonstrations to students in University of Massachusetts, as well as, Amherst High School and select schools in the Springfield area.

Julie Albers performs at Bowker Auditorium on the UMass Campus, February 17 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $25 and $15; 17 and under are $10 and Five College student tickets are $10 and $7. For tickets and information, call the Fine Arts Center Box office at 413-545-2511 or 1-800-999-UMAS, or go online to www.fineartscenter.com/centerseries