Celebrate 25 years of the UWF Strings program and Runge Strings ensemble during an evening of group performances under the directorship of Dr. Leonid Yanovskiy on Monday, January 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the Rolfs Music Hall at the Center for Fine and Performing Arts (Building 82) on the UWF Pensacola campus.

Yanovskiy received degrees from the Moscow Gnessin Academy of Music in Russia, studied at the American Conservatoire at Fontenbleau in France and earned a doctorate in musical arts from Rutgers University. An acclaimed violinist, the New York Times has touted Yanovskiy’s performances as “luminous” bringing audiences “a sumptuous, vibrato-rich tone and a kind of energy that made the fast movements dance.” Joining the Dr. Grier Williams School of Music faculty in 2000, he serves as the Director of Strings and UWF’s annual StringFest, in addition to serving as the Concert Master for the Pensacola Orchestra and Artist Faculty at the “InterHarmony” Music Festival in Piedmont, Italy.

This performance will feature works by J.S. Bach, Mozart and Niccolo Paganini performed by Dr. Yanovskiy, UWF Alumni and current students. Joining Dr. Yanovskiy are UWF strings alumnus Audrey Naffe (2013), Ramel Price (2017), Maeanna Callahan (2015) and Molly Hollingsworth (2011) and current students Emma Pooler and Garrett Groff. Audrey Naffe is a doctoral candidate at Indiana University, holds a MM from the Cleveland Institute of Music and currently serves as the Principal Violist in the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra. Ramel Price is a doctoral candidate at the University of Iowa and currently serves as a Violinist in the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra. Maeanna Callahan is pursuing MME at Florida State University, serves as a Director of high school and middle school orchestras in Escambia County and as a Violinist in the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra. Molly Hollingsworth holds a MM from the University of Maryland, serves as first chair Violinist in the Pensacola Candlelight String Quartet and as a Violinist with the Pensacola Orchestra.