This weekend Kansans have two chances to hear violinist Dr. Maurice Sklar at two free events.
The first is Friday October 1 in Wichita at the Metropolitan Baptist Church, 525 W. Douglas At McLean. The time is 7:00 pm. For more information, call 316-264-2354.
The second event is Saturday October 2 at The Round Up Event at SK Ranch, 12508 West Parallel Road, Pretty Prarrie, KS. This event is at 2:30 pm. For more information, contact Pat Crampton at 316-960-5898.
Dr. Maurice Sklar was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a Russian-Jewish family with a rich musical heritage. At age four, he began playing the violin. He won numerous awards from the age of nine, and left home to study violin with Fredell Lack in Houston, Texas, when he was only thirteen. He attended Meadowmount Summer Music School, Ivan Galamian’s Strings Camp, for seven consecutive years from the age of thirteen to nineteen.
Accepted at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City at the age of fifteen, Maurice subsequently won a scholarship to attend the Curtis Institute of Music at the age of sixteen, where he studied with the great violin teacher, Ivan Galamian. In 1984 he was accepted as a scholarship student with the renowned violin pedagogue, Dorothy DeLay. While attending the Aspen, Colorado Music Festival from 1984-1986, Miss DeLay invited Maurice to return to Juilliard and conclude his professional studies. From 1985-1989, he worked with her in preparation for a major solo career in classical music.
- 1986 – Winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions
- 1987 – New York debut in the YCA Series of the 92nd Street “Y”
- 1987 – Kennedy Center debut in the YCA Series in Washington, D.C.
- 1990 – Chosen by MUSICAL AMERICA as one of the top ten “Young Artist of the Year”
- 1990 – Appointed Artist-in-Residence and professor of violin at Oral Roberts University.
- 1990 – 91 – Associate Concertmaster of the Tulsa Philharmonic
- 1997 – Awarded an Doctorate of Ministry degree
- 1992 – Present – Ministry involvement with churches across America and around the world as a concert soloist and minister of the Gospel
Dr. Maurice Sklar has appeared as soloist with many orchestras, including The Little Orchestra Society of New York at Lincoln Center, The Houston Symphony, The New Orleans Philharmonic, The Monmouth, New Jersey Symphony, The Curtis Symphony Orchestra, The University of Mexico City Orchestra, The Tulsa Philharmonic, The Galveston Symphony, The Richardson Symphony, The Bridgeton Symphony, The Baton Rouge Symphony, The Plymouth Symphony, The Memphis Symphony, The Hendersonville Symphony, and The Minneapolis Chamber Symphony. He has performed in concerts across the country and abroad.