Mendelssohn Octet to perform at chamber music event hosted by Southeast Symphony Society, Kellerman Foundation

The Southeast Symphony Society and the Kellerman Foundation are hosting the Mendelssohn Octet for their Chamber Classics: Art and Music event at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 1, at 401 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau. The event is family-friendly and free of charge.

The octet consists of four violinists (Sophia Han, Ching-Yi Lin, Boris Abramov and Ela Tokarska), two violists (Andrew Braddock and Mark Hatlestad) and two cellists (Patrick Hopkins and Graham Cullen).

Violin

Han, Southeast Missouri State University associate professor of violin and viola, has performed as a guest soloist with orchestras around the country and has appeared on tour with the likes of Michael Buble, Audra McDonald and the rock band STARSET. Han was previously a member of the St. Louis Chamber Soloists and currently plays in the Rio Verde Quartet, as well as in a duet with her husband, Zach Stern, who plays saxophone.

Lin has performed around the world in locations such as the Barratt Due Institute of Music in Norway, the Shenyang and Xi’an Conservatories in China, Northwestern University, the University of British Columbia and the Museum of Modern Art’s Summer Garden Series in New York. She is currently a professor of violin at Western Kentucky University.

Abramov is a violin prodigy who began studying at 6 years old. He has performed internationally in France, Belgium, Estonia and Russia, and regularly performs with symphony orchestras across the United States.

Tokarska has received several awards for her play, including the National Audition of String Instruments in 2004 and 2006, as well as the Johann Sebastian Bach National String Competition and the European Center of Culture Award in 2005. She is an assistant professor of violin and viola at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Viola

Braddock is considered a passionate educator and has taught viola masterclasses at Vanderbilt University, the Chinese Culture University and Bowling Green State University, among others. He has recently performed at the Sejong Center in Seoul, South Korea, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, and in the Paducah Symphony Orchestra in a solo appearance.

Hatlestad is a member of the Eykamp String Quartet, serves as the principal violist of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra and as the artist in residence at the University of Evansville. He is a graduate of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music where he studied viola performance.

Cello

Hopkins has performed with the Juilliard Orchestra and New World Symphony and was the recipient of the grand prize at the 2011 Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Competition. He is an assistant professor of cello and bass at Southeast Missouri State University and serves as the artistic director and conductor of the Southeast Missouri Symphony Orchestra.

Cullen joins Hatlestad as a member of the Eykamp String Quartet and serves as the principal cellist of the Evansville Philharmonic and Owensboro Symphony Orchestras. Cullen has performed across the U.S. and in Europe throughout his career and was a grand prize winner of the Alice Coleman Chamber Competition.