Last Sunday afternoon on September 29, the Chapel was filled with students and members of the Hamilton community for the collaborative “Music of the Folk” concert in which Professor of Music and Africana & Latin American Studies Laura Klugherz played the violin alongside Artist-in-Residence and Piano Teacher Steven Heyman.

The pair played four pieces by four composers of different nationalities. Beginning with excerpts from Siete Canci??nes Valencianas by the Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo, the duo moved on to the longer piece Tzigane by the French composer Maurice Ravel. Playing alone for the first half of the piece, Klugherz delivered an especially powerful performance as her fingers expertly worked the strings in order to execute the complicated and fast-paced melody. American composer Paul Schoenfield’s “Four Souvenirs” followed, and the musicians finished the concert with an impressive performance of the Brazilian composer (Mozart) Camargo Guarnieri’s piece, “Sonata #4.”

Klugherz and Heyman have been collaborating musically since 1989, which requires a strong relationship between musicians.

“Professor Heyman and I trust each other completely in our musical opinions, and we engage in extensive idea-sharing during the rehearsal process, which includes constructive criticism and experimentation,” Klugherz said. “With such a long-standing musical relationship, careful and extensive rehearsal on the mechanics of each program, and discussion of a range of musical possibilities, we are then able to experiment in the actual performance, sensing one another’s movements, ideas and inspirations of the moment to create, hopefully, a fresh and spontaneous performance.”

The duo’s many hours of dedicated rehearsal were apparent in the precision and passion with which they executed these complex pieces of music.

Both Klugherz and Heyman will perform in the United States and internationally during the 2013-14 performing season, and Professor Heyman will perform in the Chapel again next March with his wife, a fellow pianist.

Contact Jessica Capwell at [email protected].