Julianne Klopotic

Violinist Julianne Klopotic lives and works in New York City. But her story began just across Lake Michigan in her native Milwaukee, Wisconsin where she started playing her instrument at the age of five. She left Wisconsin to attend the North Carolina School of the Arts pre-college division and there she met and studied with CMFS founder, the late Elaine Richey.

“I really, really loved Elaine”, says Klopotic. “Though I went on to study with great teachers at Peabody (Peabody Conservatory of Music) and Mannes (Mannes College) Elaine is one of the best I ever had.”

When Elaine informed her students that she was starting up a chamber music festival in Saugatuck and asked some of her students to travel from North Carolina for the summer to be a part of it, Klopotic says she and her fellow students were all immediately on board. “There was simply no question that we wanted to be there with her”, she says.

Klopotic was a part of the very first season of Chamber Music Festival of Saugatuck and has warm memories of her six weeks in the “church house”. “There were mattresses on the floor, we brought our own linens and we slept four to a room. It was pretty crowded, but no one complained. It was a great experience. Between the concerts in the beautiful Woman’s Club hall, our master classes with Elaine, rehearsal time, and the dates we were invited to play in the wonderful local restaurants in exchange for meals, we were very busy and very happy. It was total immersion!”

It is a testimony to her respect for Richey’s teaching, that when Klopotic won the Artists International Solo Competition and was awarded her New York debut at Carnegie Hall in 1998, she asked Richey to help her prepare for the event. Klopotic had also accepted Richey’s invitation to return to the festival and be her assistant that summer. Unfortunately, just weeks before the season, Richey became ill. “I dropped everything and drove to North Carolina to visit for a few days before she passed away”, Klopotic remembers. “We had long talks and she gave me great insights into teaching music. I was completely devastated by her loss. She has never been forgotten; she meant a great deal to me.”

Today, Julianne Klopotic puts Richey’s teaching insights to good use. She has taught for the last fifteen years in New York, serving on several faculties as well as teaching privately. She is known especially for her skill in teaching beginning students as young as three. She also records and performs extensively. She continues to love classical music and has broadened her interests to include experimental and new music, often working as improviser and arranger as well as performer. Known for her diversity as a violinist, she can be heard on recordings ranging from her work with Philip Glass to songwriter Natalie Merchant.

For more information about Klopotic, visit her website at www.julianneviolin.com.