Violinist Alexi Kenney and pianist Janice Carissa bring a fresh and compelling voice to the chamber music stage. Known for their thoughtful artistry and expressive depth, their performances blend precision with spontaneity, revealing new dimensions in both beloved works and hidden gems of the repertoire.

Program:

inti figgis vizueta

earthmaker

Astor Piazzolla

Le Grand Tango (arr. Sofia Gubaidulina)

Jean Sibelius

5 Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 81

I. Mazurka

II. Rondino

III. Valse

IV. Aubade

V. Menuetto

Michi Wiancko

New commission for violin and piano (World Premiere)

CMS co-commission

Alfred Schnittke

Violin Sonata No. 1

I. Andante

II. Allegretto

III. Largo

IV. Allegro scherzando

Benjamin Britten

Suite for Violin and Piano, Op. 6

I. Introduction

II. March

III. Moto perpetuo

IV. Lullaby

V. Waltz

___

About the artist

Violinist Alexi Kenney is forging a career that defies categorization, following his interests, intuition, and heart. He is equally at home creating experimental programs, commissioning new works, soloing with major orchestras around the world, and collaborating with some of the most celebrated musicians of our time.

Alexi begins the 2025/26 season with a return to the Pittsburgh Symphony, performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto with Manfred Honeck. He also returns to the San Francisco Symphony as soloist and leader, as well as to the Dallas Symphony playing Barber's Violin Concerto with Daniele Rustioni. Alexi debuts with the Houston Symphony and Slovak Philharmonic performing Sofia Gubaidulina's Violin Concerto No. 2 “in tempus praesens” with Juraj Valcuha, as well as with Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, the Santa Barbara Symphony, Wichita Symphony, and Erie Philharmonic. Alexi curates a multimedia program at San Francisco Symphony’s SoundBox in February 2026. Recital and chamber appearances include the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society in a special program celebrating queer composers on National Coming Out Day, the Phillips Collection, 92nd Street Y, and Spoleto Festival. Highlights of recent seasons include concertos with the Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, l’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Detroit Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, Gulbenkian Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, and l’Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. Alexi has been featured in a play/lead role with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and New Century Chamber Orchestra, and has played recitals at Wigmore Hall, on Carnegie Hall’s ‘Distinctive Debuts’ series, Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, Frick Collection, Mecklenberg-Vorpommern Festival, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

A Gilmore Young Artist and winner of Salon de Virtuosi, Janice Carissa has “the multicolored highlights of a mature pianist” (Philadelphia Inquirer) and “strong, sure hands” (Voice of America) that “convey a vivid story rather than a mere showpiece” (Chicago Classical Review). Her artistry has been showcased at an array of renowned stages, including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, the Kennedy Center, Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Following her Philadelphia Orchestra debut at age sixteen, Janice has since performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the Pittsburgh, San Diego, Nashville, Kansas City, Delaware, Amarillo, Des Moines, Knoxville and Jakarta symphonies, among others. Highlights of the 2025-2026 season include concerto appearances with the Minnesota Orchestra, Houston Symphony, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, Jackson (MI) Symphony, and Florida Orchestra, as well as a solo recital at Pepperdine University and a duo with cellist Sterling Elliott for Capital Region Classical.

Janice’s passion for chamber music has led her to performances with Bravo! Vail where she was a piano fellow, the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society and Jupiter Chamber Concert Series; collaborations with Vadim Gluzman, Miriam Fried, Paul Neuebauer, Lucy Shelton, Marcy Rosen, David Shifrin, Jennifer Cano, Peter Wiley, among other distinguished musicians; and appearances at Marlboro, North Shore, Ravinia, Caramoor, and Kneisel Hall festivals.

Born on July 26, 1998, in Indonesia, Janice left Indonesia in 2013 to enter the Curtis Institute of Music with a full scholarship from Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest, where she was a pupil of Gary Graffman. She went on to earn a Master of Music at The Juilliard School where she studied with Robert McDonald. When away from the piano, Janice is an avid foodie and loves going on strolls with her camera.

___

Press

"He made it seem . . . as if this were the only possible way to play the music”  (New York Times)

"A spellbinding, thoroughly honest performance that revealed his architect’s eye for structure and space and a tone that ranges from the achingly fragile to full-bodied robustness.”" (New York Times)

"When an artist has truly mastered his craft, there’s a level of communication that surpasses the mundane and the misty and speaks directly to the listener. At Friday’s Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concert at Heinz Hall, violinist Alexi Kenney delivered a spectacular account of Bartok’s second violin concerto, his charisma conjuring a conversational style at once bravura and intimate…Truly a marvelous performance." (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

___

Media