Junior Performs in Private Masterclass

As part of the Kansas City Symphony's Inside Music Series, junior Akshay Dinakar was invited to participate in a masterclass with Kansas City Symphony Concertmaster Noah Geller along with University of Central Missouri student Steve Wasko. The event was hosted in the Helzberg Hall of the Kauffman Center at 11 a.m. on Sat., Jan 11 and was open to the public.

For the event, Dinakar prepared a piece by Edward Elgar called "Salut d'amour." Dinakar started the masterclass by performing his piece, then spent the rest of the class receiving critiques from Geller. The two worked on stance, vibrato and bow technique, then finished Dinakar's portion of the masterclass with a final performance of the improved piece.

"For me, masterclasses are fascinating and exhilarating experiences because they give me a chance to elevate my playing in such a short time with the help of masters in the field," Dinakar said. "It's always exciting to play in a fabulous venue like the Kauffman Center."

Besides working with the Kansas City Symphony, Akshay has been playing violin for a majority of his life with his brother, Bhavish Dinakar. Over the past summer, Dinakar was invited to play in the Carnegie Hall National Youth Orchestra and traveled around the world to perform with an elite group of youth musicians.

Listen to Dinakar's performance of "Salut d'amour" here: