St. Louis Symphony violinist performing at Shuck Hall

Violinist David Halen, concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony, will perform at 3 p.m. May 3 in the Shuck Music Recital Hall at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus as part of the Sundays at Three concert series, according to a news release from the university.

"I hope the audience gains a sense of the journey and the drama that performing the Cesar Franck violin and piano sonata takes the listener. There is no recording that can capture the same feeling as music performed live in a beautiful acoustic," Halen said.

Also performing will be guest artist Alla Voskoboynikova, "a wonder artist" originally from Russia, Halen said.

The main selection will be "Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano" by Cesar Franck. Other composers, such as Mozart, will be included.

"I have been playing these works most of my life. There is a wonderful sense of discovery with every masterpiece. Like a great painting, you are always finding something you never heard before," Halen said. "As long as the audience keeps applauding, we will keep playing."

Halen began playing violin at age 6 and earned a bachelor's degree at 19. He won the Music Teachers National Association Competition and was granted a Fulbright scholarship for study with Wolfgang Marschner at the Freiburg Hochschule for Musik in Germany. Halen earned his master's degree from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He was named concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony in 1995, without audition, with the endorsement of then-music directors Leonard Slatkin and Hans Vonk.

Voskoboynikova is an associate teaching professor of music and director of keyboard studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Before moving to the United States in 1996, Voskoboynikova was a pianist and vocal coach at the Kiev Opera and Ballet Theater in Ukraine. She accompanies members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and coaching for the Union Avenue Opera Co. and the Opera Theatre in St. Louis.

Tickets may be bought at the River Campus box office, 518 S. Fountain St., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays or by calling 651-2265. Tickets may be bought online at RiverCampusEvents.com.