About The Event 

Klein Competition laureates violinist Gabrielle Després (1st Prize 2020) and cellist Coleman Itzkoff (2nd Prize 2016) present an intimate concert for the singular acoustic pairing of violin and cello. Their program moves between arrangements of baroque music and works from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, placing older and newer sounds side by side. The evening offers a close-up listening experience that highlights the warmth, flexibility, and expressive range of this unique duo.

Enhancing the music will be a pan-Mediterranean meal prepared by former Klein Competition Executive Director Fred Spitz. Focused on the bounty of Spring and Fred's eclectic and delicious wine and non-alcoholic beverage offerings, the menu will delight vegetarians, vegans and carnivores alike.

Address to be shared upon purchase of tickets. 

$150/person - 100% of proceeds benefit the Klein Competition. 

6-7pm: Appetizers/Drinks

7-8pm: Concert

8pm: Dinner

Attendance to this special event is limited to 30; buy your tickets now!

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About the artists: 

Cellist and performer Coleman Itzkoff inhabits a musical terrain where centuries collide and disciplines blur. Moving fluidly between baroque performance on historical instruments, newly written music, contemporary dance, and experimental theater, his work resists fixed categories. He may premiere a living composer’s score alongside Bach in the same evening, speak and dance within an avant-garde theatrical work, compose, arrange, and record for films, or offer a solitary Bach suite to hospital patients during COVID. Across these contexts, Coleman approaches music as a living, embodied practice, continually reshaping what performance can be in the twenty-first century.

Hailed by Alex Ross in The New Yorker for his “flawless technique and keen musicality,” Coleman has performed in major halls and festivals throughout the United States and abroad. As a soloist, he has appeared with numerous orchestras, including the Houston, San Diego, and Cincinnati Symphonies. As a recitalist, he embraces eclectic repertoire and inventive programming, frequently experimenting with the form of the solo concert through unconventional spaces, distinctive lighting, and collaborations with dance or text.

Collaboration lies at the heart of Coleman’s artistic practice. He is a member of the early music ensembles Ruckus and Twelfth Night, and a founding member of the American Modern Opera Company (AMOC). Coleman holds a Bachelor of Music from Rice University, a Master of Music from USC, and an Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School. For more information, please visit colemanitzkoff.com.

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Praised for her “gorgeous, rich tone” and fresh, insightful interpretations, violinist Gabrielle Després has emerged as one of Canada’s most compelling young artists. As a recent finalist of the 2025 Sibelius International Violin Competition, she was also first-prize winner of the Irving M. Klein International String Competition and the Juilliard Concerto Competition, and a top prize recipient at the Michael Hill, Elmar Oliveira, and Washington International Violin Competitions.

As a soloist, Gabrielle has appeared with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Juilliard Orchestra, Spokane Symphony, and Peninsula Symphony, among others. A passionate chamber musician, she has performed at the Marlboro Music Festival, ChamberFest Cleveland, Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach, Music in the Vineyards, IMS Prussia Cove, and the Edmonton Summer Solstice Music Festival. Committed to using music as a force for connection, Gabrielle has also worked with Project: Music Heals Us, teaching and performing for incarcerated individuals in California. Alongside her dear friend Coco Mi, she is the co-founder of the NYC-based concert series, Lyrical Libations, which features pairings of chamber music and cocktails in intimate bars.

Gabrielle earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees at the Juilliard School as a proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship and is now pursuing an Artist Diploma there, studying with Catherine Cho. Her formative mentors include Donald Weilerstein, Joseph Lin, Masao Kawasaki, Robert Uchida, and James Keene.

Gabrielle performs on a violin of Zosimo Bergonzi and a bow of Étienne Pajeot, graciously provided to her by CANIMEX INC., from Drummondville, Quebec, Canada.