On Friday, October 14, 2011, Gabriel Bolkosky, violin, and Michele Cooker, piano, will kick off the 2011-12 Friday Evening Concert Series at Schoolcraft College. The concert begins at 8 p.m. in the Presentation Room of the VisTaTech Center on the college's main campus in Livonia, Haggerty Road between Six and Seven Mile Roads.

Tickets are $20 per person or $10 for students with idenification. Tickets can be purchased at www.scboxoffice.com, by calling (734) 462-4409, or in person at the Schoolcraft College Bookstore (Mon-Thurs 8:30am - 7:00pm, Fri 8:30am - 4:00pm).

Expressiveness, elegance and “virtuosity with abandon” are the hallmarks of violinist Gabriel Bolkosky. As a recitalist, he distinguishes his performances with a diverse repertoire that “unleashes all the possibilities of the violin.” He has performed across the country and has premiered hundreds of works by composers such as Thomas Adès and Frederic Rzewski on Carnegie Hall’s Making Music Series. Bolkosky also teaches violin at the University of Michigan and is executive director of the Ann Arbor based nonprofit organization, The Phoenix Ensemble.

Partner to many distinguished musicians, Michele Cooker has performed on many concert series and articipated in festivals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In addition to performing regularly with Gabe
Bolkosky, Cooker collaborates with members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and numerous violinists throughout the Midwest. She also teaches piano privately at Kerrytown Concert House.

The program will feature Praeludium and Allegro and Sicilienne Rigaudon, Kreisler; Sonata for Violin and Piano, L. 140, Debussy; Chaconne for solo violin, Partita in D minor, Bach; Selections from Porgy & Bess, Gershwin; Graceful Ghost Rag, Bolcom; Amazing Grace, 19th Century American Melody; and Introduction &
Rondo-Capriccioso, Saint-Saens.

The remainder of the performances for the 2011-12 Friday Evening Concert Series include Robert deMaine, cello, and Pauline Martin, piano on November 18, 2011; Tribute to the Andrews Sisters on March 23, 2012; and Lori Sims, piano, on April 20. Season tickets can be purchased for $70. For more information about Schoolcraft College's various music offerings visit www.schoolcraft.edu/music.