Nicholas Handahl is a conductor and flutist based in Brooklyn, NY, and Bobby Levinger is a pianist studying at the Moores School of Music of the University in Houston, TX. As sons of First Lutheran, they will return to First to perform together on Sunday, June 7, at 5pm.
Nicholas Handahl is a conductor and flutist based in Brooklyn, NY. He has conducted the RT-9 String Ensemble, the Luzerne Chamber Players, and the UW-Eau Claire Symphony orchestra. In 2015 he conducted the String Orchestra of Brooklyn in a masterclass under Maestro Tito Munoz. He has worked on projects with Bunita Marcus, Martha Seigel, and James Kellerman. He was also the Resident Conductor of the Junior Session at the Luzerne Music Center 2014 session in upstate New York. In the Summer of 2015, Nicholas will attend the Atlantic Music Festival as a conductor.
As a flutist, Nicholas has appeared as concerto soloist with the NYU Symphony Orchestra. He has played at The Firehouse Space, Spectrum, Scholes Street Music Studio, Piano Magic, as well as participating in Douglas DaSilva’s “Composer’s Voice” series on the upper east side of Manhattan. In 2013, he commissioned and premiered the “Sonata for Flute and Piano” by celebrated young composer Ian Ng. Nicholas is deeply interested in the craft of improvised art music, and is a co-founder of both the duo “H2F2” and the experimental quartet “The Pretzel Club”. He also plays regularly with the Open Music Ensemble. As the flute faculty member at the Luzerne Music Center, Nicholas has had the opportunity to work with such celebrated composers as John Corigliano, Richard Danielpour, and George Crumb. In 2011, he travelled to and toured Germany as a member of the Internationale Junge Orchesterakademie (IJOA). Nicholas holds a BM degree in flute from UW-Eau Claire and a MM degree in flute from NYU Steinhardt. His primary teachers have included the late Vicki Bigley, Dr. Timothy Lane, and Robert Dick.
Bobby Levinger, 19, has studied piano 12 years. He spent the majority of his studies with Paul Wirth in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Bobby is currently residing in Houston, Texas, pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance at the Moores School of Music of the University of Houston. There, he is studying with Nancy Weems. Bobby has been recognized numerous times for his pianism: he has performed as soloist with the Mississippi Valley Orchestra, Austin Symphony Orchestra, and most recently the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Bobby's performance with the Madison Symphony was presented live on Wisconsin Public Television and Radio; it also appeared in later subsequent appearances. In 2013, Bobby traveled to Los Angeles to compete in the Minnesota International e-Piano Junior Competition. In the past, he has also received 2nd place in the La Crosse Rising Stars Concerto Competition in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and 2nd place at the Thursday Musical Young Artist Competition in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a past award recipient in Music Teachers' National Association Young Artist Competition, The Schubert Club Scholarship Competition, and Minnesota Music Teachers' Association Young Artist Competition.
Bobby has performed in masterclasses and has received private lesssons from world-class artists, such as Eugene Pridonoff, André-Michel Schub, Ksenia Nosikova, Dmitri Shteinberg and Pavlina Dokovska. Bobby served on the junior jury of the 2014 North American Biennial PianoArts Competition.