lehmann
duo

The Lehmann Duo bring their unique artistry to a varied program of curated works for violin and viola by both established and lesser-known composers.

Robert Lehmann, violin and Kimberly Lehmann, viola

Playing chamber music with friends is one of life’s greatest pleasures. The give and take, the exchange of opinions, and the search for an end result that is more than the sum of its parts are all rewards for the hard work and sometimes chaotic and quarrelsome rehearsal process. Playing chamber music with your spouse intensifies the experience in a very singular way. Although the rehearsal process may require perhaps a greater deal of diplomacy, tact, and understanding than working with ‘colleagues’, the payoff is also greater because you know that your partner, in this case, has your back ’til death do us part’!

We started our duo partnership long before we married. While in residence at the Heidelberg Opera Festival in Germany, we would often busk on the streets for extra spending money. Beer and Bratkartoffeln for one, ice cream for the other! After we married we often found ourselves playing through a great deal of duos we inherited from Robert’s grandparents (amateur musicians themselves). Between violin/violin and violin/viola combinations, we spent many hours enjoying our unique pastime.

Over the years we have added to our repertory and enjoy creating programs that balance established violin/viola duos with new works and creative arrangements of everything from Bach’s two-part inventions to tangos. The Lehmanns have performed duo programs all over New England and California, have performed the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante with various orchestras, and have concertized in Mexico and Europe. Most recently at the American Church in Paris, Vienna, Austria, F-13 Private House Concerts in Mainz, Germany, Sebastianskapelle in Baden, Switzerland, and the Assisi Performing Arts Festival in Assisi, Italy.

Originally from Sioux Falls, SD, Kimberly received degrees from the University of Minnesota and the Eastman School of Music. She has been a member of the Colorado Springs Symphony and the Boston Philharmonic and is now a member of the Portland Symphony Orchestra. She is Artist Faculty at the USM School of Music and concertizes throughout New England as both a soloist and orchestral player.

Robert studied at the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica in his native Mexico City, and then received degrees from the University of the Pacific, the Eastman School and Boston University. He is Professor of Music, Director of Orchestral Activities and String Studies at the Osher School of Music at the University of Southern Maine, where he conducts the Southern Maine Symphony, Portland Youth Symphony and is Music Director of the North Shore Philharmonic and White Mountain Bach Festival. He is a frequent guest conductor for the Portland Symphony Orchestra.

RUN TIME: 90min.