ELLIE BERGERON AKER
& MELISSA LUND ZIEGLER

The violin shimmers with brightness; the viola answers with a voice that is rich, warm, and earthy. Together they create a conversation that can be playful one moment and achingly tender the next.

Mozart’s duo sparkles with wit—quick exchanges that feel like laughter shared between friends—before opening into an Adagio that sings with intimacy and quiet beauty. Sibelius brings a different landscape: glowing harmonies and melodies that feel spacious and full of northern light, the kind of music that lingers like a deep breath of fresh air. Halvorsen closes the program with fireworks, spinning a simple dance into thrilling variations that surge, whisper, and finally blaze with intensity.

Feel joy, calm, excitement, or simply the lift that comes from pausing to hear something beautiful unfold in real time. This music refreshes the senses and will leave your day feeling brighter.

WA Mozart (1756-1791) – Duo for Violin and Viola, K.423
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Rondeau. Allegro

Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) – Duo in C Major

Johan Halvorsen (1864-1935) – Sarabande con Variazioni

Ellen Bergeron Aker is a native of New Hampshire, where she began her violin studies at the age of four. She completed her pre-college studies at Boston’s New England Conservatory Preparatory School before earning a Bachelor of Music in Performance and Music Education from the Eastman School of Music, followed by a Master of Music in Violin Performance and Literature from Eastman. During her time at Eastman, she served as concertmaster of the Eastman Philharmonia. Her principal teachers include Renée Jolles, Juliana Athayde, and the late Lynn Blakeslee.

Mrs. Bergeron Aker has held positions with the New York State Ballet, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, St. Andrews Chamber Orchestra, Greece Symphony Orchestra, Waco Symphony Orchestra, Temple String Quartet, and has served as Assistant Concertmaster of the Temple Symphony
Orchestra.

Ellen aspires to see all of her students fulfill their potential as a musician and as a citizen of the world. She desires to ensure that every student who steps inside her studio feels seen, respected, and inspired. Ellen has been teaching students of all ages for nearly a decade, and has seen many of her students go on to pursue music as a career.

Described as “exciting to watch”, violist Melissa Lund Ziegler is an experienced and dynamic orchestral and chamber performer. In the summer of 2025, Lund Ziegler performed as part of Concerts in the Barn, a chamber music festival in Quilcene, Washington with members of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Locally, you can find her performing with her husband in a saxophone and viola duo, as well as with other friends and musicians in Southern Maine.

She was a member of the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra and performed regularly with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and the Muncie and Anderson Symphony Orchestras. Lund Ziegler has performed in many orchestras and music festivals in Europe and across the United States including CCM Spoleto (Spoleto, Italy), the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Fox Valley, Sheboygan, Richmond (IN) Symphony, and Owensboro Symphony Orchestras. She was a founding member of Muse Trio and the Take 3 String Trio, and has collaborated with violists Katrin Meidell and Michael Chen. She has performed as part of the 360 Lecture Series at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay performing a history of jazz dance styles.

Melissa is Director of Marketing and Development at the Portland Conservatory of Music in Portland, ME. Previously, she was Development and Marketing Coordinator at the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center in Portsmouth, NH, Social Media Coordinator at Rees Harps in Rising Sun, IN, and Associate Director of Music for the Sake of Music in Green Bay, WI.

She holds two degrees in viola performance from the prestigious College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, OH and an Artist Diploma from Ball State University in Muncie, IN. Her major teachers have included Dr. Catharine Lees, Masao Kawasaki, Rebe Barnes, and Dr. Katrin Meidell.

Run Time: 45 minutes, no intermission.