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Featuring Thursday Musical Members Nickolai Kolarov, cello; Amos Lucidi, piano; and Will Richardson, cello & guest artist Julia Elkina, piano.

Click the photo on the left for artist and program information.

For everyone’s safety, Thursday Musical strongly recommends all audience members to wear a non-cloth mask such as a N95, KN95, KF94, or surgical mask inside of the recital hall.

Cellist Nickolai Kolarov graduated from the Bulgarian State Academy of Music and received his Master’s degree from the University of Missouri, Kansas City where he studied with Nina Gordon. Kolarov earned his Doctoral degree from the University of Minnesota where he studied with Tanya Remenikova. He also studied with Igor Gavrish from the Moscow Conservatory of Music.

Since his arrival in the United States, he has performed with distinguished musicians in both classical and contemporary repertoire throughout the country. Kolarov is a prizewinner from the Bulgarian National Competition at Provadia. He has received numerous grants from the Minnesota Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and American Composers Forum, as well the Fine Arts and Humanities Grant from St. Thomas University where he taught cello until 2006. Kolarov performed on the conference of the National Association of Composers (NACUSA) in San Marcos, Texas in 2008. He also performed at the 2010 Composer Conference of the Aspen Institute. In 2011 he was invited for a performance-lecture at the Juilliard School. 

Kolarov is the founder of the Balkanicus Balkan new chamber music concert series in 2003 in the Twin Cities, MN and the Artistic Director of Balkanicus Ensemble. The series has featured music written especially for him and for the ensemble. The ensemble was featured on musical festivals here in the United States and in Europe.

Kolarov is the President of the Balkanicus Institute for Balkan Art, Culture and History, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the culture of the Balkans.

Amos Lucidi is a highly accomplished musician based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, known for his belief in music’s transformative power. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance at the University of Minnesota under Professor Alexander Braginsky’s guidance.

Amos is an active performer and teacher, influencing the local music scene significantly. He believes that music serves as a creative force, inspiring individuals to envision a better world and encouraging positive change in their lives. His performances have taken him to various countries and important festivals.

His repertoire encompasses a wide range, from Baroque to contemporary music, with a special emphasis on pieces by Mexican composers like Ponce, Rolón and Moncayo. Amos is dedicated to promoting Mexican musical heritage. Beyond performing, he is part of the faculty at the Saint Paul Conservatory of Music and the Anthem Academy of Music, passing on his musical knowledge and passion to aspiring musicians.

Will Richardson has performed with a wide variety of classical and non-classical organizations from the Mill City Summer Opera to Weird Al Yankovic. He has been a member of the Duluth-Superior Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, Owensboro Symphony, Marion Philharmonic, and the Richmond Symphony. Past solo performances include Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, and Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos with the Century College Orchestra, as well as the complete cello sonatas of Bohuslav Martinů for Thursday Musical’s Artist Series Concerts. He completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where his primary teachers were Helga Winold and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi. He studied baroque cello with Christine Kyprianides. He plays a cello made by David Folland of Northfield, MN. 

A graduate of the St. Petersburg Conservatory with a Diploma of Distinction in Piano Performance, Julia Elkina came to the United States in 1993 and studied under Professor Alexander Braginsky at the University of Minnesota where she earned her doctoral degree in Piano Performance. Ms. Elkina is particularly famed for her duo-piano work with her twin sister Irina. The Elkinas won first prize in the 1992 International Duo Piano Competition, Citta di Marsala in Italy. In 1993 they shared the top prize in the Murray Dranoff International Two Piano Competition and received the special award for best performance of the commissioned work - Taschyag by Paul Schoenfield. Ms. Elkina has performed throughout the United States, playing in New York, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Chicago, New Orleans, Oregon Bach Festival and Gilmore Keyboard Festival. Recent major engagements included performances at Lincoln Center in New York, and Ravinia Festival. Ms. Elkina’s appearances included a collaboration with a group of visual artists recreating Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition and an extensive work with famous theater and puppetry director Basil Twist on Stravinsky’ Petrouchka A frequent guest with her sister on National Public Radio, she has performed on Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor several times, as well as on the nationally syndicated Saint Paul Sunday music program. In 2001 Ms Elkina received prestigious scholar award granted by P.E.O. (International Philanthropic Organization) for her academic achievements and scholar research.Julia Elkina Joined the St. Olaf Faculty in 2000 and then Century college in 2014. She currently teaches there, at MacPhail Center for Music and in her private studio in Eagan, MNperforms regularly in town. 

She owns a private video recording and coaching studio and is the Music Director at the Union Congregational Church United Church of Christ in Elk River, MN. She has a DMA in collaborative piano and coaching from the University of Minnesota, where she studied with Timothy Lovelace.