Event Details

Wednesday, April 22, 2026, 6:00pm

Davis Hall, GBPAC

Viola Studio Recital

Tyler Hendrickson, coordinator

Isaac Simpson, viola
Tyler Hendrickson, piano

Lex Taylor, viola
Tyler Hendrickson, piano

Lucy Galloway, viola
Tyler Hendrickson, piano

I. Con moto
II. Largo
III. Vivace

Gale Lesemann, viola

I. Allegro risoluto

Ryan Schueller, viola
Tyler Hendrickson, piano

VI. Gigue

Isaac Simpson, viola

I. Allegro ma motto moderato

Caleb Burdine, viola
Sean Botkin, piano

Arr. Doris Preucil (b. 1932)

Eden Adams, Caleb Burdine, Lucy Galloway, Gale Leseman, 
Ryan Schueller, Isaac Simpson, Lex Taylor, viola
Tyler Hendrickson, piano

Many thanks to Natia Shioshvili for her time in collaborating to prepare for this recital.

About the Artists

Isaac Simpson began his musical journey at age three in the UNI Suzuki School and soon found himself performing across the Midwest with his family group, Simpson Strings. After nine years on violin, his curiosity for the viola’s deep, warm sound led him to switch instruments — a decision that quickly felt like coming home. He continued his studies at the UNI Suzuki School and later the Preucil School of Music, eventually earning the chance to study with Dr. Julia Bullard in ninth grade. Isaac played in the Northern Iowa Junior Orchestra before moving up to the Northern Iowa Youth Orchestra, all while sharing music with audiences in nearly forty concerts a year. Now a college student studying under Dr. Tyler Hendrickson at the University of Northern Iowa, he serves as principal violist of the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra. As he looks ahead to graduate recitals and his final months at UNI, he’s excited to keep growing, collaborating, and connecting with others through music.

Lex Taylor is a second year Choral Music Education student at the University of Northern Iowa, studying viola as a non-major under Dr. Tyler Hendrickson. During his time at UNI, he has been an active member of the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra and is the only violist in UNI’s Mariachi ensemble. Outside of studying viola, Lex is involved with the American Choral Directors Association, UNI’s Concert Chorale, Cantorei, Opera Ensemble, is the tenor section leader at First Presbyterian Church Choir in Waterloo, Iowa, and studies voice under Jeffery Brich! He is a very passionate, dedicated musician with many interests, and is thrilled to continue his studies here at UNI! 

Lucy Galloway, a first-year student from Waterloo, began learning the viola in the 6th grade and continued playing in various school and outside ensembles, including the Northern Iowa Youth Orchestra, through her senior year. Her favorite ensemble was a quartet from Waterloo West High she performed with from Apr 2023 - May 2025 with three of her close friends. Lucy is a double-major, studying Communication and Spanish. She is otherwise musically involved in the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra and UNI’s Concert Chorale, along with other student organizations such as International Student Promoters. 

Gale Lesemann is a 4th year Music Composition-Theory major in his final semester at UNI. In addition to playing viola in the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra, Gale is a member of the UNI New Music Ensemble. He also serves as the historian of the UNI Guild of Student Carilloneurs. After graduating, Gale plans to pursue a degree in Library Science.

Ryan Schueller is a second-semester transfer student here at UNI, originally by way of Kirkwood Community college in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He studies Music Technology and looks forward to a career in sound production, as well as guitar luthier work. He played through middle school and high school and after a notable hiatus when arriving at college, fell back in love with the instrument. He is fortunate enough to have continued his studies with Dr. Tyler Hendrickson at Kirkwood here at UNI and is eternally grateful for the potential and belief he was shown by him. He looks forward to growing more as a violist with his experience at UNI!

Hailing from the state of Oklahoma, Caleb Burdine is a pre-Graduate accounting student at the University of Northern Iowa. Throughout his life, he has studied and performed on viola, violin, piano, and harpsichord, but he enjoys viola the most and adores the timbre and tone of the instrument. Caleb has spent over a decade performing both violin and viola in different orchestras, from the San Juan Youth Symphony to the Fort Dodge Area Symphony, NISO, and most recently the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra. Caleb enjoys collaborative music and performs in various chamber ensembles at UNI and in Cedar Falls. Caleb loves to travel and enjoys listening to music from countries all over the world; it is his belief that music is a universal language, and one that we can use to bring people together.

Eden Adams is a sophomore at the University of Northern Iowa, studying elementary education with minors in social emotional learning and teaching English to second language learners. Eden has been playing the viola for over ten years and has been a part of ensembles such as The Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra and Valley Chamber Orchestra. Eden has won awards, one being 2024 IHSMA Best of Center Award for an ensemble. Her musical training has been supported by Joyce Beyer, Sherida Williams and Tyler Hendrickson who have mentored Eden to be successful in her practice. Eden is currently spending her musical journey exploring proper technique and music ergonomics to support her success in playing and interpreting music.

About the Program

Brahms’s Hungarian Dance No. 5 is the most famous of his 21 dances inspired by the fiery rhythms and sudden mood swings of Hungarian folk style. Though based on melodies he encountered through traveling Romani musicians, Brahms transformed the material with his own dramatic flair—snapping between minor-key tension and bursts of energy. Its quick contrasts and irresistible rhythmic drive have made it a perennial crowd favorite and one of the most recognizable pieces in the repertoire. —I.S.

Carl Webster is a composer whose writing emphasizes contrast and agility. Rapid and crisp rhythmic passages create an atmosphere of motion and excitement, while brief lyrical moments offer contrast and shape.

Showcased in the piece “Scherzo,” there is a sense of wit and momentum that is apparent. The interplay of dynamics and articulation keeps the music unpredictable, inviting listeners to follow its quick turns and sudden bursts of empathy or energy. The term scherzo translates to “joke” or “playful” in Italian, referring to a lively and spirited musical movement. Ultimately, Carl Webster’s Scherzo delights in its own exuberance, offering both a brief but vivid display of wit, agility, and musical flair. —L.T.

Carl Bohm, a Berlin native, was considered one of the leading German composers of the 19th century, ranked among the greats. Despite having dozens of international hits in his own time, Bohm is now often known only in unfortunate confusion with the more famous Austrian conductor Karl Böhm, who became popular in the 20th century. Carl Bohm found popularity from his chamber music compositions. He garnered accolades from not only amateurs, but also touring professional groups, due to his light and invigorating style that would receive an immediate appreciation from the audience. 

The Sarabande is movement 3 of 12 from Bohm’s 12 Melodische Vortragsstückei, a romantic-era set of recital pieces written in the early 1890s for piano and violin. It is a beautiful piece that demonstrates graceful yet dramatic character, with a charmingly expressive melody. It begins with an invigorating and technically challenging opening section, falling down into a more expressive and contemplative middle section, before picking back up with a melody closely-resembling the beginning, ending with confidence and dramaticism. —L.G.

Partida pro sólovou violu was composed during Jan Klusak’s second year of study at the Prague Academy of Musical Arts. During this period, Klusak’s compositions were inspired by modernist composers such as Stravinsky and Honegger, which can be heard in the rhythmic variation and contrasting materials in this work. The first movement takes on a dance-like personality, ending with a chaotic show of dissonant intervals. In contrast, the second movement takes on a more contemplative tone, leading into the third movement which echoes the first in its use of dissonant intervals and dancing rhythms. —G.L.

Friedrich Seitz was a notable German violinist, composer, and teacher. The son of a farmer, he found himself as an outlier in the music field. He went on to serve as a conductor in Sondershausen, as concert-master in Magdeburg, and finally as Court Concert master in Dessau. Particularly well known for his “Schülerkonzerte”, or student concertos, he laid a framework for some of the most notable Suzuki pieces, including this one. 

Seitz’s Concerto No. 3 in C minor was written for violin originally, later transcribed for viola in the Suzuki Book 5 by Doris Preucil. This concerto was sentimentally dedicated to his daughter Frieda, and is palpable by its rich, largamente sound. Some interesting things to note about this piece are the form and technical elements that Seitz employs. The piece follows the typical three-movement concerto form. However, he leaves no breaks between movements and allows for a more flowing feeling through the composition. He includes many idiomatic elements to shape the piece such as double stops, shifting, and a brief bariolage section (rapid alternation between strings in a rolling motion). This piece brings a variety of emotions into play and lets the listener create and enjoy their own journey. —R.S.

The Gigue that closes Bach’s Cello Suite No. 2 bursts forth with rhythmic vitality after the suite’s darker, introspective movements. Built on quick triple-meter patterns and buoyant leaps, it feels like a sudden clearing of light—energetic, playful, and full of forward motion. Even within its dance-like exuberance, Bach weaves subtle harmonic turns and expressive gestures that give the movement depth beneath its surface brilliance. As the suite’s final word, the Gigue offers a spirited release, bringing the emotional arc to a joyful and uplifting close. —I.S.

While being one of the most prominent violists in late 19th century England, extraordinarily little is known about Emil Kreuz and his music. Born in 1867 in the town of Elberfield, Germany, Kreuz grew up as virtuosic violinist and violist, performing both solo works and chamber music across the globe. He began his career as a composer early into his education and produced one of the first set of method books ever written for viola. His non-method contributions to the viola cannon include sonatas, chamber works, and his viola concerto, one of the first for a modern symphonic orchestra ever written. Sadly, Kreuz was not popular in England due to his German heritage pre- WW1, and he quickly fell into obscurity. Not much is known about him post 1916, except for the fact that he had changed his name to the more English sounding Emil Thornfield, and he had fled England to Copenhagen where he taught music with his wife. It is believed that he returned to England sometime after the war, but no one knows where he died.

His Viola Concerto, Op. 20, was one of Kreuz’s longest and most virtuosic works. Despite this, and being one of the earliest modern symphonic viola concertos, no recordings of it exist, and the orchestrated parts and score have been lost or destroyed since his death. The piano reduction, published June 12, 1892, is all that remains of the work. The concerto pulls from the late romantic ideology of “the viola is just a bigger violin” and tries to incorporate violin-esque shifting, style, and and motion, making it one of the most virtuosic viola concertos ever written. Throughout the first movement, you will hear contrasting sections of virtuosic double-stops and arpeggios, followed by sections of profound and emotional melodies. The first movement contains two cadenzas, each fully written out.  —C.B.

Gabriel Faure was born in the southwest of France in a town called Pamiers, filled with catholic bell towers and rich fertile soils. At nine years old, Faure traveled to Paris to train as an organist and church choirmaster, starting his musical career. His primary occupation was teaching with composing being a part time endeavor. His compositional style inspired many composers such as Maurice Ravel, George Enescu, and Nadia Boulanger. Doris Preucil is a composer who lives in Iowa City and is the author of the Suzuki Viola School.

Concentrated on the inner piece of life the listener can hear, as Faure puts it, the “lullaby of death” throughout the Pie Jesu as the violas create rich and lush harmonic tones melding into the choral atmosphere that this piece is best performed in. While listening to this piece one can imagine sitting in a field of flowers peacefully. This piece has a unique orchestration being that there are 2 viola sections and 1 solo violinist, which provides a thick alto texture in the music. —E.A.