By Marilou Yacoub, Director, Concordia Conservatory

April 28, 2025: Concordia Conservatory proudly concludes its 2024–25 MORE THAN MUSIC concert series with Celebrating Anniversaries, a 45-minute faculty concert and lecture on May 4 at 4 pm at the home of Laurie and Hoke Slaughter in Bronxville, NY.

This intimate chamber music program pays tribute to legendary composers who have milestone anniversaries in 2025.  Through music and commentary, the concert will celebrate the lives, legacies, and creative brilliance of J.S. Bach, Fritz Kreisler, Maurice Ravel, Luciano Berio, and Dmitri Shostakovich.

Featuring Concordia Conservatory faculty artists Emanouil Manolov, violin, Jonathan Kim, cello and Marija Ilić, piano, Celebrating Anniversaries is more than a concert — it’s a journey into the history and artistry of some of classical music’s most influential voices, offering insight into what makes these composers' work so enduring and impactful.

Tickets are $27 for adults and $13.50 for seniors and children. CLICK HERE for tickets or call 914-395-4507.

About the Artists

Emanouil Manolov made his debut playing on Bulgarian National Television at the age of ten. Since then he has gone on to perform throughout Europe, Japan, and the U.S.Solo and chamber recitals include performances at the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the Embassy Series, and Weill Hall. Mr. Manolov has collaborated in chamber music performances with members of the Emerson Quartet, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center. He serves as Artistic Director of the North Shore Pro Musica chamber music series on Long Island and performs on the Hoch Chamber Music Series in Bronxville, NY. As a soloist, Mr. Manolov has performed the Beethoven, Korngold and Sibelius violin concertos. Recent solo performances with the Norwalk Symphony, where he serves as Associate Concertmaster, have included works by Schnittke, Chen Yi and Vivaldi.

As an orchestral freelancer in New York, Mr. Manolov makes frequent appearances on the stages of Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

An active educator, Mr. Manolov is on the faculty of Concordia Conservatory (formerly Concordia College), where, in addition to teaching privately, he is committed to providing instrumental music education to underprivileged students in the Bronx and Mount Vernon, NY. He is also in demand as a youth orchestra string coach as well as a judge for young artists competitions. During the summer, Mr. Manolov teaches aspiring young musicians at the Blue Mountain festival in Maryland and at the Quartet Intensive workshop in Bulgaria. Mr. Manolov holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Stony Brook University, where he was mentored by Pamela Frank, Ani Kavafian and Philip Setzer. Mr. Manolov resides in Riverside, CT, and is the proud parent of two daughters who attend Greenwich Public Schools. 

Jonathan Kim began his cello studies through the Buffalo Suzuki Strings program and has since enjoyed a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral performer, appearing in venues across the United States and Canada. He is a prizewinner of several competitions, including the Crane Concerto Competition, the Richard Stephan Chamber Music Competition, and the Greater Buffalo Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition. He is also a two-time winner of Stony Brook University’s Lauren V. Ackerman Chamber Music Competition—most recently in 2025 as a founding member of the Rhodora String Quartet.

Throughout his musical journey, Jonathan has had the opportunity to collaborate with renowned artists such as Steven Isserlis, Peter Wiley, Lawrence Power, Hsin-Yun Huang, Jennifer Frautschi, and his current mentor, Colin Carr. He has participated in prestigious festivals including the Aspen Music Festival, Festival Orford Musique, Domaine Forget International Music Festival, and the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, where he was a Shouse Institute Fellow. In the summer of 2025, he will appear as a fellow at both the Sarasota Music Festival and the Manchester Music Festival.

A devoted music educator, Jonathan is passionate about sharing the knowledge and inspiration he has received from the many distinguished pedagogues who have shaped his development. His primary teachers include Colin Carr, Paul Watkins, David Finckel, Richard Aaron, and Marie-Elaine Gagnon and has also studied Suzuki pedagogy under Dr. Tanya Carey. Jonathan serves on the faculty of Concordia Conservatory and the Stony Brook School and maintains a private cello studio with students across Long Island.  He is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at Stony Brook University and is a member of the Emerson String Quartet Institute. He earned his Master of Music degree from Stony Brook in 2022 and his Bachelor of Music degree from the Crane School of Music in 2020.

Pianist Marija Ilić is a dedicated and expressive performer of the standard repertoire, as well as the newest music of the 20th and 21st centuries. She has been praised as a compelling, poetic, and decisive musician by The New York Times, and noted for her quiet intensity. Her performances include recitals at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Clark Studio Theater at Lincoln Center, 92nd Street Y and Merkin Hall, Trinity Church, as well as at the Smithsonian Institute, the Music Festival of the Hamptons, Norfolk Contemporary Music Festival, the Hoch Chamber Music Series, Vassar College, Western Washington, Princeton, and Loyola Universities, and abroad at the Aldeburgh Festival in England and Musica Viva, Kolarac Hall, and Parliament Hall in Belgrade, Serbia, among others.

She has worked closely with some of today’s most important composers, including William Bolcom, Martin Bresnick, George Crumb, Oliver Knussen, Meredith Monk, Richard Wilson, and Aleksandra Vrebalov. Marija Ilić performs in a piano duo with Milica Jelača Jovanović, playing concerts in Europe and the United States, and is the founding principal pianist of Christopher Caines Dance Company. She often performs as a harpsichordist as well in programs that span music from the seventeenth century to the present day.

A native of Belgrade, Serbia, Marija holds her undergraduate degree from the Belgrade Music Academy, her graduate degree from the Mannes College of Music, and a doctorate in piano performance from Rutgers University, with J.S. Bach's The Art of Fugue as her doctoral topic. Her solo piano CD featuring music by J. S. Bach can be heard on the MSR Music label. She also recorded for New World Records, Mutable Music, Innova and Silent Treatment Music labels. She is on the faculty at Vassar College and Concordia Conservatory, where she is also the artistic director of the More Than Music concert series.