06/16/2026
Side Yard Sounds: Kolmar Duo
Willie McLellan Alexa k muhly
Friday, June 26, 2026
Tickets in bio or at door!
Willie McLellan has performed as a violist in Chicago for the last decade. He is an experienced orchestral musician, having played with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, and Camerata Chicago. Willie also greatly enjoys playing chamber music. He was a member of the Chicago Symphony’s MusiCorps outreach program, which educated and performed for audiences in schools and parks. In 2019, he co-founded the Kolmar Music Collective, a mixed ensemble that performs works of diverse and underrepresented composers. In the summer of 2021, he was a featured performer in a string quartet at the American Suzuki Institute in Stevens Point.
Willie has a performance degree from UW-Madison in violin. He studied viola performance at DePaul University and Northern Illinois University, where he was a teaching assistant to Tony Devroye. He currently maintains his own private studio of violinists and violists at Musette Strings, a music school he co-founded in 2023.
When he is not busy on the music scene, Willie enjoys experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, finding interesting hiking spots, and improving his swimming at park district pools.
Cellist ALEXA MUHLY holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music. Her major teachers include Aldo Parisot and Alan Harris. She has performed extensively in the United States, Canada, England, France, Germany, Hungary, and Lithuania, and is an active orchestral and chamber musician in the Chicago area. In recent seasons, she was the principal cellist of the Kalamazoo Symphony, and also appeared with the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Pine Mountain Music Festival. Ms. Muhly received early recognition as a first-prize winner in the Iowa Center for the Arts competition, as well as a prize winner in the Jugend Musiziert national competition in Germany…full artist bio of Alexa Muhly in the comment.
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