Chattanooga Times Free Press - ChattanoogaNow
String Theory opens eighth season of chamber concerts on new night
A change from Thursday to Tuesday nights isn’t the only difference as String Theory at the Hunter opens its eighth season.
The six world- class chamber music concerts, held within the Hunter Museum of American Art, will feature an unprecedented number of musicians and a collaboration with Lee University for a three-night ChamberFest.
“With the largest number of musicians and the biggest production, this is our most ambitious season to date,” says artistic director Gloria Chien, an award-winning classical pianist who founded the series in 2009.
The season kicks off Tuesday, Oct. 4, with clarinetist David Shifrin and Chien on piano.
Shifrin is one of only two wind instrument players to have been awarded the Avery Fisher Prize since the award’s inception in 1974. He is in constant demand as an orchestral soloist, recitalist and chamber music collaborator and has appeared with multiple symphonies across the United States and internationally.
Chien, who serves as an artist- in- residence at Lee University, is a prize winner of the World Piano Competition and the San Antonio International Piano Competition. She has been a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2012 and frequently plays at Alice Tully Hall in New York, as well as other venues around the country with CMS on Tour.
The series continues on Nov. 29 with guitarist Jason Vieaux and violinist Tessa Lark.
The next three concerts will feature artists making their Chattanooga debut: the Decoda Cello Quartet in January (also featured in the series’ annual Family Concert on Jan. 21); mandolinist Avi Avital and the Dover String Quartet in February; and Ricardo Morales in March, joining the Miro String Quartet and Chien. The February concert coincides with a collaboration with Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn., for a three-concert ChamberFest.
The season concludes in April with performances by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center on Tour, featuring the talents of debuting performer Gil Kalish on piano, baritone Randall Scarlata and percussionists Ian Rosenbaum, Ayano Kataoka, Christopher Froh and Andy Harnsberger.
In addition to performances, String Theory also offers Art Connections and Musical Dialogues.
Musical Dialogues, scheduled for the October, November, March and April concerts, takes place at 6 p.m. from the concert stage and features in-depth conversations with the artists on their lives, inspirations and the masterpieces to be performed.
Art Connections, scheduled in January and February, gives String Theory attendees the opportunity to visit the Hunter galleries an hour before the concerts to hear former chief curator Ellen Simak and Chattanooga Symphony & Opera conductor emeritus Robert Bernhardt discussing works from the museum collection that relate to the evening’s featured music.