Chamber Music Athens Inaugural Festival comes to campus and community May 2019

The Hugh Hodgson School of Music is proud to present the inaugural season of Chamber Music Athens (CMA), a new festival with a national scope that will bring together internationally acclaimed guest artists, UGA faculty, and students for ten days of chamber music festivities and performances during the weeks of May 12-21, 2019.

Audiences will enjoy concerts in the acoustically splendid UGA Performing Arts Center as well as beautiful venues on and off the UGA campus, such as The Georgia Museum of Art, the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, the Seney-Stovall Chapel, the Hugh Hodgson School of Music, and Athens Institute for Contemporary Art (ATHICA.) Community members are also invited behind the scenes to enjoy open rehearsals, masterclasses, and panel discussions with guest artists and UGA faculty.

Athens has long been known as an important center for classical music. “Our festival puts the special art of chamber music front and center and brings world-class artists in even closer contact with HHSOM faculty and students, who will collaborate in performances and coaching, as well as the Athens community with performances in multiple beautiful venues around town,” says Liza Stepanova, assistant professor of piano at UGA. “Chamber music is all about sharing, conversation and collaboration, and this is the spirit of our festival,” she says.

The collaboration with guests artists is sure to bring about a great sense of professionalism musicianship, as the list of 2019 CMA Guest Artistsincludes the multi award-winning Jupiter String Quartet (Avery Fisher Career Grant, Banff International String Quartet Competition), the preeminent pianist Peter Frankl (Yale School of Music professor for three decades), the virtuosic violinist Soovin Kim (First Prize, Paganini International Competition in Genoa), and the leading young soprano Sarah Shafer (San Francisco Opera, Metropolitan Opera). In collaboration with the UGA Performing Arts Center, a recital by the New York Philharmonic String Quartetwill also be part of the festival on Thursday, May 16that 7:30 pm. UGA Faculty Artists include Michael Heald, violin, Maggie Snyder, viola, David Starkweather, cello, D Ray McClellan, clarinet, Jean Martin-Williams, horn, and pianists David Fung, Liza Stepanova, and Martha Thomas. Mark Cedel will be conducting and Mark Mobley will be narrating.

“Programs will feature well-loved masterworks along with hidden gems of the repertoire and a Georgia premiere of an important new work by George Crumb, an iconic American master,” says Stepanova. Each concert highlights a different aspect of collaboration. Several programs make connections with other arts and the concert venues: songs of spring and nature and Brahms's horn trio at the Botanical Garden, a reading from Leo Tolstoy's dramatic novella along with works by Janacek and Brahms at the Seney-Stovall Chapel, and art-inspired music at the Georgia Museum of Art. 

The festival’s Opening Concert will take place in Ramsey Hall on Sunday, May 12that 3 pm where the Jupiter String Quartet will be joined by Frankl and Fung for a performance of Mendelssohn, Schubert, and Dvorak. On Tuesday, May 14th, Sarah Shafer, the Jupiter String Quartet, Peter Frankl, Jean Martin-Williams, D Ray McClellan, and Liza Stepanova will perform a program entitled “Spring Will Come! Music of Nature”at 7:30 PM in The Day Chapel at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. On Wednesday, May 15 at 7:30 pm in the Seney-Stovall Chapel, the Jupiter String Quartet joined by Mark Mobley as narrator, Michael Heald, Maggie Snyder, and David Starkweather will perform music by Janacek and Brahmsin a program called Inspired by Romance: “Kreutzer Sonata.”Over the weekend, Liza Stepanova, Martha Thomas, and UGA graduate students will lead a panel discussion at 4 pm at The Georgia Museum of Art before the Georgia Premiere of Crumb’s art-inspired“Metamorphoses”: George Crumb at 90  at 5 pm on Saturday, May 18th. On Sunday, Schubert’s and Brahms’ Beloved Masterworks: Piano Quintets will be the program in Ramsey Hall at 3 pm. Performing will be Soovin Kim, Peter Frankl, members of the Jupiter String Quartet, Michael Heald, Maggie Snyder, David Starkweather, and Liza Stepanova.

On Monday, May 20th starting at 7 pm, the Hugh Hodgson School of Music Festival Student Recitalswill be happening off-campus at ATHICA (Athens Institute for Contemporary Art) located at 675 Pulaski Street, Suite 1200.This evening of performance will be student chamber groups presenting the results of a week of intense coaching. The Chamber Music Athens Festival will culminate in a Gala Finale: Concertos for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet featuring music by Mozart, Vivaldi, and Elgar. Performing will be Peter Frankl, Soovin Kim, Jupiter String Quartet, and the CMA String Orchestra, all under the baton of Mark Cedel.

The Hodgson School hopes that members of the Athens community will join in this exciting journey! Tickets are available through the PAC Box Office by calling 706-542-4400, or by visiting their website at https://pac.uga.edu/events/category/uga-school-of-music/chamber/. For more information about individual events and artists, please visit www.chambermusicathens.organd follow Chamber Music Athens on Facebook for photos and news throughout the event!

List of events:

Sunday, May 12, 2019, 3:00pm

Ramsey Concert Hall, UGA Performing Arts Center

Opening Concert

Mendelssohn, Schubert, and Dvorak

Jupiter String Quartet, Peter Frankl, David Fung

Tuesday, May 14, 2019, 7:30pm 
The Day Chapel at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia 

“Spring Will Come!”: Music of Nature

Amy Beach, Fanny Mendelssohn, Schubert, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, and Brahms

Sarah Shafer, Jupiter String Quartet, Peter Frankl, Jean Martin-Williams, D Ray McClellan, Liza Stepanova

Wednesday, May 15, 7:30pm           

Seney-Stovall Chapel

Inspired by Romance: “Kreutzer Sonata”

Janacek and Brahms
Jupiter String Quartet, Mark Mobley (narrator), Michael Heald, Maggie Snyder, David Starkweather

Thursday, May 16, 7:30pm 

Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall, UGA Performing Arts Center

New York Philharmonic String Quartet

Haydn, Shostakovich and Brahms

presented in collaboration with UGA Presents! (separate tickets needed)

Saturday, May 18, 2019, 5pm FREE

The Georgia Museum of Art
“Metamorphoses”: George Crumb at 90

Georgia Premiere of Crumb’s art-inspired “Metamorphoses” (2016)

Liza Stepanova, Martha Thomas, and UGA graduate students

Panel Discussion at 4PM

Sunday, May 19, 2019, 3:00pm

Ramsey Concert Hall, UGA Performing Arts Center

Beloved Masterworks: Piano Quintets

Schubert (“Trout” Quintet) and Brahms

Soovin Kim, Peter Frankl, members of the Jupiter String Quartet, Michael Heald, Maggie Snyder, David Starkweather, Liza Stepanova

Monday, May 20, 2019, 7:30pm FREE

Hugh Hodgson School of Music and ATHICA (Athens Institute for Contemporary Art)

Festival Student Recitals

Student chamber groups present the results of a week of intense coachings.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019, 7:30PM 
Ramsey Concert Hall, UGA Performing Arts Center

Gala Finale: Concertos for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet 

Mozart, Vivaldi, and Elgar
Peter Frankl, Soovin Kim, Jupiter String Quartet, Mark Cedel (conductor), CMA String Orchestra 

CMA 2019 ACADEMY MASTERCLASSES

All masterclasses will take place in Edge Hall, Hugh Hodgson School of Music, 10am-12pm.

Monday, May 13: Sarah Shafer, soprano http://www.sarahshafersoprano.com/

Tuesday, May 14: members of the Jupiter String Quartet: Nelson Lee, violin and Liz Freivogel, viola http://jupiterquartet.com/

Wednesday, May 15: Peter Frankl, piano https://music.yale.edu/2017/11/06/ysm-faculty-pianist-peter-frankl-retire-30-years-inspired-generations/

Thursday, May 16: members of the Jupiter String Quartet: Meg Freivogel, violin and Daniel McDonough, cello

Friday, May 17: Soovin Kim, violin https://necmusic.edu/faculty/soovin-kim