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North Georgia College & State University
06/18/2012 | Press release
North Georgia Chamber Music Festival continues this weekend
distributed by noodls on 06/18/2012 18:36
(June 18, 2012) - The inaugural North Georgia Chamber Music Festival kicked off Friday night with special guest Sarah Zaslaw of Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB), opening up the festival that is bringing world-class musicians to North Georgia College & State University this month.
| The Vega String Quartet performed Friday night in the Gloria Shott Performance Hall at North Georgia College & State University. |
"What a boon for local music lovers, to get to hear some of our state's finest musicians playing superlative music. And how wonderful for out-of-towners like me to have an excuse to spend a weekend here," Zaslaw, host of GPB's daytime classical music program Midday Music, said. "All credit to Cecylia Arzewski for getting this started. … It was her vision to develop this event, the North Georgia Chamber Music Festival, a chance for people to come experience the powerful intimacy of chamber music together."
Arzewski, violinist and former concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, is the festival's artistic director. She left the symphony in 2008 to concentrate on teaching, performing and recording projects and now lives in Dahlonega. She was honored with the Hambidge Distinguished Artist Award for 2009.
The festival's opening night featured The Vega String Quartet, the quartet in residence at Emory University since 2006, performing pieces by Haydn, Beethoven and Mendelssohn. Considered on the cutting edge of chamber music ensembles, the group has been praised by the L.A. Times and the New York Times and has performed in venues such as the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.
On Sunday afternoon, three musicians from the Atlanta Symphony -- Kenn Wagner, Olga Shpitko and Yang-Yoon Kim -- were joined by Charae Krueger, principal cellist with the Atlanta Opera and Atlanta Ballet orchestras, for the first of three performances in the festival. Krueger also plays frequently with the Atlanta Symphony. On Sunday, the four performed works by Bach, Mozart and Beethoven.
The four will perform this weekend in the remaining two concerts of the festival, and will be joined by renowned pianist William Ransom for the final concert of the festival on Sunday, June 24.
Ransom has collaborated with musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma, Richard Stoltzman, William Preucil, Robert McDuffie, and Stephen Isserlis. As a master teacher, he has also performed and given master classes at numerous schools of music and universities around the world. He is the Mary Emerson Professor of Piano at Emory University, where he is director of piano studies.
Friday night's performance will include works by Beethoven, Handel and Debussy, while Sunday's finale will includes Stravinsky's Suite italienne and Brahms' Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34, featuring Ransom on piano.
For more information about the festival, including directions and accommodations, visit the website at www.northgeorgia.edu/chambermusic. Tickets also may be purchased online via the website. Tickets are $30 for each of the remaining two concerts, or a discounted ticket package is available for both.
