Northwestern University Music in January

EVANSTON, Ill. --- A program devoted to works by Haydn, Shostakovich and Brahms, performed by the Lincoln String Quartet -- an ensemble comprised of current members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra -- will launch the 20th season of the Winter Chamber Music Festival on Northwestern University’s Evanston campus.

Presented by the University’s Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music, the (Jan. 8-Feb. 7) festival’s seven evenings of world-class artistry also will include performances by the Dover Quartet -- the Bienen School’s quartet-in-residence -- and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition-winning Jupiter Quartet. The Grammy-nominated chamber orchestra A Far Cry; the Zukerman Trio, led by renowned violinist, violist and conductor Pinchas Zukerman; and performances by outstanding members of the Bienen School’s music faculty and other guest artists are also among the 2016 festival’s highlights.

Other January events will feature appearances by leading guest artists, including lutenist Paul O’Dette, who will perform during a Jan. 23 Segovia Classical Guitar Series program.

Pianist Garrick Ohlsson, the Bienen School’s 2014 Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance recipient, will be the guest performer during a Jan. 29 Skyline Piano Artist Series program at the Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall, a new venue that offers state-of-the-art acoustics as well as a spectacular lakefront view of Chicago.

Post-holiday programs by Northwestern instrumental and choral student ensembles also are planned.

VENUES

All January programs listed below are open to the public. They will take place on Northwestern University’s Evanston campus at the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts’ Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall, and David and Carol McClintock Choral and Recital Room, 70 Arts Circle Drive; Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive; and Alice Millar Chapel, 1870 Sheridan Road, as noted. More information available online.

TICKETS

The Bienen School Ticket Office is located at the southeast entrance of Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Concert ticket prices are offered at three levels: the first for the general public and the second for full-time students with IDs. Northwestern faculty and staff with a valid Wildcard receive a 15 percent discount off the general public ticket price.

Winter Chamber Music Festival Subscriptions

Subscribers save up to 30 percent off single tickets and enjoy many other benefits; call 847-467-4000 for more details. More information available online.

SERIES BROCHURES/FURTHER INFORMATION

To join the Bienen School’s concerts and events list and receive a monthly events newsletter as well as special discount offers, send your email address to events.music@northwestern.edu.

JANUARY 2016 MUSIC EVENTS

• Winter Chamber Music Festival, Lincoln String Quartet, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. The Lincoln String Quartet has been a staple of the Chicago music scene since its founding in 1997. All four Lincoln String Quartet musicians are current members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The group will perform Haydn’s String Quartet No. 61 in D Minor (“Quinten”), Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 3 in F Major and Brahms’ String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor. Comprised of violinists Lei Hou and Qing Hou, violist Lawrence Neuman and cellist Kenneth Olsen, the quartet performs regularly at various Chicago venues, including Symphony Center, the Art Institute and Northwestern University. Single tickets are $30 for the general public and $10 for students with valid IDs. Learn more.

• Newberry Consort: Le Roman de Fauvel, 2 p.m. pre-concert lecture and 3 p.m. concert, Sunday, Jan. 10, Alice Millar Chapel. The medieval tale of Fauvel is preserved in poetry and music. The letters of his name stand for the vices Flattery, Avarice, Vileness, Fickleness, Envy and Laziness. His story tells of his rise to prominence in the French royal court and satirizes the hedonism, hypocrisy, and the excesses of the ruling orders, both secular and ecclesiastical. The Newberry Consort’s singers and instrumentalists, period images and supertitle translations bring Fauvel’s story to life. Performers will include medieval string player David Douglass; vocalist Ellen Hargis; vocalist, harpist and medieval winds player Debra Nagy; harpist, bagpiper and shawm (a double-reed instrument of the Middle Ages and Renaissance) player Christa Patton; medieval winds player Dan Stillman; and The Rookery, a Chicago men’s choral ensemble. Tickets are $40 ($5 discount if purchased in advance) for the general public and $5 for students with valid IDs. Learn more.

• Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble: Sound in Architecture, 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10, Ryan Center’s Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall. The ensemble continues the yearlong dedication of its new home with two iconic works, written five centuries apart, for the consecrations of two equally iconic buildings. Guillaume Dufay’s “Nuper rosarum flores” (“Recently garlands… adorned this temple”) of 1463 is echoed from a distance by Morton Feldman’s 1971 “Rothko Chapel” for viola, percussion and choir, written for the eponymous chapel in Houston, Texas. Offering its own grand architecture of 24 solo voices is Bo Holten's “In nomine” (1999), based on music of 16th-century English composer John Taverner. The ensemble will be conducted by Donald Nally, professor of conducting and ensembles. Tickets are $8 for the general public and $5 for students with valid IDs. Learn more.

• Winter Chamber Music Festival, Dover Quartet, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Since sweeping the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition and claiming three special prizes the Dover Quartet has catapulted to international stardom. The group has performed throughout Canada, South America, Europe and the United States. The Bienen School’s new quartet-in-residence is comprised of violinists Joel Link and Bryan Lee, violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt and cellist Camden Shaw. The quartet’s program includes Dvořák’s String Quartet No. 12 in F Major (“American”), Berg’s String Quartet and Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 7 in F Major. Single tickets are $30 for the general public and $10 for students with valid IDs. Learn more.

• Winter Chamber Music Festival, “An Evening of Shostakovich, Brahms and Fauré”  featuring Bienen School faculty members and guest artists, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Artists will include Bienen School violinist Gerardo Ribeiro, co-chair of the department of music performance; violist Carol Cook; pianist James Giles, coordinator of the piano program; clarinetist Steven Cohen, coordinator of the winds and percussion program; trumpeter Robert Sullivan, hornist Gail Williams and trombonist Randall Hawes. Joining them will be Chicago Symphony Orchestra cellist Brant Taylor and Lyric Opera of Chicago trumpeter William Denton. The performance will include Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor (arranged for brass quartet), Brahms’ Clarinet Trio in A Minor and Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor. Single tickets are $30 for the general public and $10 for students with valid IDs. Learn more.

• University Chorale: Home, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, Ryan Center’s Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall. The Bienen School’s University Chorale settles into its new Galvin Recital Hall home with works about longing for and remembering “home.” From Scottish folk songs to Bach’s great motets, over centuries and cultures, this shared nostalgia has inspired great music perfectly suited to Galvin's quiet stillness. The concert will be conducted by Bienen School faculty member Donald Nally and Hannah McConnell, a graduate assistant conductor. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with valid IDs. Learn more. 

• Winter Chamber Music Festival, Ashkenasi-Liu-Taylor Trio, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 17, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. The group includes violinist and Bienen School faculty member Shmuel Ashkenasi, Chicago Symphony Orchestra cellist Brant Taylor, and Chicago Chamber Musicians Ensemble pianist Meng-Chieh Liu. The trio’s program includes Schubert’s Rondo Brillant in B Minor and Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat Major as well as Busoni’s Violin Sonata No. 2 in E Minor. Single tickets are $30 for the general public and $10 for students with valid IDs. Learn more.

• Winter Chamber Music Festival, Jupiter String Quartet, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Winner of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Jupiter String Quartet is comprised of violinists Nelson Lee and Megan Freivogel, violist Liz Freivogel  and cellist Daniel McDonough. The group has performed across the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico and South America, including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Washington’s Library of Congress and Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes. Their program will feature Haydn’s String Quartet No. 63 in B-flat Major, Bartók’s String Quartet No. 4 and Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor. Single tickets are $30 for the general public and $10 for students with valid IDs. Learn more.

• Anthony McGill Chamber Music Master Class, 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, Ryan Center’s David and Carol McClintock Choral and Recital Room. Principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic and previously principal clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Anthony McGill is recognized as one of the classical music world's finest solo, chamber and orchestral musicians. He has appeared with the Guarneri, Tokyo, Pacifica and Miró quartets, and at the Tanglewood, Marlboro, Mainly Mozart, Music@Menlo and Santa Fe Chamber Music festivals. In 2009, he performed with Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma and Gabriela Montero at President Barack Obama’s inauguration. McGill serves on the faculties of the Juilliard School, Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, Bard College Conservatory of Music and Manhattan School of Music. Admission is free. Learn more.

• Segovia Classical Guitar Series, Paul O’Dette, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, Ryan Center’s Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall. Best known for his recitals and recordings of virtuoso solo lute music, Paul O’Dette has performed and conducted at festivals in Boston, Sweden, Paris, London, Barcelona, and many more locations throughout the world. He is an active member of Tragicomedia, a continuo ensemble acclaimed for its recordings and performances of 17th-century operas, cantatas and oratorios. O’Dette's more than 100 recordings include nominees for Grammy Awards and for Gramophone magazine's Record of the Year Award. The program will showcase his mastery of the music of English composer, virtuoso lutenist  and singer John Dowland. Tickets are $30 for general public and $10 for students with valid IDs. Learn more.

• Winter Chamber Music Festival, A Far Cry, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Founded in 2007 by a tightly-knit collective of 17 young professional musicians, A Far Cry’s cooperative approach to music has led to collaborations with artists Yo-Yo Ma, Jake Shimabukuro, Urbanity Dance, Roomful of Teeth and others. The Grammy-nominated chamber orchestra has received success internationally with hundreds of performances around the world. The group’s program will showcase Glass’ Symphony No. 3, Frank’s “Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout,” Villa-Lobos’ “Bachianas Brasileiras” No. 9 and Ginastera’s Concerto for Strings. Single tickets are $30 for the general public and $10 for students with valid IDs. Learn more.

• Jazz Small Ensembles: The Music of Joe Henderson, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27, Ryan Center’s David and Carol McClintock Choral and Recital Room. He was known as a giant on the tenor saxophone, but Joe Henderson was equally gargantuan as a composer. In this concert, students will perform new interpretations of some of the Henderson jewels that have become classics of the jazz canon. The program will be conducted by Joseph Clark and Bienen School jazz studies faculty member Jarrard Harris. Tickets are $6 for the general public and $4 for students with valid IDs. Learn more.

• Skyline Piano Artist Series, Garrick Ohlsson, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, Ryan Center’s Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall. Since winning the 1970 Chopin International Piano Competition, Garrick Ohlsson has established himself worldwide as a musician of masterful interpretive and technical prowess. He is the recipient of the 1994 Avery Fisher Prize, the 1998 University Musical Society Distinguished Artist Award, a 2008 Grammy Award, and the Bienen School’s 2014 Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance. Ohlsson’s concert highlights last season included performances of Scriabin sonatas as well as Busoni’s Piano Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. His Northwestern program features music inspired by paintings, including “Goyescas” by Granados and “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Mussorgsky. Single tickets are $30 for the general public and $10 for students with valid IDs. Learn more.

• Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 30, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. Victor Yampolsky, professor and director of orchestras, will conduct the orchestra in a performance of Moniuszko’s “Winter Tale,” Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7 in D Minor. Pianist Hyejin Joo will be the featured soloist. Tickets are $8 for the general public and $5 for students with valid IDs. Learn more.

• Winter Chamber Music Festival, Zukerman Trio, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 7, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. The Zukerman Trio -- comprised of Grammy-winning violinist Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Amanda Forsyth and pianist Angela Cheng -- has toured Italy, Spain, Japan, China, Korea, Australia, the United States and Canada since its founding in the summer of 2014. They will perform Dvořák’s Piano Trio No. 4 in E Minor (“Dumky”) and Beethoven’s Piano Trio in B-flat Major (“Archduke”). Single tickets are $35 for the general public and $10 for students. Learn more. 

More information is available online.