Cuarteto Latinamericano Strings to Offer Passionate Mix for Valentine’s Concert

CHESTERTOWN, MD—The award-winning string ensemble Cuarteto Latinoamericano will offer a Valentine’s treat for music lovers as the 60th annual Washington College Concert Series continues Tuesday, February 14 at 8 p.m. in Decker Theatre, Gibson Center for the Arts.

Formed in Mexico in 1982, the acclaimed Cuarteto consists of the three Bitrán brothers—violinists Saúl and Arón and cellist Alvaro—along with violist Javier Montiel. The group is known around the world as the leading proponent of Latin American music for string quartet. At Washington College, they will mix that music with beloved pieces from European and American composers Mozart, Barber and Gershwin.

The program will include “Four for Tango” by Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla, and pieces from Brazilian composers Francisco Mignone (Barcarola, Minuetto, Tres Canciones Españolas) and Heitor Villa-Lobos (String Quartet No. 5) plus George Gershwin’s Lullaby, Samuel Barber’s Adagio from Quartet Opus 11, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Adagio and Fugue in C minor K. 546.

Tickets at $15 for adults and $5 for students (Washington College students free with ID) will be available at the door. There is no reserved seating.

The Washington Post praised Cuarteto Latinamericano as “matchless in tonal magnitude, tuneful fluency and concentrated teamwork.” The group has toured extensively around the world and been featured with many orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, the Orquesta Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México, the Dallas Symphony and the Símón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela.

The four musicians also have collaborated with many other artists, including cellist Janos Starker, pianists Santiago Rodriguez, Cyprien Katsaris and Rudolph Buchbinder, tenor Ramon Vargas, and guitarists Narciso Yepes, Sharon Isbin, David Tanenbaum and Manuel Barrueco. They recorded two CDs with Barrueco and have commissioned guitar quintets from American composers Miguel del Aguila, Michael Daugherty and Gabriela Lena Frank. For more on the quartet: http://www.cuartetolatinoamericano.com/en/

To purchase tickets in advance or learn more about the Washington College Concert Series, please call 410-778-7839, email director Kate Bennett at kbennett2@washcoll.edu, or visit http://news.washcoll.edu/concertseries.php.

Duo Orfeo Brings Innovative Guitar Music to Washington College Friday, November 11

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Innovative guitar pair Duo Orfeo will perform Friday, November 11 at 8 p.m. in Hotchkiss Recital Hall, Gibson Center for the Arts, as part of the 60th season of the Washington College Concert Series. Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for youth 18 and under, or $50 for a season ticket that includes all four remaining concerts, and can be purchased at the door. Washington College students are admitted free with a valid ID.

Joseph Ricker and Jamie Balmer met in 2001 as students of guitarist Phillip de Fremery, a pupil of Andrés Segovia, and formed Duo Orfeo six years later. They use both classical and electric guitars to explore a diverse body of music, from traditional western compositions to their own bold arrangements. The pair has recorded two albums, The Grace Sessions, a 2005 recording that includes music of Bach, Brahms, Boccherini and Albéniz; and Duo Orfeo, featuring music of Federico Mompou, Eric Satie, Frédéric Chopin, Radamés Gnattali, and Francesco Da Milano.

In April of this year, Duo Orfeo participated in the critically acclaimed “Machines” project, a live performance art collaboration with pianist Oni Buchanan, trombone quartet The Guidonian Hand, and kinetic sculptor Arthur Ganson. “Machines” featured the world premiere of Duo Orfeo’s arrangements of the music of Arvo Pärt for electric guitar duo. For more: http://www.duoorfeo.com/.

To purchase tickets in advance or for more information, please call 410-778-7839 or email concert series director Kate Bennett at kbennett2@washcoll.edu. Details on the remaining concerts in the series can be found at http://news.washcoll.edu/concertseries.php.

Violinist Lisa Shihoten and Pianist Wei-Yi Yang Close Concert Series Season at Washington College

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Violinist Lisa Shihoten and pianist Wei-Yi Yang conclude the 2010-11 Washington College Concert series on Friday evening, April 15, at 8 p.m. in Hotchkiss Recital Hall. Tickets are available at the door at $15 per person, $5 for those age 18 and under. Washington College students are admitted free with a valid campus ID.

Lisa Shihoten made her New York solo debut at Avery Fisher Hall with the Juilliard Orchestra under the direction of Kurt Masur and today enjoys an active career as a chamber musician, recitalist, and teacher. She tours throughout Israel, Greece, Turkey and the United States, appearing frequently with the ensemble Concertante, the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players or organist Ken Cowan. She has participated in the Caramoor, Ravinia, Verbier and Aspen Music Festivals. With a bachelor’s degree from the Juilliard School and a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music, she now teaches at Princeton University.

Pianist Wei-Yi Yang has performed on four continents and in prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Kumho Art Hall (Seoul), and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music (Glasgow). Winner of numerous prizes and fellowships, Mr. Yang in 2001 co-founded the award-winning Soyulla Ensemble, which released a CD on the Renegade Classics label. Born in Taiwan of Chinese and Japanese heritage, Yang studied with Russian pianist Arkady Aronov at New York City's Manhattan School of Music. He earned his doctorate in musical arts from Yale University, where he now teaches.

Hotchkiss Recital Hall is located in the Gibson Center for the Arts on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue. For more information, call 410-778-7839, email kbennett2@washcoll.edu, or visit http://news.washcoll.edu/concertandfilmseries.php.

Pianist Valenti Performs Friday for Washington College Concert Series

CHESTERTOWN—Accomplished Chicago-based pianist Mark Valenti will perform Friday evening, March 4, at 8 o’clock as part of the Washington College Concert Series. His performance will take place in Decker Theatre, Gibson Center for the Arts, on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue. The program will include pieces by Aaron Copland and Jon Fisher, along with Debussy’s Estampes and Beethoven’s Sonata no. 28 in A Major, op. 101.

Valenti holds a bachelor of music degree from the Philadelphia Musical Academy and a master of music degree from Northwestern University and has studied with Benjamin Whitten, Zoltan Kocsis and Mary Sauer. Formerly Professor of Music at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Xavier University in Chicago and the Loire Valley Music Institute in France, he now teaches at his private studio in Chicago.

He has soloed in cities throughout the U.S. and has performed in France, Belgium, Hungary and Luxembourg. He also has worked extensively in jazz, including performances with Gregory Hines, Frank Foster and Al Grey. For more: http://www.markvalenti.com/

Tickets, available at the door, are $15 for adults and $5 for youth ages 18 and under. Washington College students are admitted free with a valid ID.

Concert Series Welcomes Pianist Paul Maillet & Friends January 25th

Chestertown, MD, January 4, 2002 — The Washington College Concert Series begins the New Year with a performance by accomplished American pianist Paul Maillet, accompanied by cello, violin and clarinet, Friday, January 25, 2002, at 8:00 p.m. in the College's Tawes Theatre, Gibson Performing Arts Center. This golden anniversary season of the Washington College Concert Series is dedicated to its cofounders Helen S. Gibson of Chestertown, wife of the late Daniel Z. Gibson, president of the College from 1950 to 1970, and the late Robert L. Forney of Chestertown, who chaired the concert series committee and supported it financially for many years.

Paul Maillet has received enthusiastic acclaim for his performances worldwide and played soloist with orchestras in Europe, North America, Asia and South America. Winner of numerous competitions, Maillet studied piano at the Eastman School with Cecile Genhart and with Leon Fleisher and Leonard Shure at the Peabody Institute. He currently studies with Dorothy Taubman and is a regular performer and faculty member of the Taubman Institute-Amherst Music Festival.

With him this performance are Sheng-Tsung Wang on violin, Louis Bianco on clarinet, and Benjamin Myers on cello. One of the pieces that they will perform will be Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time," written in 1941 when the French patriot and composer was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp.

Single admission tickets for the Washington College Concert Series are available at the Tawes Theatre box office before performances and are $15.00 for adults and $5.00 for youth 18 years of age and under. Season tickets are available for $50.00 and single patronage sponsorships begin at $75.00. Season tickets can be purchased by check or money order from the Washington College Concert Series, 300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, MD 21620-1197. For information or a season program brochure, call 410-778-7839.

Pianist Inna Faliks to Perform September 23

50th Season of Concert Series Honors Founders

Chestertown, MD, August 6, 2001 — The Washington College Concert Series opens its 2001-2002 season with a performance by accomplished young pianist Inna Faliks on Sunday, September 23, 2001, at 4:00 p.m. in the College's Tawes Theatre. This first concert in the series' fiftieth season is dedicated to Helen S. Gibson of Chestertown, one of the founders of the Concert Series and wife of the late Daniel Z. Gibson, president of the College from 1950 to 1970.

Born in Odessa, Ukraine, American pianist Inna Faliks currently works with Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory and has soloed with orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony and Concert Artists of Baltimore. Called "a delight to hear" and "warmly poetic" by Baltimore Sun critic Phil Greenfield, Ms. Faliks has been invited to record her debut CD of mostly Beethoven works for the Connoisseur Society label in 2002.

As a National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist, Ms. Faliks has been presented in recitals and orchestral appearances around the country for the past two seasons. Most recently, she performed in the Chautauqua Festival and Brevard Festival, completed a tour of Arkansas and Kentucky, and gave her European debut in Toulouse, France.

Single admission tickets for the Washington College Concert Series are available only at the Tawes Theatre box office before performances and are $15.00 for adults and $5.00 for youth 18 years of age and under. Season tickets are available for $50.00 and single patronage sponsorships begin at $75.00. Tickets are available by check or money order from the Washington College Concert Series, 300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, MD 21620-1197. For information or a season program brochure, call 410-778-7839 or email kate.bennett@washcoll.edu.

Pianist Rachel Franklin to Perform May 3

Chestertown, MD, April 20, 2001 — The Washington College Concert Series closes its 2000-2001 season by hosting accomplished pianist Rachel Franklin on Thursday, May 3, 2001 at 8:00 p.m. in the College's Tawes Theatre.

As a Pro Musicis International Award winner, British pianist Franklin has given solo debuts in the Carnegie Recital Hall, New York, and Jordan Hall, Boston, as well as European Pro Musicis solo debuts in Paris and Rome. Franklin, who studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School with Vlado Perlemuter and Louis Kentner, has garnered glowing reviews on both sides of the Atlantic. Her style combines impeccable fingerwork, sensitivity to the unique architecture of each piece, and a wide range of dynamic gradations, and she has earned admiration for her meticulous yet nuanced performances that remain alive and responsive to phrasing, dynamics and rubato.

An accomplished jazz pianist as well, Franklin has performed with many jazz ensembles and has broadcast solo jazz on BBC Radio 3. Much in demand as a teacher, performer and speaker, Franklin is a faculty member at the University of Maryland and an associate faculty member at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. She gives courses and lectures for many organizations including the Smithsonian Associate Program, the Levine School, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra.

The Washington College Concert Series is now in its 49th season. Single admission tickets are available only at the box office before performances and are $12.00 for adults and $5.00 for youth 18 years of age and under. For season tickets, inquire at the box office on performance night or write the Washington College Concert Series, 300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, MD 21620-1197. For further information, call 410-778-7839.

Concert Series Hosts Amsterdam Guitar Trio

Chestertown, MD, March 15, 2001 — The Washington College Concert Series will host the Amsterdam Guitar Trio on Sunday, April 8, 2001 at 4:00 p.m. in the College's Tawes Theatre.

The Dutch trio has earned international fame and has been lauded as "one of the very finest guitar ensembles in the world" by Gramophone magazine.

The Trio's international success is a result of virtuoso musicianship and unique presentation. Over the years, the Trio has premiered dozens of new works ranging from the intimate oriental sounds of Dnu Huntrakal (Thailand) or Akira Nishimura (Japan), to the breathtaking compositions of Chiel Meyering (Holland) and David Dramm (USA).

At the same time, the Trio is known for its ability to cast a fresh light on music originally written for other instruments, rearranging them for three guitars. The Trio's transcription and recording of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons won them an Edison Award. Now in its 23rd year, the Trio continues to perform worldwide and appears regularly in major concert halls such as Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, London's Wigmore Hall, Berlin's Neue Philharmonie, Los Angeles' Ambassador Auditorium, and New York's Carnegie Hall.

The Washington College Concert Series is now in its 49th season. Single admission tickets are available only at the box office before performances and are $12.00 for adults and $5.00 for youth 18 years of age and under. Season tickets cost $40.00 per person and can be purchased at the box office on performance nights or by mail from the Washington College Concert Series, 300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, MD 21620-1197. For further information, call 410-778-7839.