Grammy-nominated percussionist and Eastman School of Music graduate John Hollenbeck, the Juilliard and Jerusalem Quartets, and the rising young stars of the Metropolitan Opera are among the artists headlining the Eastman-Ranlet and Kilbourn Concert Series next season. The line-ups for 2015-2016, along with a solo recital by renowned pianist Sir András Schiff, were announced by the Eastman School of Music.
The new season of the Eastman-Ranlet Series of string concerts kicks off with the Jerusalem Quartet on Sunday, Oct. 18. In existence since 1993, the quartet plays a variety of fare, typically mixing works from varying periods ranging from the 18th century to contemporary works. The Ying Quartet, Eastman’s quartet-in-residence, presents the first of their two traditional series recitals on Sunday, Nov. 15. The Juilliard String Quartet, in existence for nearly seven decades, will perform on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016. The Ying Quartet returns to close out the series season on Sunday, March 20, 2016.
The Principal Brass, a quintet of principal brass players from the New York Philharmonic, opens the Kilbourn Concert Series on Sunday, Sept. 27. Hollenbeck, an inventive genre-bending percussionist and composer, returns to his alma mater with his Large Ensemble to perform in the series on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Tre Voci, whose concerts and recordings featuring viola, harp, and flute have been described as “ravishing” and “transfixingly beautiful,” appear on the Kilbourn Hall stage on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Yarn/Wire, a new music group composed of two pianists and two percussionists and based in New York City, is featured on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, and the Metropolitan Opera Rising Stars close out the series season on March 22, 2016.
A prolific recording artist and tireless performer, Sir András Schiff will be featured in a stand-alone concert on Monday, Feb. 22, 2016.
Season subscription sales for the Eastman-Ranlet and Kilbourn Concert series go on sale Wednesday, April 1, at 10 a.m. Subscription packages can be purchased at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 433 East Main St., in the Eastman East Wing; by phone, 585-454-2100; fax, 585-454-7885; or online at eastmantheatre.org. Any remaining single tickets—Eastman-Ranlet series subscriptions almost sold out last year—will go on sale Aug. 31.
Both series take place in Kilbourn Hall. Ticket costs and additional performer information on the concerts follow:
Eastman-Ranlet Series
Subscription packages for the Eastman-Ranlet Series range from $42 to $74 for renewing subscribers, students, and UR ID holders; and from $68 to $95 for new subscribers. Combination subscription packages for both the Ranlet and Kilbourn series purchased together range from $80 to $130 for renewing subscribers, students and UR ID holders, and from $100 to $155 for new subscribers.
*Sunday, Oct. 18: Jerusalem Quartet, 3 p.m.
Formed while its members were still in high school, the Jerusalem Quartet has become one of the most in-demand string quartets of its generation, touring and performing in major venues throughout the world. Their recordings have garnered numerous awards, including the Diapason d’Or Arte, an ECHO Klassik Award, a Gramophone magazine Editor’s Choice, and a BBC Music Magazine Chamber Music Choice. In 2003 the Quartet received the first Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.
*Sunday Nov. 15, 2015: Ying Quartet, 3 p.m.
The Ying Quartet has appeared in many of the world’s most important concert venues, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. Its recordings reflect many of the group’s wide-ranging musical interests and have generated consistent acclaim. The quartet’s Telarc release of the three Tchaikovsky Quartets and the Souvenir de Florence was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Chamber Music Performance category. Its collaboration with the Turtle Island Quartet, Four + 4, explored common ground between the classic string quartet tradition and jazz and other American vernacular styles, and won a Grammy Award in 2005.
*Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016: Juilliard String Quartet, 3 p.m.
Founded in 1946, the Juilliard String Quartet is known as the quintessential America string quartet. The ensemble was the first to play all six Bartok quartets, its performances of Schoenberg’s quartets helped establish the works as cornerstones of the modern string quartet literature, and members work closely with composers on new commissions. The group has won several Grammys and was the first classical music ensemble to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. The string quartet-in-residence at the Juilliard School, the ensemble offers classes and open rehearsals when on tour.
*Sunday, March 20: Ying Quartet, 3 p.m.
Through its ongoing LifeMusic commissioning project, supported by the Institute for American Music, the Quartet has commissioned works from both established and emerging composers to expand the string quartet repertoire with works that reflect contemporary American life. Michael Torke, Kevin Puts, Paquito D’Rivera, Paul Moravec, Lowell Liebermann, Bernard Rands, Pierre Jalbert, Sebastian Currier, and Carter Pann are only some of the renowned composers and musicians who have written for LifeMusic.
Kilbourn Concert Series
Subscription packages for the Kilbourn Concert Series range from $42 to $74 for renewing subscribers, students, and UR ID holders; and from $68 to $95 for new subscribers. Combinations subscription packages for both the Kilbourn and Ranlet series purchased together range from $80 to $130 for renewing subscribers, students and UR ID holders, and from $100 to $155 for new subscribers.
*Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015: The Principal Brass, 3 p.m.
Since its debut in 1983, The Principal Brass has performed in cities throughout the United States, Mexico, China, Brazil, Japan, and other countries. Composed of the principal brass players from the New York Philharmonic, the quintet is also a regular encore feature on the Philharmonic’s tours of Europe, South America, Asia, and the United States, as well as the orchestra’s residencies in Cagliari, Italy, and Vail, Colorado.
*Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015: John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, 8 p.m.
As a percussionist, John Hollenbeck (BM ’90 and MM ’91) is best known for leading the Claudia Quintet and the twice-Grammy-nominated John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble. As a composer, Hollenbeck writes music that draws from the traditions of jazz and of new music and has been nominated for Grammys for composition and for arranging. His albums are at the top of DownBeat and Critics’ Poll lists. His honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, ASCAP Jazz Vanguard Award, and Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. Since 2005, he has been a professor of Jazz Drums and Composition at Jazz Institute Berlin.
*Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015: Tre Voci, 8 p.m.
Tre Voci is composed of three artists who have each been acknowledged for bringing a unique voice to their instruments. Grammy-award winning violist Kim Kashkashian, flautist Marina Piccinini, and harpist Sivan Magen met at the Marlboro Music Festival in 2010. Having discovered an unusually powerful common voice, they decided that their collaboration shouldn’t be limited to one summer only. Tre Voci has since performed across the United States, Mexico, and Europe, with a wide-ranging repertoire that includes many of their own transcriptions, traditional repertoire, and newly commissioned works. In the fall of 2014 they released a recording of works by Debussy, Takemitsu and Gubaidulina, on ECM New Series. Tre Voci’s appearance is made possible by the Emily Lowenfels Oppenheimer Guest Artist Fund.
*Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016: Yarn/Wire, 8 p.m.
Founded in 2005, Yarn/Wire is a chamber quartet specializing in the performance of 20th and 21st century music. The ensemble will be premiering a work by composer and Eastman faculty member Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon during this concert. The instrumental combination of two percussionists and two pianists allows the ensemble flexibility to slip effortlessly between classics of the repertoire and modern works that continue to forge new boundaries. Yarn/Wire has collaborated with genre-bending artists such as Two-Headed Calf, Pete Swanson, and Tristan Perich.
*Tuesday, March 22, 2016: MET Rising Vocal Stars, 8 p.m.
The Metropolitan Opera Rising Stars Concert Series offers opera fans across North America an opportunity to see remarkable young artists on the cusp of their careers. Some of today’s leading artists got their first big break by winning the company’s national auditions, as members of the young artist program, or by catching the attention of Met talent scouts. Eastman alumna Renée Fleming, Stephanie Blythe, Susan Graham, Deborah Voigt, and Thomas Hampson are just a few of the major artists to have come through the Met ranks.
Special Presentation:
Monday, Feb. 22, 2016: Sir András Schiff, 8 p.m.
Tickets to Sir András Schiff’s recital range from $25 to $50 (discounts for subscribers and with student and UR ID). Tickets will go on sale April 10 to series subscribers and existing subscribers who have already renewed. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on May 1.
Sir András Schiff, a world-renowned and critically acclaimed pianist, conductor, and pedagogue, will perform a solo recital. From 2012 to 2014, he toured with his “Bach Project,” comprising six Bach recitals and an orchestral week of Bach, Schumann, and Mendelssohn with Schiff at the piano and on the podium. His most recent tour, “The Last Sonatas,” was a series of three recitals comprising the final three sonatas of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. His recordings include the complete solo piano music of Beethoven and Janácek, two solo albums of Schumann piano pieces, the Bach Partitas, and Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations. Schiff was awarded a Knighthood by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in June 2014. Sir András Schiff’s appearance is made possible by the Fernando Laires Piano Fund.
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