Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center returns to UNCSA

The acclaimed Chamber Music Society (CMS) of Lincoln Center will return to UNCSA next weekend to perform its second concert of the season. CMS Artistic Director Wu Han, piano, and UNCSA alumnus Richard O’Neill, viola, are among the performers.

 The concert is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24, in Watson Hall. Tickets are $25 regular and $20 student with valid ID and are available at uncsa.com/performances or by calling the box office at 336-721-1945. Watson Hall is located in the School of Music Complex on the UNCSA campus, 1533 South Main St. in Winston-Salem.

Wu Han performs with colleagues from CMSLC

The program includes Mozart’s Quartet in E-flat major for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, K. 493 (1786); Schubert’s Rondo in A major for Violin and String Quartet, D. 438 (1816); and Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto in D minor for Violin, Piano, and Strings (1823). Other performers on the concert include Benjamin Bielman, Kristen Lee and Sean Lee, violins; and Nicholas Canellakis, cello.

The performance is part of a multi-year partnership between the new Chrysalis Chamber Music Institute at UNCSA and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Announced in October 2015, the partnership includes at least two performances per season by CMS artists at UNCSA, master classes by visiting artists, and participation by Chrysalis Institute students in CMS master classes at Lincoln Center.  The first concert of the partnership took place Oct. 24.

“My colleagues in the School of Music are very excited about what this important partnership offers our students,” said Karen Beres, executive director of Chrysalis and interim dean of the School of Music. “The visit in October exceeded our wildest expectations, and we cannot wait to welcome the second group of visiting artists this month.”

Beres said the concert is a tremendous opportunity for local music lovers to hear chamber music performed by artists of the highest caliber in Watson Hall, which was designed specifically for chamber music by renowned acoustician Rein Pirn.

“Chamber music is more intimate than an orchestral performance,” Beres said. “You hear every note played by every musician, and you gain insight into the communication between the instrumentalists. Watson Hall is the perfect venue for hearing these exceptional musicians.”

In addition to the Sunday afternoon concert, master classes and coaching sessions are scheduled as follows:

Saturday, Jan. 23
3:30 to 5:30 p.m.: Wu Han (piano) and Nick Canellakis (cello) master classes in Watson Hall and Crawford Hall

7:30 to 9:30 p.m.: Sean Lee chamber coaching in Watson Hall

Sunday, Jan. 24
7:30 to 9:30 p.m.: Kristin Lee (violin) and Richard O’Neill (viola) master classes in Watson Hall and Crawford Hall

The master classes and coaching sessions are open to the public for viewing.

CMS is one of 11 constituents of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the largest performing arts complex in the world. Along with other constituents such as the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, Lincoln Center Theater, and The Metropolitan Opera, the Chamber Music Society has its home at Lincoln Center, in Alice Tully Hall – the finest hall in the world for chamber music. Through its performance, education, and recording/broadcast activities, it draws more people to chamber music than any other organization of its kind. The performing artists of CMS, a multi-generational and international selection of expert chamber musicians, constitute an evolving repertory company capable of presenting chamber music of every instrumentation, style, and historical period.

by Lauren Whitaker

Published: Jan. 13, 2016