Week devoted to chamber music
Tuesday, May 24, 2016 2:00 AM
News
Pittsburg, KS
Chamber music lovers will have a different event to choose from every day during the fourth annual Pittsburg Chamber Music Festival May 30-June 4.
“There will be something for everyone’s taste,” said Raul Munguia, festival director and member of the PSU Music Department faculty. “Our 2016 artists include well established ensembles in the region and many PSU music faculty and artists from Pittsburg, Joplin, Springfield, Kansas City, and Lawrence, among others.”
All of the festival events are free and open to the public.
Monday
The festival opens at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 30, with a recital by Piano Trio Con Spirito at the First United Methodist Church, Fourth and Pine. Formed in 2015, Piano Trio Con Spirito formed when three young musicians, all from different countries, came to the U.S. The group, which is based in Lawrence, Kan., features Yu-Fang Chen on violin, Hyerim Mapp on cello, and Soojin Jin on piano.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, May 31, the festival moves to the Linda & Lee Scott Performance Hall of the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts for a performance by the Kansas City Cello Quartet at 7:30 p.m. What makes this performance special is that both the performers and the audience will be seated together on the stage, giving the listeners a very personal chamber music experience.
Wednesday
The festival moves to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 306 W. Euclid, on Wednesday, June 1, for a performance at 7:30 p.m. by the Mosaic Vocal Ensemble. Based in Springfield, Mo., the ensemble is composed of Angela Holland, soprano; Lisa Marie Gerstenkorn, mezzo soprano; Matt Giles, tenor; Marvin Murphree, baritone and artistic director; and Danielle Ryan, pianist.
Thursday
On Thursday, June 2, the festival returns to the Bicknell Center, but this time the Dotty and Bill Miller Theater for a performance of “L'Histoire du soldat” (Soldier's Tale), one of the iconic works of composer Igor Stravinsky. The work will be narrated by PSU alumnus Logan Qualls.
Friday
Friday’s festival offering will be a concert by the Ozarks Baroque Players and the A Capriccio Ensemble at 7:30 p.m. on June 3 in the Bicknell Center’s Linda & Lee Scott Performance Hall. The ensemble’s program will perform Brandenburg’s Concerto No. 2 and Concerto No. 4, as well as the famous Mendelssohn String Octet.
Saturday
The festival will conclude on Friday, June 4, with an outdoor concert at 8 p.m. by the Summer Kicks Jazz Band, led by Bob Kehle, a professor in PSU’s Department of Music. Concertgoers are invited to bring lawn chairs and refreshments to enjoy jazz under the stars in the area in front of the Bicknell Center at the corner of Ford and Homer streets.
For information, call the PSU Department of Music at 620-235-4466.