The Brookings Harbor Friends of Music partnering with the Partnership for the Performing Arts (PPA), opens its 2023 – 24 season of classical music Sept. 24.
All performances are 3 p.m. at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 102 Park Ave, Brookings.
Claire Huangci.
Courtesy from Mateusz Zahora, clairehuangchi.com
The opening performance is with internationally acclaimed pianist Claire Huangchi. Her repertoire ranges from Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schubert, and Beethoven to Gershwin. Huangchi has won many awards and is recognized by critics for qualities such as “radiant virtuosity, artistic sensitivity, keen interactive sense and subtle auditory dramaturgy.”
Following that recital, the PPA will present six more concerts with internationally renowned performers.
Cuarteto Latinamericano.
Courtesy from Cuarteto Latinamericano
The second production will be Cuarteto Latinamericano, Oct. 22. They are three-time recipients of Chamber Music America/ASCAP’s (American Society of Composers, Authors, and publishers) Most Adventurous Programming award.
The Cuarteto’s biography points out “we are not a mariachi band; we don’t play with ponchos or guitars, despite what many people ask. Instead we have made an almost forty-year-long career by mostly playing concert music by composers from countries south of the Rio Bravo. This music ‘the music of our continent’ is as varied as its culture, its geography, its food, and history. Some of these composers undoubtedly draw from Latin America’s rich popular music tradition, while others write music that sounds universal, and could have been written anywhere in the world. Having said that, it does seem that a lot of the Latin American repertoire prominently features rhythm (or so we are told). But in any case, our only criterion for selecting our Latin American repertoire is its artistic quality.”
Following the first two performances, five more are scheduled:
Nov 05. They are a prize-winning Danish-Latvian ensemble who bring unique and innovative chamber to their music audiences. They use carefully choreographed and dramatized performances of classical and modern works, designed to make music on stage visible, adding a new dimension to traditional concert events.
Jan 21. A San Francisco chamber music ensemble specializing in music performed on period instruments. They are extremely versatile, with experience in the Baroque, classical, and modern playing styles, dedicated to the text of the music they perform. They explore the classical repertoire on the instruments for which the music was composed.
Comprised of Chicago’s Lincoln Trio and the Black Oak Ensemble.
The honors, achievements, and critical acclaim garnered by the Lincoln Trio and the Black Oak Ensemble are described as having “achievements and acclaim too numerous to mention. The Lincoln Trio was nominated for a 2017 Grammy award for best performance by a small ensemble; their playing was praised by Joshua Kosman as “fervent and imaginative” and by The Strad as “sensational.” The Black Oak Ensemble’s latest CD reached #1 on the Billboard Classical Charts in July 2022.
In Mulieribus – Women’s Vocal Ensemble
Mar 10. In Mulieribus — the Latin phrase meaning “among women” — is a women’s vocal ensemble dedicated to strengthening community through the art of music. The ensemble specializes in works written before 1750 and champions new repertoire by women composers and for women’s voices.
May 19. Tutonov is widely recognized as one of the most outstanding piano virtuosos of the former Soviet Union. First Prize winner of the Belarusian National Piano Competition and winner of the Russian National Piano Competition, his playing was described as “exhilarating and inspired, and which demonstrated a unique talent”. His recording of the Abeliovich Piano Concerto was featured as part of the Emmy award winning soundtrack for the History Channel documentary, Russia: Land of Tsars.
Tutunov graduated magna cum laude from the Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory and University of North Texas. He was awarded his doctoral diploma with honors in concert performance from the Belarusian State Conservatory, He has taught at the Minsk College of Music, the University of North Texas, and Illinois Wesleyan University. He lives in Ashland, where he is Professor of Piano and Artist in Residence at Southern Oregon University.
All descriptions of the performers are from their websites, and have been altered for clarity and brevity.
There are also opportunities to support the organization or donate to its efforts.
