About the performers
› Ricardo Morales: The principal clarinetist of the Philadelphia Orchestra was previously principal clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He has performed as guest principal clarinet with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic and with the Berlin Philharmonic. In addition to performances that have taken him to major venues around the world, he serves on the faculties of The Juilliard School, Temple University and the Curtis Institute of Music.› Miró Quartet: One of the world’s most celebrated string quartets, the Austin, Texas-based ensemble features founding member Daniel Ching (violin), William Fedkenheuer (violin), John Largess (viola) and founding member Joshua Gindele (cello). The New Yorker has hailed the quartet as “furiously committed,” and the Cleveland Plain-Dealer noted the musicians’ “exceptional tonal focus and interpretive intensity.”› Gloria Chien: She began playing piano at age 5 in her native Taiwan. A Steinway artist, she has earned a reputation as a “a coat-of-many-colors pianist.” She is artist-in-residence at Lee and has been a member of the music faculty since 2004. She is the director of the Chamber Music Institute at Music@Menlo, a chamber music festival and institute in the San Francisco Bay area and has participated there for 10 years. She has been a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2012 and was recently named co-artistic director with Soovin Kim of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, Vt.
Clarinetist Ricardo Morales
Pianist Gloria Chien
A three-day chamber music festival at Lee University will open and close on the Cleveland, Tenn., campus next week, bookending a String Theory concert at the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga.
The ChamberFest is the final installment of the university's Presidential Concert Series, which is marking its 25th anniversary season. All three of the scheduled concerts, Monday through Wednesday, March 13-15, will feature clarinetist Ricardo Morales, the Miró String Quartet and pianist Gloria Chien. Over the three days, they'll perform music by Prokofiev, Brahms, Weber, Mozart and Dvorak.
Chien, artist-in-residence at Lee, founded String Theory in 2009 and serves as its artistic director. Its mission is to bring acclaimed chamber musicians from around the world to perform in the intimate setting of the Hunter Museum, which co-sponsors the series with Lee University.
SCHEDULE
Monday, March 13
The opening performance will include Prokofiev's Overture on Hebrew Themes, Brahms' String Quartet No. 1 and Brahms' Piano Quartet, No. 3.
Music will start at 7:30 p.m. in Pangle Hall, 340 N. Church St. in Cleveland.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for seniors and children. They are available at the Lee University box office in the Dixon Center, 1053 Church St. NE, or by calling 423-614-8343 from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Tuesday, March 14
The String Theory performance will feature Weber's Grand Duo Concertante and Clarinet Quintet.
Music will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Hunter Museum, 10 Bluff View in Chattanooga.
The concert will be preceded by Art Connection at 5:30 p.m. in the museum gallery. Former chief curator Ellen Simak and Robert Bernhardt, conductor emeritus of the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, will explore works from the museum collection that relate to the music featured in the performance.
Tickets are $30 for Hunter members, $40 for nonmembers, $10 for students with a valid student ID and $25 for groups of 20 or more. To purchase, call 423-414-2525 or visit www.stringtheorymusic.org.
Wednesday, March 15
The closing performance will feature Mozart's Clarinet Quintet and Dvorak's Piano Quintet.
Music starts at 7:30 p.m. in Squires Recital Hall in the Humanities Building, 1250 Parker St. NE in Cleveland.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for seniors and children. They are available at the Lee University box office in the Dixon Center, 1053 Church St. NE, or by calling 423-614-8343 from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Earlier in the day, at 1:30 p.m., Morales will lead a free master class in Squires Recital Hall. Students from the studio of Nick Hartline and Lee's Will Casada will perform.
For more information about ChamberFest's Lee performances, contact Kristi Vanoy at 423-614-8243 or kvanoy@leeuniversity.edu.