String Theory at the Hunter
Hunter Museum of American Art 10 Bluff View, City of Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403
String Theory at the Hunter, in partnership with Lee University, will continue its 2019-20 season with legendary clarinetist David Shifrin, soprano Hyunah Yu making her String Theory debut, and String Theory founder and pianist Gloria Chien. The performance will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 6:30 p.m. in the intimate setting of the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga.
Chien, artistic director, founded String Theory in 2009 with the mission of exposing new audiences to chamber music, invigorating the local classical music scene, and cultivating a future generation of music lovers.
The Tuesday evening concert will feature lullabies, clarinet sonatas, German lieder, and English songs. Pieces to be performed include “Two Nursery Rhymes” by Bliss, “Hirtenlied” by Meyerbeer, “Romanze” and “Shepherd on the Rock” by Schubert, and selections from Spohr’s “Sechs deutsche Lieder.”
Prior to the concert, Art Connection will take place at 5:30 p.m. Former Hunter Museum chief curator Ellen Simak and Maestro Robert Bernhardt, conductor emeritus of the Chattanooga Symphony and artist-in-residence at Lee University, will explore works from the museum collection that relate to the music featured in the evening’s concert.
Winner of the Avery Fisher Prize, Shifrin is in constant demand as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician collaborator. He has appeared with the Minnesota and Philadelphia orchestras, as well as the Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, and Seattle symphonies. He is a recipient of the Solo Recitalists’ Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and the 1998 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Music Academy of the West.
Shifrin served as artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for over 10 years, and he has been the artistic director of Chamber Music Northwest (CMN) in Portland, Oregon, since 1981. Beginning October 2020, Chien and her husband, violinist Soovin Kim, will succeed Shifrin as artistic directors for CMN.
Yu has garnered acclaim for her versatility in concert and opera roles, her work in chamber music, and for her recorded and broadcast performances. She has appeared regularly with esteemed conductors, festivals, and orchestras throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States. Yu was a prizewinner at the Walter Naumburg International Competition and a finalist in both the Dutch International Vocal and Concert Artist Guild International competitions.
Praised by the Strad for her “super performances…accompanied with great character,” Chien has emerged in recent years one of America’s finest young chamber musicians. She has participated in such festivals as Music Academy of the West, Verbier Music Festival, and Bay Chamber Concerts. She has also participated for 10 years at Music@Menlo, where she was appointed director of the Chamber Music Institute in 2010 by artistic directors David Finckel and Wu Han. Chien frequently appears with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and is a Steinway Artist. She also serves an artist-in-residence at Lee University.
Individual concert tickets are $35 for Hunter members, $45 for non-members, $10 for students with a valid student ID, and $25 for groups of 20 or more people.
For more information on String Theory at the Hunter or to purchase tickets, call (423) 414-2525 or visit http://stringtheorymusic.org