Sweeney Concert Hall in Sage Hall | Smith College

Tickets $20/15
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Lyra Music students give the final performance of the 2016 Lyra Music Festival & Workshop.

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to hold a violin or play a cello?  Lyra Music and Stamell Stringed Instruments are bringing their Instrument Petting Zoo to you! Join us for an up close and hands-on exploration of the classical string family. We will have violins, violas and cellos available for children and families to enjoy through guided exploration with Stamell String mentors: stamellstring.com

Our Petting Zoo will be followed by a "just-right" concert performed by kids for kids as the musicians from Lyra Music Workshop's Young Artists Program present solo works and Schumann's Piano Quartet. Please join us for a very special introduction to the world of classical music! 

This special event is free with paid museum admission.
carlemuseum.org

Lyra Music students perform a free event at Lathrop Retirement Community.

Lyra Music students perform special music for Sunday service.

Sweeney Concert Hall in Sage Hall | Smith College

Tickets $20/$15
BUY TICKETS

Tickets available at the door and online.
Doors open approximately 30 minutes prior to the event.
Contact us for group discounts of 10 or more people.

Franz Liszt | Hungarian Rhapsody No.2

Akiko Sasaki, piano; Mary Prescott, piano

Felix Mendelssohn | Piano Trio No.2, in c minor,  Op.66

Anthony Berner, violin; Eric Eaton, cello; Vanessa May-Lok Lee, piano

Zoltán Kodály | Duo for violin and cello, Op.7

Peter Rovit, violin; Julia MinJeong Kang, cello

Lyra Music students perform a free event at Rockridge Senior Residences.

Lyra Music students perform a free event at the Northampton Senior Center.

Sweeney Concert Hall in Sage Hall | Smith College

Tickets $20/$15
BUY TICKETS

Tickets available at the door and online.
Doors open approximately 30 minutes prior to the event.
Contact us for group discounts of 10 or more people.

PROGRAM
Debussy | Suite Bergamasque
Prokofiev | Three Pieces from Romeo and Juliet
Prokofiev | Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Opus 28
Debussy | L’isle joyeuse
Prokofiev | Sarcasm
Prokofiev | Two Fugitive Visions
Prokofiev | Diabolic Suggestions
Debussy | Cloches à travers les feuilles from Images
Debussy | Jardins sous la pluie from Estampes
Debussy | Rêverie
Prokofiev | Toccata

BIOGRAPHY
Frederic Chiu's intriguing piano-playing and teaching springs from a diverse set of experiences and interests: his Asian/American/European background, his musical training, and an early and ongoing exploration of artificial intelligence and human psychology, especially the body-mind-heart connection.

With over 20 CDs on the market, his repertoire includes the complete work of Prokofiev as well as popular classics of Chopin, Liszt and others, and lesser known masterpieces of Mendelssohn and Rossini, with a special place for the piano transcription. Many have been singled out, such as "Record of the Year" by Stereo Review, "Top 10 recordings" by the New Yorker, with raves from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. His most recent recordings demonstrate his wide range: Beethoven/Liszt Symphony V, Carnival of the Animals with David Gonzalez, and Hymns and Dervishes, music by Gurdjieff/de Hartmann.  (hymnsanddervishescd.com)

A new recording on the Yamaha Entertainment Group label, released in 2015, is a long-awaited recording of the music of Debussy, along with world premieres of work by Chinese composer Gao Ping. This recording breaks new ground, introducing the first Classical recording to the YEG catalogue. The performance will be released in Audio CD, DVD and DisklavierTV formats.

Frederic Chiu has toured in Europe and the US with the Orchestre de Bretagne and Stefan Sanderling. He has played with the Hartford Symphony, Dayton Philharmonic, Kansas City Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, BBC Concert Orchestra, Estonia National Symphony, China National Symphony, the FOSJE Orquesta in Ecuador, among others. In recital he performs in the world's most prestigious halls including the Berlin Philharmonic, Kioi and Suntory Halls in Tokyo, Lincoln Center in New York and Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Mr. Chiu's musical partners include Joshua Bell, Pierre Amoyal, Elmar Oliveira, Gary Hoffman, David Krakauer, Matt Haimovitz and the St. Lawrence, Shanghai and Daedalus string quartets.

Frederic Chiu recently premiered Edgar Meyer’s Concert Piece with Joshua Bell. He has worked with many composers, including George Crumb, Frederick Rzewsky, Bright Sheng, Gao Ping and David Benoit.

He was the recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Petscheck Award of the Juilliard School, and was a fellow of the American Pianist Association. He was also the "non-winner" of the 1993 Van Cliburn Competition, where his elimination from the finals caused an uproar in the press.

Frederic Chiu is also committed to expanding the place of classical music. He has created unusual collaborations with personalities outside the world of Classical music, such as the Shakespearean actor Brian Bedford and psychologist/writer/clown Howard Buten. He worked with the hip-hop artist Socalled in the Messiaen Remix project. He does extensive work with children through concert/lectures for schools, and has brought classical music to places where it is rarely heard. Currently, he is performing with David Gonzalez in the classics Peter and the Wolf and Carnival of the Animals, transcribed for solo piano and narrator. He is also running a multi-year project called Classical Smackdown, in which audiences vote for their favorite composers (ClassicalSmackdown.com)

Deeper Piano Studies, Frederic Chiu’s innovative workshop program, brings together pianists from around the world to study aspects of piano playing usually left uncovered. Articles in Piano Today and the New York Times have featured his original approach to learning and performing that draws on ancient traditions of philosophy and meditation combined with the most recent discoveries in psychology and acoustic sciences, using non-traditional techniques such as cooking and learning without using the instrument. Frederic Chiu has been invited to many prestigious music schools and conservatories to present his DPS program, including the Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, Mannes College, The Banff Centre, Cornell University, Indiana University’s Jacob Music School, and major conservatories in China: Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan, Shenyand and Wuhan. He has been guest artist at many state and national Teachers’ Conferences.

After 12 years spent in France, Frederic Chiu returned to the United States, where any free time he can find is divided between writing, painting and cooking. He also co-directs artistic activities at Beechwood Arts, an arts immersion non-profit in Connecticut.

Sweeney Concert Hall in Sage Hall | Smith College

Tickets $15/10
BUY TICKETS

Tickets available at the door and online.
Doors open approximately 30 minutes prior to the event.
Contact us for group discounts of 10 or more people.

Selected Lyra students will perform in a public masterclass for master pianist Frederic Chiu.

Frederic Chiu's intriguing piano-playing and teaching springs from a diverse set of experiences and interests: his Asian/American/European background, his musical training, and an early and ongoing exploration of artificial intelligence and human psychology, especially the body-mind-heart connection.

Sweeney Concert Hall in Sage Hall | Smith College
With pianist Henry Kramer

Tickets $20/$15
BUY TICKETS

Tickets available at the door and online.
Doors open approximately 30 minutes prior to the event.
Contact us for group discounts of 10 or more people.

PROGRAM
J.S Bach | Cello Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009
Giovanni Sollima | Lamentatio
Gaspar Cassado (Frescobaldi) | Toccata
Ludvig Van Beethoven | Sonata No. 3, Op.69 in A major
Frederic Chopin | Introduction and Polonaise Brillante in C Major, Op. 3  

BIOGRAPHY
Praised for his “impressive refinement, eloquent phrasing, and singing tone” by The New York Times, American cellist Matthew Zalkind has performed throughout the United States and abroad as a recitalist, soloist and chamber musician.

Mr. Zalkind was awarded First Prize in the Washington International Competition, as well as top prizes in the Beijing International Cello Competition, Korea’s Isang Yun Gyeongnam International Competition and the Juilliard School Competition. He also won distinction as the top-ranked American and one of the final eight concerto semi-finalists in the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

As a soloist, Mr. Zalkind has performed concerti with such organizations as the Moscow Chamber Players, the Albany Symphony, the Hongzhou Philharmonic, the Utah Symphony, the Tongyeong International Music Festival Orchestra, the Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra and the Juilliard Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Zalkind has performed concerti with conductors Ludovic Morlot, Thierry Fischer, Giancarlo Guerrero, David Alan Miller and several others. Mr. Zalkind has given recitals at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, Gardner Hall in Salt Lake City, UT, the Moscow Conservatory in Moscow, Russia, The Dame Myra Hess series in Chicago, The Juilliard School in New York, the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater in Washington, DC and the Beijing Concert Hall in Beijing, China.

An active chamber musician, Mr. Zalkind has participated in numerous music festivals, including Marlboro and “Musicians from Marlboro” tours, Music from Angel Fire, Olympic Music Festival, Innsbrook Institute, Twickenham Festival, and Ravinia’s “Steans Institute.”  Mr. Zalkind has performed chamber music at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, New York’s Alice Tully Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a member of the internationally acclaimed Harlem String Quartet, Mr. Zalkind toured internationally with jazz legends Stanley Clarke, Chick Corea and Gary Burton.

Mr. Zalkind has a strong interest in teaching and outreach. He was awarded a Gluck Community Service Fellowship at The Juilliard School for four years, performing concerts at treatment facilities throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Mr. Zalkind is now an Assistant Professor at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music.

A Salt Lake City native, Mr. Zalkind’s primary mentors included Richard Hoyt, Pegsoon Whang, Timothy Eddy, Richard Aaron, and Hans Jørgen Jensen. Mr. Zalkind has Bachelors and Masters degrees from Juilliard, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan. Mr. Zalkind plays on a rare Italian cello made by Florentine Maker Luigi Piatellini in 1760.

Sweeney Concert Hall in Sage Hall | Smith College

Tickets $15/$10
BUY TICKETS

Tickets available at the door and online.
Doors open approximately 30 minutes prior to the event.
Contact us for group discounts of 10 or more people.

Selected Lyra students will perform in a public masterclass for master violinist Danbi Um.

Violinist Danbi Um has appeared as soloist with the Israel Symphony, Vermont Symphony, Herzliya Chamber Symphony, Auckland Philharmonic, and Dartmouth Symphony, among others, and in venues as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Perelman Theater at Kimmel Center, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Kumho Arts Hall, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Bennett Gordon Hall of Ravinia festival, and for the Seattle Chamber Music Society. She is a winner of Astral Artists' 2015 National Auditions, and was recently selected as a member to join Chamber Music Society Two of Lincoln Center for its 2015-2018 seasons.

Sweeney Concert Hall in Sage Hall | Smith College
With pianist Henry Kramer

Tickets $20/$15
BUY TICKETS

Tickets available at the door and online.
Doors open approximately 30 minutes prior to the event.
Contact us for group discounts of 10 or more people.

PROGRAM
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Violin Sonata No.21  in E minor, K 304
Ernest Chausson | Poeme, Op.25
Eugène Ysaÿe | Sonata for Solo Violin Op.27 No. 1  
Eugène Ysaÿe | Sonata for Solo Violin Op.27 No. 4
Joseph Achron | La Romanesca
William Bolcom | Graceful Ghost Rag, Concert Variation

BIOGRAPHY
Violinist Danbi Um has appeared as soloist with the Israel Symphony, Vermont Symphony, Herzliya Chamber Symphony, Auckland Philharmonic, and Dartmouth Symphony, among others, and in venues as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Perelman Theater at Kimmel Center, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Kumho Arts Hall, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Bennett Gordon Hall of Ravinia festival, and for the Seattle Chamber Music Society. She is a winner of Astral Artists' 2015 National Auditions, and was recently selected as a member to join Chamber Music Society Two of Lincoln Center for its 2015-2018 seasons. With CMS, she has already performed in Saratoga Springs, at Alice Tully Hall,  Harris Theater, and at St. Cecilia's Music Center. 

An avid chamber musician, she has made appearances at Marlboro, Ravinia, Music@Menlo, Yellow Barn, Prussia Cove, Caramoor, and North Shore Chamber Music Festival. She tours frequently with 'Musicians from Marlboro' including a National Tour, and has played with Jupiter Chamber Players. She received a second prize at the Young Artists Division of the Menuhin International Violin Competition, and a third prize at the Michael Hill International Violin Competition. At age ten, she was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree. She also holds an Artist Diploma from Indiana University. Her teachers include Shmuel Ashkenasi, Joseph Silverstein, Jaime Laredo, and Hagai Shaham. She plays on a 1683 "ex-Petschek" Nicolo Amati, on loan from a private collection.

Sweeney Concert Hall in Sage Hall | Smith College

Tickets $15/$10
BUY TICKETS

Tickets available at the door and online.
Doors open approximately 30 minutes prior to the event.
Contact us for group discounts of 10 or more people.

Selected Lyra students will perform in a public masterclass for master cellist Matthew Zalkind.

Praised for his “impressive refinement, eloquent phrasing, and singing tone” by The New York Times, American cellist Matthew Zalkind has performed throughout the United States and abroad as a recitalist, soloist and chamber musician.

OPEN BAR from 6 - 7:30pm | HORS D'OEUVRES
SPECIAL PERFORMANCE by Distinguished Pianist, and Lyra Guest Artist MICHAEL BROWN
SILENT AUCTION event tickets, dream vacations, fantasy experiences, and more | RAFFLE
LIVE MUSIC with CARTE BLANCHE | DANCING

Get tickets HERE

Get tickets here for the Final Round of the 2016 Lyra Music Youth Competition!
$20/$15
Watch the competition streaming live here!

Come and be inspired!

$15/$10 students & seniors

$15/$10 students & seniors

Bukoliki (“Bucolics”) (1952)                        Witold Lutosławski

Szabadban ("Out of Doors") Sz. 81, BB 89                 Bela Bartók

Four Ballades, op. 10                                   Johannes Brahms            

INTERMISSION

Sonata No. 6 in F Major, op. 10 #2                    Ludwig van Beethoven

Polonaise in F-sharp Minor op. 44                    Frédéric Chopin

Nocturne in G Major, op. 37 #2   

Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major, op. 47     

$15/$10 students & seniors

Dvorak - Romance in F minor, op. 11

Ravel - Sonata for violin and piano

Corigliano - Stomp (2011)

--Intermission--

Messiaen - Theme and variations (1932)

Saint-Saens - Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, op. 28

$15/$10 students & seniors

Siete Canciones Populares Españolas                    Manuel de Falla

                Eric Eaton, cello; Akiko Sasaki, piano

Souvenirs Op.28                                Samuel Barber

                Siu Hei Lee, piano; Akiko Sasaki, piano

INTERMISSION

Piano Trio in A minor                                Maurice Ravel

Marc Szammer, violin; Julia Kang, cello; Mary Prescott, piano

$15/$10 Students & Seniors

Sonata for Cello and Piano                        Claude Debussy

Five Pieces in Folk Style Op. 102                         Robert Schumann

First Rhapsody                                 Bela Bartok

Cello Concerto                                 Antonin Dvorak
    I. Allegro

                - Intermission -

Sonata in A minor, Op. 36                         Edvard Grieg

For grades 7-12, the Lyra Music Youth Competition is for violin, viola, cello, and piano students.  Deadline for preliminary application: February 13, 2015.

More information...