MEDIA CONTACT: Judy Moore at 847-491-4819 or jkm229@northwestern.edu

November 23, 2004

Northwestern 2005 Winter Chamber Music Festival Set for Jan. 7 to 23

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Ward off January’s chill with the warm sounds of chamber music during Northwestern University’s 2005 Winter Chamber Music Festival (Jan. 7 to 23).

The popular concert series brings world-renowned musicians such as Daniel Barenboim, the Vermeer Quartet and the Kavafian-Schub-Shifrin Trio to the stage of Northwestern’s Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 40 Arts Circle Drive, on the Evanston campus.

This year’s festival is made possible in part by the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation.

The festival begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7, with the Vermeer Quartet. Joining Vermeer Quartet violinists Shmuel Ashkenasi and Mathias Tacke, violist Richard Young and cellist Marc Johnson is renowned flutist Mathieu Dufour and harpist Sarah Bullen, both members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The Vermeer Quartet and guest artists, which include pianist Andrea Swan, will perform works by Schubert, Debussy and Beethoven.

The 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 9, concert features the Meadowmount Trio (pianist Eric Larsen, violinist Gerardo Ribeiro and cellist Owen Carman) and the Lincoln String Quartet (violinists Lei Hou and Qing Hou, violist Lawrence Neuman and cellist Brant Taylor), along with pianist James Giles and hornists Gail Williams and William Barnewitz. Their program features a Beethoven sextet, a Tanayev piano quintet and trios by Schubert and Rachmaninoff.

At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 14, pianist André-Michel Schub, violinist Ani Kavafian and clarinetist David Shifrin take the stage. These highly regarded musicians will perform works by Mozart, Brahms, Fauré and Bartók.

Pianist Daniel Barenboim will be joined by harpsichordist Stephen Alltop, violinists Robert Chen and Blair Milton, violist Li-Kuo Chang and cellist Stephen Balderston during the 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 16, concert. The program includes works by Bach, Dohnanyi and Schumann.

The festival performance at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, features a quartet comprised of pianist Elena Bashkirova, violinist Blair Milton, violist Li-Kuo Chang and cellist Stephen Balderston.

The four artists will perform works by Mozart, Beethoven, Martinu and Shostakovich.

The 2005 Winter Chamber Festival concludes at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 23, with 14 musicians combining their talents for an ensemble performance featuring hornist Gail Williams and clarinetist J. Lawrie Bloom. Williams and Bloom will be joined by pianist and School of Music Dean Toni-Marie Montgomery, clarinetist Russell Dagon, bassoonist Robert Barris, violinists Russell Hershow, Blair Milton and Yuan-Qing Yu, violists Yukiko Ogura and Rami Solomonov, cellists Ronald A. Crutcher, Jonathan Pegis and Gary Stucka, and bassist Robert Kassinger. The final program features pieces by Golijov, Hailstork and Kreutzer.

Prices for a six-concert series is $114 for the general public; $104 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $54 for students.

Single ticket prices for the Jan. 7, Jan. 9, Jan. 21 and Jan. 23 concerts are $22 for the general public; $18 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $10 for students.

Single ticket prices for the Jan. 14 concert are $26 for the general public; $22 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $10 for students.

Single ticket prices for the Jan. 16 concert are $28 for the general public; $24 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $10 for students.

For 2005 Winter Chamber Music Festival details go to www.northwestern.edu/pick-staiger.

To order tickets or for more information, call the Pick-Staiger ticket office at (847) 467-4000.