MUSIC

Celebrating HFCM’s 50th Anniversary season, the Chiara String Quartet makes its debut on the Houston Friends of Chamber Music series. They will perform in Stude Concert Hall at Rice University on Tuesday, October 12, 2010 at 8:00 pm.

Musical selections include: Beethoven’s String Quartet in A Major, Op. 18 #5, Brahms’ String Quartet in C Major, Op. 51 #1, and the world premiere of a piece by former Rice University professor, Gabriela Lena Frank, titled “Amerindia” written especially for the Chiara String Quartet.

The Chiara Quartet is Blodgett Artists-in-Residence at Harvard University, in addition to the ongoing artist residency at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Awarded the Guarneri Quartet Residency Award for artistic excellence by Chamber Music America, Chiara has received a number of national and international awards.

In addition to performing in major concert halls such as Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall and Philidelphia’s Kimmel center, the Chiara devotes a portion of its season to concerts in non-classical venues, including the Avant Garden and Mucky Duck in Houston, The Tractor Tavern in Seattle and the Hideout in Chicago. The Quartet is committed to playing “chamber music in any chamber” to return chamber music to its roots in intimate spaces. Described by the New York Times as “luminous”, “searing”, “soulful and possessing a potent collective force”, the members of the Chiara continue to find new meaning from the pieces that they perform in any venue.

The quartet takes its name from the Italian word Chiara, meaning “clear, pure, or light.” Don’t miss this incredible young group and the Gabriela Frank world premiere.

To purchase tickets, call 713-348-5400 or visit www.HoustonFriendsofChamberMusic.org.

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Houston Friends of Music began 50 years ago for the purpose of presenting great chamber music by great performers to audiences of all generations.

Photo left to right: Julie Yoon, violin; Gregory Beaver, cello; Jonah Sirota, viola and Rebecca Fischer, violin.