Chamber Music Society of Detroit
Encyclopedia
The Chamber Music Society of Detroit, founded in 1944, is the tenth oldest chamber music
series in the United States as recognized by Chamber Music America. The core of the Chamber Music Society of Detroit’s offerings is a nine-concert chamber music series and a three-concert piano series which bring world-class performers to metropolitan Detroit. Complementing the concert series are a comprehensive education program in Detroit area schools, an international classical music award, a Pre-Concert Talk series and other events. The Chamber Music Society presents its concerts at Seligman Performing Arts Center, located on the campus of Detroit Country Day School
in Beverly Hills, Michigan
.
to inform the public about upcoming concerts. During its first ten seasons, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit (known in its earliest years as the Chamber Music Festival) presented its concerts at the Detroit Institute of Arts
Lecture Hall. Until the late 1960s, Chamber Music Society of Detroit ensembles often comprised the first chair musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
, including such artists as Josef Gingold and Mischa Mischakoff, as well as Dr. Haas himself as pianist.
In 1969, the leadership of the Chamber Music Society passed from Karl Haas to Dr. Zalman “Tiny” Konikow; from this point forward, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit invited touring artists and ensembles from around the globe to perform on its series. During his 25-year tenure as president, Tiny Konikow showcased the talents of many up-and-coming musicians. Most notable are the Chamber Music Society of Detroit's early presentations of Emanuel Ax
, Gidon Kremer
, Yo-Yo Ma
, Murray Perahia
and the Tokyo String Quartet
, as well as near-annual performances by the Guarnieri Quartet and the Beaux Arts Trio
. Under Tiny Konikow's leadership, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit played a crucial role in the preservation and renovation of Detroit's Orchestra Hall by becoming, in 1978, its first permanent tenant since the Detroit Symphony had left the hall decades before.
In 1995, Lois R. Beznos became President of the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, after serving as Chair of the Board of Trustees since 1987. Under Lois Beznos' tenure as president, the Chamber Music Society more than tripled its subscriber base and its budget while developing community collaborations, adding professional staff and instituting comprehensive education programs. She established a collaboration with the Wayne State University
Department of Music in 1995, introducing master classes by Chamber Music Society of Detroit series artists. Gradually increasing its scope over the years, the education program has evolved into an intensive Two-Week Ensemble Residency Program encompassing 15 or more school and community collaborations throughout metropolitan Detroit.
In 1996, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, along with seven other Chamber music presenters in the United States, including the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Freer Gallery of Art
at the Smithsonian Institution, was selected to present in perpetuity the winner of the Cleveland Quartet Award. Then, in 2001, Lois Beznos worked with the members of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and nineteen other presenters nationawide to establish a biennial award to recognize and provide performance opportunities for a gifted early-career piano trio. The Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award continues to be managed by the Chamber Music Society of Detroit.
In December 2010, Lois R. Beznos stepped down from the presidency of the Chamber Music Society of Detroit. After a national search, she was succeeded by Dr. Stephen Wogaman, a pianist and former student of Beaux Arts Trio pianist Menahem Pressler.
, Emanuel Ax
, Daniel Barenboim
, Joshua Bell
, Yefim Bronfman
, Aaron Copland
, James Ehnes
, James Galway
, Richard Goode
. Denyce Graves
Dmitri Hvorostovsky
, Alicia de Larrocha
, Yo-Yo Ma
, Midori
, Jessye Norman
, Murray Perahia
, Itzhak Perlman
, Seiji Ozawa
, Jon Kimura Parker
, Jean-Pierre Rampal
, Andras Schiff
, Isaac Stern
, Richard Stoltzman
, Dawn Upshaw
and Krystian Zimerman
.
Chamber ensembles have included the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the Beaux Arts Trio
, the Cleveland Quartet
, the Emerson String Quartet
, the English Chamber Orchestra
, the Guarneri String Quartet, the Juilliard String Quartet
, the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and the Tokyo String Quartet
.
and Leslie Bassett
.
Other notable premieres and commissions include:
1953: Samuel Barber
, Summer Music for Wind Quintet
, commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Detroit in honor of its 10th anniversary. The Chamber Music Society was nationally recognized for being the first organization to commission a work by public subscription.
1968: Ulysses Kay
, Scherzi Musicale, commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Detroit in celebration of its 25th season.
1999: Charles Wuorinen
, String Quartet No. 4, commissioned in collaboration with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, El Paso Pro Musica and Chamber Music Northwest
.
2002: Gunther Schuller
Quartet No. 4, world premiere performance by the Juilliard String Quartet.
2007: Richard Danielpour
, Book of Hours, co-commissioned for the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and viola by the Chamber Music Society of Detroit and six collaborating national presenters.
2009: Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Quintet for String Quartet and Saxophone, co-commissioned for the Pacifica Quartet and saxophone by the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, Fontana Chamber Arts and Michigan State University.
2009: Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Septet for Piano Trio and String Quartet, co-commissioned for the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and the Miami String Quartet by the Chamber Music Society of Detroit (made possible by a gift from Geraldine Schwartz); the 92nd Street Y; The Abe Fortas Chamber Music Concerts of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Kent/Blossom Music; Regional Arts at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts; Philharmonic Society of Orange County; Ruth Eckerd Hall; Denver Friends of Chamber Music; Friends of Chamber Music, Portland OR; Virginia Festival of the Arts; Duke Performance; Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle; through the International Arts Foundation, Inc.
The ensemble residency presents internationally known chamber ensembles which provide lecture-demonstrations in the schools and coaching sessions for advanced high school and college ensembles. Program partners include schools throughout the metropolitan Detroit area, from elementary grades through college and such Detroit community organizations as Focus: HOPE
, Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Latino Family Services. Over 3,500 students participate each year, and 1,400 students participate in the culminating feature of the program: student concerts presented at the same venue where Chamber Music Society of Detroit series concerts are presented.
The program has reached many thousands of students since its inception in 1995. The Borromeo String Quartet
, Brentano String Quartet, Cypress String Quartet
, Miami String Quartet
, Pacifica Quartet
and Shanghai Quartet
have participated in the Two-Week Residency Program. In 2005-2006, the program was conducted by a piano trio: the Claremont Trio
, the first winner of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award. In addition to these participating ensembles, pianist Menahem Pressler
, violinists Joseph Silverstein
and William Preucil and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman
have presented master classes. In 2010-2011, two members of The Romeros
conducted the residency, marking the first time a guitar ensemble has participated in the program.
The KLRITA is supported in part by a contribution to its endowment fund made by each of twenty participating chamber music presenters. Presenters then have the benefit of an endowed concert, paid for by the award endowment fund, every other season in perpetuity.
The winning trios are presented on the series of all of the following twenty participating trio award presenters during a two-year award tour period: Ames Town & Gown Chamber Music Association (IA); Arizona Friends of Chamber Music (AZ); Carnegie Hall
(NY); Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
(CA); Chamber Music Cincinnati (OH); Chamber Music Monterey Bay (CA); Chamber Music Sedona (AZ); Chamber Music Society of Detroit (MI); Chamber Music Society of Louisville (KY); Chamber Music Society of Utica (NY); El Camino College Center for the Arts (CA); Friends of Chamber Music - Kansas City (MO); Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival (MI); The Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, DC.;Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
(FL); Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts (FL); Purdue Convocations - Purdue University (IN); San Antonio Chamber Music Society (TX); Thomasville Entertainment Foundation (GA); University of Chicago Presents (IL)
In addition to being presented on the series of these twenty presenters, winning trios are awarded a CD recording contract provided by Azica Records and benefit from the services of string instrument dealer Kenneth Warren & Son, Ltd., one of the oldest string instrument dealerships in the U.S.
The following trios are the winners of the first four cycles of the KLRITA:
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
series in the United States as recognized by Chamber Music America. The core of the Chamber Music Society of Detroit’s offerings is a nine-concert chamber music series and a three-concert piano series which bring world-class performers to metropolitan Detroit. Complementing the concert series are a comprehensive education program in Detroit area schools, an international classical music award, a Pre-Concert Talk series and other events. The Chamber Music Society presents its concerts at Seligman Performing Arts Center, located on the campus of Detroit Country Day School
Detroit Country Day School
Detroit Country Day School is a private, secular school located in four campuses in Oakland County, Michigan, north of Detroit. The administrative offices, facility services, safety and security services, and the upper school are located in a campus in Beverly Hills, along with the middle school...
in Beverly Hills, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
.
History
Founded in 1944 by radio musical educator Dr. Karl Haas, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit began as an informal association of people brought together for the purpose of listening to chamber music. Dr. Haas instituted lectures (the forerunners to his "Adventures in Good Music" internationally syndicated radio programs) at the Detroit Public LibraryDetroit Public Library
The Detroit Public Library is the second largest library system in Michigan by volumes held , and is the 20th largest library system in the United States. It is composed of a Main Library on Woodward Avenue, which houses DPL administration offices, and twenty-three branch locations across the city...
to inform the public about upcoming concerts. During its first ten seasons, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit (known in its earliest years as the Chamber Music Festival) presented its concerts at the Detroit Institute of Arts
Detroit Institute of Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts is a renowned art museum in the city of Detroit. In 2003, the DIA ranked as the second largest municipally owned museum in the United States, with an art collection valued at more than one billion dollars...
Lecture Hall. Until the late 1960s, Chamber Music Society of Detroit ensembles often comprised the first chair musicians of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its main performance center is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood...
, including such artists as Josef Gingold and Mischa Mischakoff, as well as Dr. Haas himself as pianist.
In 1969, the leadership of the Chamber Music Society passed from Karl Haas to Dr. Zalman “Tiny” Konikow; from this point forward, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit invited touring artists and ensembles from around the globe to perform on its series. During his 25-year tenure as president, Tiny Konikow showcased the talents of many up-and-coming musicians. Most notable are the Chamber Music Society of Detroit's early presentations of Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax is a Grammy-winning American classical pianist. He is currently a teacher on the faculty of the Juilliard School. He is considered one of the best known concert pianists of the 21st century.-Early life:...
, Gidon Kremer
Gidon Kremer
Gidon Kremer is a Latvian violinist and conductor. In 1980 he left the USSR and settled in Germany.-Biography:Kremer was born in Riga to parents of German-Jewish and Latvian-Swedish origins. He began playing the violin at the age of four, receiving instruction from his father and his grandfather,...
, Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
, Murray Perahia
Murray Perahia
Murray Perahia KBE is an American concert pianist and conductor.-Early life:Murray Perahia was born in the Bronx borough of New York City to a family of Sephardi Jewish origin. According to the biography on his Mozart piano sonatas CD, his first language was Judaeo-Spanish or, Ladino. The family...
and the Tokyo String Quartet
Tokyo String Quartet
The is an international string quartet.The group formed in 1969 at the Juilliard School of Music. The founding members attended the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, where they studied with Professor Hideo Saito. Soon after its formation the Quartet won First Prizes at the Coleman Competition,...
, as well as near-annual performances by the Guarnieri Quartet and the Beaux Arts Trio
Beaux Arts Trio
The Beaux Arts Trio was a noted piano trio. They made their debut on July 13, 1955 at the Berkshire Music Festival, known today as the Tanglewood Music Center. Their final American concert was held at Tanglewood on August 21, 2008. It was webcast live and archived on NPR Music...
. Under Tiny Konikow's leadership, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit played a crucial role in the preservation and renovation of Detroit's Orchestra Hall by becoming, in 1978, its first permanent tenant since the Detroit Symphony had left the hall decades before.
In 1995, Lois R. Beznos became President of the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, after serving as Chair of the Board of Trustees since 1987. Under Lois Beznos' tenure as president, the Chamber Music Society more than tripled its subscriber base and its budget while developing community collaborations, adding professional staff and instituting comprehensive education programs. She established a collaboration with the Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
Department of Music in 1995, introducing master classes by Chamber Music Society of Detroit series artists. Gradually increasing its scope over the years, the education program has evolved into an intensive Two-Week Ensemble Residency Program encompassing 15 or more school and community collaborations throughout metropolitan Detroit.
In 1996, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, along with seven other Chamber music presenters in the United States, including the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Freer Gallery of Art
Freer Gallery of Art
The Freer Gallery of Art joins the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery to form the Smithsonian Institution's national museums of Asian art. The Freer contains art from East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Islamic world, the ancient Near East, and ancient Egypt, as well as a significant collection of...
at the Smithsonian Institution, was selected to present in perpetuity the winner of the Cleveland Quartet Award. Then, in 2001, Lois Beznos worked with the members of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and nineteen other presenters nationawide to establish a biennial award to recognize and provide performance opportunities for a gifted early-career piano trio. The Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award continues to be managed by the Chamber Music Society of Detroit.
In December 2010, Lois R. Beznos stepped down from the presidency of the Chamber Music Society of Detroit. After a national search, she was succeeded by Dr. Stephen Wogaman, a pianist and former student of Beaux Arts Trio pianist Menahem Pressler.
Chronology
| 1944 | Founded by Karl Haas |
| 1944–1968 | Karl Haas, President |
| 1969–1994 | Zalman "Tiny" Konikow, President |
| 1995–2010 | Lois R. Beznos, President |
| 2001 | The Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award is established |
| 2011-Present | Stephen Wogaman, President |
Artists
Among the scores of international artists who have appeared on the Chamber Music Society of Detroit series are: Elly AmelingElly Ameling
Elisabeth Sara "Elly" Ameling is a Dutch soprano.-Career:Ameling was born in Rotterdam. She studied with Bodi Rapp, Jo Bollekamp, Sem Dresden and Jacoba Dresden-Dhont and later French art song with Pierre Bernac...
, Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax is a Grammy-winning American classical pianist. He is currently a teacher on the faculty of the Juilliard School. He is considered one of the best known concert pianists of the 21st century.-Early life:...
, Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
, Joshua Bell
Joshua Bell
Joshua David Bell is an American Grammy Award-winning violinist.-Childhood:Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, the son of a psychologist and a therapist. Bell's father is the late Alan P...
, Yefim Bronfman
Yefim Bronfman
Yefim "Fima" Naumovich Bronfman is a Soviet-born Israeli-American pianist.-Biography:He was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, and emigrated to Israel at the age of 15...
, Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
, James Ehnes
James Ehnes
James Ehnes, CM is a Canadian concert violinist.The son of Alan Ehnes, trumpet professor at Brandon University and Barbara Ehnes, former director of the Brandon School of Dance, James Ehnes began his violin studies at the age of four...
, James Galway
James Galway
- External links : IMGArtists.com 15 September 2008. AllAboutJazz.com 5 August 2008.*...
, Richard Goode
Richard Goode
Richard Goode is an American classical pianist, especially known for his interpretations of Ludwig van Beethoven and chamber music.Goode was born in East Bronx, New York...
. Denyce Graves
Denyce Graves
Denyce Graves is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer.-Early life:Graves was born on March 7, 1964, to Charles Graves and Dorothy Graves-Kenner. She is the middle of three children and was raised by her mother on Galveston Street, S.W., in the Bellevue section of Washington...
Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Dmitri Aleksandrovich Hvorostovsky , is a leading baritone opera singer from Russia.Hvorostovsky was born in Krasnoyarsk in Siberia. He studied at the Krasnoyarsk School of Arts under Yekatherina Yofel and made his debut at Krasnoyarsk Opera House, in the role of Marullo in Rigoletto...
, Alicia de Larrocha
Alicia de Larrocha
Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle was a Spanish pianist from Catalonia. One of the great piano legends of the 20th century, Reuters called her "the greatest Spanish pianist in history", Time "one of the world's most outstanding pianists" and The Guardian "the leading Spanish pianist of her...
, Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma is an American cellist, virtuoso, and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts in 2001 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011...
, Midori
Midori Goto
is a Japanese American violinist. She made her debut at the age of 11 in a last-minute change of programming during a concert highlighting young performers by the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. When she was 21, she formed the philanthropic group Midori and Friends to help bring music to...
, Jessye Norman
Jessye Norman
Jessye Norman is an American opera singer. Norman is a well-known contemporary opera singer and recitalist, and is one of the highest paid performers in classical music...
, Murray Perahia
Murray Perahia
Murray Perahia KBE is an American concert pianist and conductor.-Early life:Murray Perahia was born in the Bronx borough of New York City to a family of Sephardi Jewish origin. According to the biography on his Mozart piano sonatas CD, his first language was Judaeo-Spanish or, Ladino. The family...
, Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman is an Israeli-born violinist, conductor, and instructor of master classes. He is regarded as one of the pre-eminent violinists of the 20th and early-21st centuries.-Early life:...
, Seiji Ozawa
Seiji Ozawa
is a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera.-Early years:...
, Jon Kimura Parker
Jon Kimura Parker
Jon Kimura Parker, OC is a Canadian pianist.- Biography :He was born in Vancouver, Canada, the son of Keiko Parker and the nephew of Edward Parker.He appeared with the Vancouver Youth Orchestra when he was five...
, Jean-Pierre Rampal
Jean-Pierre Rampal
Jean-Pierre Louis Rampal was a French flautist. He has been personally "credited with returning to the flute the popularity as a solo classical instrument it had not held since the 18th century."-Early years:...
, Andras Schiff
András Schiff
András Schiff is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist, who has won a number of awards including the Grammy and made numerous recordings.- Biography :...
, Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern
Isaac Stern was a Ukrainian-born violinist. He was renowned for his recordings and for discovering new musical talent.-Biography:Isaac Stern was born into a Jewish family in Kremenets, Ukraine. He was fourteen months old when his family moved to San Francisco...
, Richard Stoltzman
Richard Stoltzman
Richard Stoltzman is an American clarinetist. Born Richard Leslie Stoltzman in Omaha, Nebraska, he spent his early years in San Francisco, California and Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating from Woodward High School in 1960. Today, Stoltzman is part of the faculty list at the New England Conservatory...
, Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw
Dawn Upshaw is an American soprano described as "one of the most consequential performers of our time" by the Los Angeles Times. The recipient of several Grammy Awards and Edison Prize-winning discs, Upshaw is at home both in opera and art song, and in repertoire from Baroque to contemporary...
and Krystian Zimerman
Krystian Zimerman
Krystian Zimerman is a Polish classical pianist who is widely regarded as one of the finest living pianists.-Biography:...
.
Chamber ensembles have included the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the Beaux Arts Trio
Beaux Arts Trio
The Beaux Arts Trio was a noted piano trio. They made their debut on July 13, 1955 at the Berkshire Music Festival, known today as the Tanglewood Music Center. Their final American concert was held at Tanglewood on August 21, 2008. It was webcast live and archived on NPR Music...
, the Cleveland Quartet
Cleveland Quartet
The Cleveland Quartet was one of the world's leading string quartets for over two decades. It was founded in 1969 by violinists Donald Weilerstein and Peter Salaff, cellist Paul Katz and violist Martha Strongin Katz, at the Cleveland Institute of Music. The quartet subsequently disbanded in 1995...
, the Emerson String Quartet
Emerson String Quartet
The Emerson String Quartet is a New York–based string quartet in residence at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Previously the Quartet was in residence at The Hartt School. Formed in 1976, they have released more than twenty albums and won nine Grammy Awards. Both violinists...
, the English Chamber Orchestra
English Chamber Orchestra
The English Chamber Orchestra is a British chamber orchestra based in London. The full orchestra regularly plays concerts at Cadogan Hall, and the ECO Ensemble performs at Wigmore Hall...
, the Guarneri String Quartet, the Juilliard String Quartet
Juilliard String Quartet
The Juilliard String Quartet is a classical music string quartet founded in 1946 at the Juilliard School in New York. The original members were violinists Robert Mann and Robert Koff, violist Raphael Hillyer, and cellist Arthur Winograd; Current members are Joseph Lin and Ronald Copes violinists,...
, the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and the Tokyo String Quartet
Tokyo String Quartet
The is an international string quartet.The group formed in 1969 at the Juilliard School of Music. The founding members attended the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, where they studied with Professor Hideo Saito. Soon after its formation the Quartet won First Prizes at the Coleman Competition,...
.
Commissions and premieres
During its first ten years, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit presented the Detroit premieres of works by Ernest Bloch, Ernest Chausson, Ernst von Dohnányi, Gabriel Fauré, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Serge Prokofiev, Maurice Ravel, Heitor Villa-Lobos and others. During its second decade, several world premieres were presented, including works by Michigan composers Ross Lee FinneyRoss Lee Finney
Ross Lee Finney Junior was an American composer born in Wells, Minnesota who taught for many years at the University of Michigan. He studied with Nadia Boulanger, Edward Burlingame Hill, Alban Berg and Roger Sessions...
and Leslie Bassett
Leslie Bassett
Leslie Bassett is an American composer of classical music, and the University of Michigan’s Albert A. Stanley Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Composition...
.
Other notable premieres and commissions include:
1953: Samuel Barber
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
, Summer Music for Wind Quintet
Summer Music for Wind Quintet
Summer Music for Wind Quintet is a classical piece of music composed by Samuel Barber for a woodwind quintet.-Background:Samuel Barber received an offer from the Chamber Music Society of Detroit to write a piece of music for string instruments and woodwind instruments in 1953...
, commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Detroit in honor of its 10th anniversary. The Chamber Music Society was nationally recognized for being the first organization to commission a work by public subscription.
1968: Ulysses Kay
Ulysses Kay
Ulysses Simpson Kay was an African American composer. His music is mostly neoclassical in style....
, Scherzi Musicale, commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Detroit in celebration of its 25th season.
1999: Charles Wuorinen
Charles Wuorinen
Charles Peter Wuorinen is a prolific Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer born and living in New York City. His catalog of more than 250 compositions includes works for orchestra, opera, chamber music, as well as solo instrumental and vocal works...
, String Quartet No. 4, commissioned in collaboration with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, El Paso Pro Musica and Chamber Music Northwest
Chamber Music Northwest
Chamber Music Northwest is an American non-profit organization in Portland, Oregon that is dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music. The organization's main presentation is an annual five-week summer festival that occurs during the months of June and July...
.
2002: Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller is an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, and jazz musician.- Biography and works :...
Quartet No. 4, world premiere performance by the Juilliard String Quartet.
2007: Richard Danielpour
Richard Danielpour
Richard Danielpour is an American composer.-Biography:Danielpour is born of Persian/Jewish descent. He studied at Oberlin College and the New England Conservatory of Music, and later at the Juilliard School of Music, where he received a DMA in composition in 1986...
, Book of Hours, co-commissioned for the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and viola by the Chamber Music Society of Detroit and six collaborating national presenters.
2009: Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Quintet for String Quartet and Saxophone, co-commissioned for the Pacifica Quartet and saxophone by the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, Fontana Chamber Arts and Michigan State University.
2009: Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Septet for Piano Trio and String Quartet, co-commissioned for the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and the Miami String Quartet by the Chamber Music Society of Detroit (made possible by a gift from Geraldine Schwartz); the 92nd Street Y; The Abe Fortas Chamber Music Concerts of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Kent/Blossom Music; Regional Arts at the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts; Philharmonic Society of Orange County; Ruth Eckerd Hall; Denver Friends of Chamber Music; Friends of Chamber Music, Portland OR; Virginia Festival of the Arts; Duke Performance; Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle; through the International Arts Foundation, Inc.
Education programs
The Chamber Music Society of Detroit’s education programming includes an annual series of pre-concert talks, master classes with international artists and a Two-Week Ensemble Residency Program.The ensemble residency presents internationally known chamber ensembles which provide lecture-demonstrations in the schools and coaching sessions for advanced high school and college ensembles. Program partners include schools throughout the metropolitan Detroit area, from elementary grades through college and such Detroit community organizations as Focus: HOPE
Focus: HOPE
Focus: HOPE is a Detroit-based, non-denominational, non-profit organization whose aim is to overcome racism and poverty by providing education and training for underrepresented minorities and others...
, Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Latino Family Services. Over 3,500 students participate each year, and 1,400 students participate in the culminating feature of the program: student concerts presented at the same venue where Chamber Music Society of Detroit series concerts are presented.
The program has reached many thousands of students since its inception in 1995. The Borromeo String Quartet
Borromeo String Quartet
The Borromeo String Quartet is an American string quartet, in residence at the New England Conservatory since 1992. They have performed throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia, at numerous festivals and in many distinguished chamber music series...
, Brentano String Quartet, Cypress String Quartet
Cypress String Quartet
The Cypress String Quartet is a professional classical chamber music ensemble formed in 1996 in San Francisco, California, where they currently reside...
, Miami String Quartet
Miami String Quartet
The Miami String Quartet is an American string quartet. The group was founded in 1988 at The New World School of the Arts by John de Lancie in Miami, Florida, and is now Quartet in Residence at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, where all four members serve as faculty members in the School of...
, Pacifica Quartet
Pacifica Quartet
The Pacifica Quartet is an internationally recognized string quartet based in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, where they are faculty members at the University of Illinois. Its members are: Simin Ganatra, first violin; Sibbi Bernhardsson, second violin; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; and Brandon Vamos,...
and Shanghai Quartet
Shanghai Quartet
The Shanghai Quartet a string quartet that formed in 1983. The quartet is made up of four members: first violinist Weigang Li, second violinist Yi-Wen Jiang, violist Honggang Li, and cellist Nicholas Tzavaras. The group’s tours have included North America, South America, Japan, China, Australia,...
have participated in the Two-Week Residency Program. In 2005-2006, the program was conducted by a piano trio: the Claremont Trio
Claremont Trio
Claremont Trio is a piano trio composed of Juilliard School alumnae Emily Bruskin , Julia Bruskin , and Donna Kwong . The group was founded at Juilliard in 1999, and made its performance debut at the 92nd Street Y, on the Upper East Side...
, the first winner of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award. In addition to these participating ensembles, pianist Menahem Pressler
Menahem Pressler
Menahem Pressler is a German-born American pianist, founding member of the Beaux Arts Trio.-Professional career:...
, violinists Joseph Silverstein
Joseph Silverstein
Joseph Silverstein is an American violinist and conductor.As a youth, Silverstein studied with his father, Bernard Silverstein, who was a public school music teacher...
and William Preucil and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman
Richard Stoltzman
Richard Stoltzman is an American clarinetist. Born Richard Leslie Stoltzman in Omaha, Nebraska, he spent his early years in San Francisco, California and Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating from Woodward High School in 1960. Today, Stoltzman is part of the faculty list at the New England Conservatory...
have presented master classes. In 2010-2011, two members of The Romeros
The Romeros
Los Romeros, The Romero Guitar Quartet, is a guitar quartet, sometimes known as "The Royal Family of the Guitar" — their personnel consists entirely of members of the Romero family....
conducted the residency, marking the first time a guitar ensemble has participated in the program.
Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award
Chamber Music Society of Detroit president Lois Beznos formulated the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award (KLRITA), which was announced at Carnegie Hall in 2001. The KLRITA has a twofold purpose: a biennial piano trio award, it derived its impetus first from the desire to honor the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio during its then 25th anniversary season and in perpetuity. Secondly, the award was created to encourage and enhance the careers of accomplished and extraordinarily promising young piano trios, to be chosen every other year in perpetuity.The KLRITA is supported in part by a contribution to its endowment fund made by each of twenty participating chamber music presenters. Presenters then have the benefit of an endowed concert, paid for by the award endowment fund, every other season in perpetuity.
The winning trios are presented on the series of all of the following twenty participating trio award presenters during a two-year award tour period: Ames Town & Gown Chamber Music Association (IA); Arizona Friends of Chamber Music (AZ); Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
(NY); Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts is a entertainment and music venue located in the Cerritos Towne Center of Cerritos, California. It is owned and operated by the City of Cerritos and it opened its doors to the public on January 9, 1993 and hosts opera, cabaret, jazz, dance, magic,...
(CA); Chamber Music Cincinnati (OH); Chamber Music Monterey Bay (CA); Chamber Music Sedona (AZ); Chamber Music Society of Detroit (MI); Chamber Music Society of Louisville (KY); Chamber Music Society of Utica (NY); El Camino College Center for the Arts (CA); Friends of Chamber Music - Kansas City (MO); Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival (MI); The Kennedy Center for the Arts, Washington, DC.;Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center in downtown West Palm Beach, Florida.-Facilities:The Kravis Center opened in 1992 and was constructed at a cost of $63 million. The center holds some 800 events each year with over 400,000 people in attendance annually...
(FL); Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts (FL); Purdue Convocations - Purdue University (IN); San Antonio Chamber Music Society (TX); Thomasville Entertainment Foundation (GA); University of Chicago Presents (IL)
In addition to being presented on the series of these twenty presenters, winning trios are awarded a CD recording contract provided by Azica Records and benefit from the services of string instrument dealer Kenneth Warren & Son, Ltd., one of the oldest string instrument dealerships in the U.S.
The following trios are the winners of the first four cycles of the KLRITA:
| 2003 | Claremont Trio | Tour period: 2004-2005, 2005–2006 |
| 2005 | Trio con Brio Copenhagen | Tour period: 2006-2007, 2007–2008 |
| 2007 | ATOS Trio | Tour period: 2008-2009, 2009–2010 |
| 2009 | Morgenstern Trio | Tour period: 2010-2011, 2011–2012 |
Sources
- Cohn, Fred (January/February, 2009). “Making Good in Motown”, Chamber Music Magazine.
- Heyman, Barbara B. (1992). Samuel Barber, the Composer and His Music, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-509058-6. pp 359–373.
- Rigg, Sarah A. (November 6, 2008). “Executive Profile: Lois R. Beznos, president, Chamber Music Society of Detroit,” Oakland Business Review.
- "Three for the Road,” Chamber Music Magazine, March/April, 2005.
- Wu, June Q. (September 15, 2008). “Chamber Still Hitting the High Notes at 65,” Oakland Press.