The Michigan State University College of Music presents the 17th annual Cello Plus Chamber Music Festival April 5-9 in MSU Auditorium’s Fairchild Theatre.
The festival will consist of three concerts spanning five days and feature guest artists from around the world and MSU faculty artists. Artistic director is Suren Bagratuni, professor of cello.
Festival Schedule:
April 5- Korean Hearts of Vision Chamber Orchestra, 7:30 p.m. Fairchild Theatre, MSU Auditorium
The chamber orchestra Hearts of Vision from South Korea has given more than 300 concerts worldwide. Consisting entirely of visually impaired musicians who transcribe the scores into Braille, this unique orchestra captivated New York with a concert in Carnegie Hall in 2011 – the first concert by visually impaired musicians in the almost 120 years of that famous venue’s existence.
This concert is sponsored by Ken and Sandy Beall – TraveLuxe Wired. Travel provided by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Support also comes from MSU’s Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities.
April 7- NOBILIS Trio Is Back, 8 p.m. Fairchild Theatre, MSU Auditorium
Having performed together for many years, violinist Ruggero Allifranchini, cellist Suren Bagratuni and pianist Stephen Prutsman make up the chamber ensemble NOBILIS Trio. Allifranchini, a native of Milan, Italy, was the recipient of the Diploma d’Onore from the Chigiana Academy in Sienna, Italy. While at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, he became a founding member of the Borromeo String Quartet in which he played exclusively for 11 years.
Bagratuni studied at the Moscow Conservatory and later in the United States at the New England Conservatory of Music. He won the silver medal at the 1986 International Tchaikovsky Competition while still a student at the Moscow Conservatory. Bagratuni is currently artist-teacher and professor of cello at the MSU College of Music.
Prutsman studied at the University of California at Los Angeles and the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He won international recognition as a medalist at the 1990 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition. The following year he was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and received a medal in the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium.
This concert is generously sponsored by April Clobes and Glen Brough; Jerry Schuur and Elaine Karle.
April 9 - Chamber Music Masters, 3 p.m. Fairchild Theatre, MSU Auditorium
Renowned musicians — faculty and guest artists — grace the stage to perform popular works including César Franck’s piano quintet and the clarinet quintet by Johannes Brahms. Performers for this concert include: MSU artist faculty Dmitri Berlinsky, violin; Margarita Shevchenko, piano; Guy Yehuda, clarinet; and Suren Bagratuni, cello, as well as guest artists Ruggero Allifranchini, violin and Kathryn Votapek, viola. MSU students include violinists I- Pei Lin and Daniela Diaz.
This concert is generously sponsored by Stanley and Selma Hollander; Nancy and Charlie Seebeck.
Tickets for each concert are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors (age 60 and older), $5 for students with ID and anyone under age 18, and can be purchased online, in the Music Office via phone at (517) 353-5340 or in person in Room 102, Music Building, 333 W. Circle Drive, East Lansing, or at the door, when still available.
