Denison is hosting students from two of the top music conservatories in the nation for the Chamber Music Festival on March 1-3. Students from the Juilliard School in New York City will return for the second consecutive year and will be joined by a quintet of graduate students from Rice University Shepherd School of Music in Houston. The public is invited to attend the free world-class musical performances.
The Chamber Music Concert will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 2, at Waples United Methodist Church at 830 W. Main in Denison. Both TRIO and Ensemble 1403 will be featured. The event can be enjoyed by serious music aficionados and music students as well.
The TRIO features accomplished musicians on the French horn, violin, and piano. The T.R.I.O. Project, an outreach program in which music conservatory students provide lessons and mentorship to underserved students via online video communications, is a special service provided by the musicians. Alice Gi-Young Hwang (pianist) and Kathryn Peterson (French horn) founded T.R.I.O and are joined by Clare Semes (violinist). Kathryn studies French Horn performance at Juilliard with Dr. David Wakefield, a native of Durant, OK. She was born in Lamesa, Texas, and is the niece of local banker Robert Crawley and wife Lisa.
Ensemble 1403 is a quintet made of Rice graduate students at the Shepherd School of Music Bo Moson (violinist), Yvonne Chen (pianist), Sergein Yap (viola), Francesca McNeeley (cello), and Miran Kim (violin).
On Friday, March 1, Denison High School Band, Choir, and 8th Grade Band will enjoy performances and master classes. Master classes are available for others upon request based on availability.
For those wishing to catch the TRIO and Ensemble 1403 in other performances, they will be at The Texoma Medical Center Lobby from 12:00 – 1:00 on Friday, March 1, and The Renaissance Senior Living Center Lobby at 3701 Loy Lake Road in Sherman from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, March 3, TRIO will be at Waples United Methodist Church. They will play gathering music from 10:40 - 11:00 and have one song during the worship service to be followed by recessional pieces.
A video of last year’s performance and more information about TRIO can be found online at www.trioproject.org. The website for the Shepherd School may be found at www.music.rice.edu.
The event is made possible through the partnership of Denison Performing Arts, The Thelma Braun and Bocklett Family Foundation, and the City’s Main Street Department. For information, call 903-464-4452 or find the information online at www.downtowndenison.com.