Saturday, November 9, 2024

5:00 PM

Back to the 1780's! If it sounded good back then, why not today?

​WÖR (pronounced ‘were’) is a band of five musicians whose curiosity, passion and talent has led to a niche goldmine of melodies in stunning contemporary arrangements. With their finely textured arrangements WÖR injects new energy into 18th-century melodies from the Flanders region of Belgium. Their music shines an inventive spotlight, with a modern twist, on the melodies in these manuscripts.

​They released 3 albums ('Back to the 1780's' (2015), 'Sssht' (2017) and 'About Towers' (2021) and toured in Europe, Australia, Canada & the US (including the National Folk Festival, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, Concertgebouw Brugge, Sunfest, Shetland folk festival..). In August 2018 they won the German award 'Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik' with their album 'Sssht'. In 2021 they were nominated for 'Best live band' at the Flemish Folk Awards' and their album ‘About Towers’ made it into the ‘World Music Charts Europe’.

Friday, January 17, 2025
7:00 PM

Double Take

Baroque expressions from Italy and England

This winter, TENET Vocal Artists visits Virginia and North Carolina to share deeply expressive music from Claudio Monteverdi’s Italy and Henry Purcell’s England. Among the ensemble’s specialties, TENET explores the rich and fruitful way baroque composers crafted duets as a way to double the impact of a single idea through the use of two voices or instruments with powerful and dazzling results.

Thursday, February 20, 2025

7:00 PM

Ádám Tabajdi has gained extensive international experience as the intern of the Notre Dame de Paris and the resident organist of the Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara; thus, he may be regarded as one of the outstanding young Hungarian organists of our days. In 2023 he won Third Prize of the Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition ; and in 2021 he won the First Prize and the Audience Prize of the 13th Toulouse International Organ Competition.

In his musical thinking, analytic approach, technical expertise, and knowledge of the instrument all serve musical connections. In his concepts for programmes, he continually strives to find new ways to express the spirit of the works, which can happen by studying a given style deeply or by finding the common denominator between seemingly utterly different pieces. At his concerts, he attempts to enhance direct connection between works and audience with personal introductions. The piano has had a distinguished role in his life since the beginning of his studies, and it has been a constant inspiration in creating his culture of touch. His interest is shaped by folk music of different cultures and by improvisation, which he regards as a stable source of inspiration for his art. In his repertoire, besides Bach always being at its centre, Liszt, Franck, and the music of the 20th century, with Messiaen’s, Florentz’s, and Ligeti’s works within, fulfill important roles. He is a committed performer of contemporary music, and he also feels closely connected to the works of old masters such as Sweelinck, Weckmann, or Couperin.

Currently, he is a doctoral student at the Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest. In his dissertation, he is studying the problems considering the rhythmic interpretations of the French composer, Jean-Louis Florentz’s organ works with regard to the Western musical tradition and African music.

For his outstanding professional performance, he was awarded the scholarships of the Fondation de France and the Amin de Tarazzi Foundation in France, and the Annie Fischer Scholarschip of Performing Arts in Hungary. In 2022 he received the most prestigious prize in Hungary awarded for young musicians, the Junior Prima Prize.

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

7:00 PM

FWinner of the 2019 prestigious Carl Nielsen Competition, Swedish-Norwegian violinist Johan Dalene ‘is not just a virtuoso like many others, he is a voice. He has a tone, a presence’ (Diapason). At the age of 23, he has performed with leading orchestras and in celebrated recital halls both at home and abroad. His ability to “make his Stradivarius sing like a master” (Le Monde), coupled with his refreshingly honest musicality and engagement with musicians and audiences alike, has won him countless admirers. In 2022, he was named Gramophone’s Young Artist of the Year.

Presented in partnership with Gloucester Arts Festival and The Cook Foundation

Thursday, June 19, 2025

7:00 PM

Soma is an award-winning saxophone quartet that was founded at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, under the expert mentorship of Otis Murphy. Soma consists of David Bayard on soprano saxophone, Paul Lorenz on alto saxophone, Sean Bradley on tenor saxophone, and Arthur Liang on baritone saxophone.

Soma has garnered notable achievements and accolades, including the Bronze Medal at the esteemed 48th Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, First Prize in the emerging ensemble division at the NOLA Chamber Fest Competition, and Second Place at the MTNA Chamber Music Competition in 2021. Furthermore, Soma has won the Grand Prize at the prestigious 9th Plowman Chamber Music Competition in 2019. Notable achievements also encompass the Third Place in the 2020 MTNA Chamber Music Competition, the First Runner-Up position in the 2018 Classics Alive Young Artist Competition, and the First Prize in the 2017 Chicago Woodwind Ensemble Competition.