The fourth season of String Theory at the Hunter opens Oct. 4
with the Chattanooga debut of two major chamber music artists,
violist Robert Diaz and mezzo-soprano Jazimina MacNeil.

String Theory at the Hunter is a chamber music series presented
by the Hunter Museum of American Art and Lee University and created
by Artistic Director Gloria Chien.

This season’s String Theory season begins on Thursday, Oct. 4 at
5:30 p.m. in the galleries of the Hunter Museum as Chief Curator
Ellen Simak and Maestro Robert Bernhardt discuss works from the
Hunter collection that relate to the evening’s featured music.

Diaz and MacNeil make their Chattanooga debut in a concert that
also features pianist Chien. Diaz will be joined by MacNeil, the
first vocalist to be featured in a String Theory concert, which
will feature works by Bloch and Brahms.

A violist of international reputation, Roberto Díaz serves as
President and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music (CIM). As a
professor of viola at Curtis and former principal violist of the
Philadelphia Orchestra, Díaz has had a significant impact on
American musical life and continues to do so in his dual roles as
performer and educator. He has performed with the National
Symphony, Boston Pops, New World Symphony, Netherlands
Philharmonic, Gulbenkian Orchestra, and the Orquesta Simón Bolivar,
among many others.

Mezzo-Soprano Jazimina MacNeil has sung the roles of Siebel in
Faust, Carolina in Hans Werner Henze’s Elegy for Young
Lovers, Carmen in Peter Brook’s adaptation Le Tragedie de
Carmen, and Charmian in Barber’s Antony and
Cleopatra, among others, and was the alto soloist in Mozart’s
Requiem, all at the CIM.  She also performed in the
West Coast premiere of John Musto’s song cycle The Book of
Uncommon Prayer at Songfest in Malibu, Calif. in 2008,
and studied the poetry and performance of German Lied at the Franz
Schubert Institut in Baden Bei Wein, Austria.

Pianist Gloria Chien has emerged in recent years as one of
America’s finest young chamber musicians. Her spectacular gifts of
musicianship lend themselves to the art of collaboration. 
Chien has been praised by the Strad for “super
performances…accompanied with great character.” She has
participated in festivals such as Music Academy of the West,
Verbier Music Festival, Bay Chamber Concerts, and Chamber Music
Northwest. Chien has also participated for six years at
Music@Menlo, where she was appointed Director of the Chamber Music
Institute in 2011.

Season tickets are available by calling the Hunter at
423.267.0968. To learn more or to purchase individual concert
tickets visit http://stringtheorymusic.org/.
Concert tickets are $25 for Hunter Museum members, String Theory
donors; $10 for students with valid ID; Non-Member Price: $35.