News

String Theory at the Hunter will open its fifth anniversary season on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 6:30 p.m. with a concert featuring the Brentano String Quartet and Gloria Chien, String Theory Founder.

String Theory is a chamber music series presented by Artistic Director Gloria Chien, in partnership with Lee University and the Hunter Museum of American Art. The series was founded in 2009 by Chien, an internationally-acclaimed pianist and Associate Professor of Music at Lee. Musicians from around the world join her to perform in the intimate setting of the Hunter Museum.

The opening concert will feature Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 3 in D, Op.44, No.1 and Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A, Op.81.

Since its inception in 1992, the Brentano String Quartet has appeared throughout the world to popular and critical acclaim. The quartet, praised for its “luxuriously warm sound [and] yearning lyricism” by the New York Times, comprises Mark Steinberg, violin; Serena Canin, violin; Misha Amory, viola; and Nina Lee, cello.

The Quartet has performed in prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, the Library of Congress in Washington, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and the Sydney Opera House. Their first European tour was in 1997, where they were honored in the UK with the Royal Philharmonic Award for Most Outstanding Debut. More recently, the Brentano Quartet provided the soundtrack to the acclaimed film “A Late Quartet.”

The Brentano Quartet has also served as the collaborative ensemble for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

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 in Music@Menlo, a chamber music festival and institute in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was appointed director of the institute in 2011.

Prior to the concert, Dr. Chien will host “Musical Dialogues” at 6 p.m., featuring an in-depth conversation with members of the quartet about their lives, inspirations, and the masterpieces being performed.

Individual concert tickets are $25 for Hunter members, $35 for non-members, $10 for students with a valid student ID and $25 for groups of 20 or more people. Season subscriptions are available for $130 to Hunter members and $180 to non-members.

For more information on String Theory at the Hunter or to purchase tickets, call 423-267-0968 or visit www.stringtheorymusic.org.