String Theory at the Hunter, in partnership with Lee University and the Hunter Museum of American Art, will present Bloch and Brahms at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 10, at the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga. The concert will feature violinist Sasha Sitkovetsky, violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, cellist Gary Hoffman, and pianist Gloria Chien. 
 
“This program pairs two very different yet deeply expressive voices,” said Chien, founder and artistic director of String Theory. “Bloch’s music is intimate and meditative, while Brahms moves through grandeur and passion. Together, they create a journey that highlights both personal reflection and the richness of cultural tradition.” 
 
The program includes From Jewish Life by Bloch and Piano Quartet No. 2 in A Major by Brahms, offering contrasting visions of introspection and cultural identity. 
 
Sitkovetsky is a violin professor and artist-in-residence at Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School for the Arts. He has performed internationally as a soloist and artistic director and appears regularly on the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center artist roster. An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Kronberg Academy in Germany, he has won numerous awards, including first prize at the 2011 Trio di Trieste Duo Competition and the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award. 
 
Praised by Strad magazine for her “lyricism…a silky tone and beautiful, supple lines,” violist Pajaro-van de Stadt has appeared in recitals and chamber-music concerts across the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, she earned a master’s degree in string quartet at Rice University. Pajaro-van de Stadt was the founding violist of the Dover Quartet (2008–2022), which won numerous awards, and served on the faculty at Curtis and Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music while the quartet was in residence at the Kennedy Center. 
 
Cellist Hoffman gained international renown as the first North American to win the Rostropovich International Cello Competition in 1986. He performs in major recitals and chamber-music series worldwide and has recorded extensively. Hoffman was the youngest faculty appointee in the history of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where he served for eight years, and he leads master classes globally. He is involved with the Kronberg Academy’s festival and Academy Master program, joined the Curtis Institute of Music faculty in 2021, and serves as master in residence for cello at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels. 
 
Chien is a noted performer, concert presenter, and educator. She made her orchestral debut at 16 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Thomas Dausgaard and was recognized by The Boston Globe as one of its superior pianists of the year. She has performed at venues including Alice Tully Hall, the Library of Congress, the Phillips Collection, the Dresden Chamber Music Festival, and the National Concert Hall in Taiwan, and appears frequently with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. 

In 2010, Chien became director of the Chamber Music Institute at Music@Menlo, a post she held for a decade. She joined her husband, violinist Soovin Kim, as artistic director of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival in 2017 and Chamber Music Northwest in 2020. She recently released two albums: “Gloria Chien Live from Music@Menlo” and “Here With You” on Cedille Records. Chien studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and is an artist-in-residence at Lee University. 
 
Prior to the concert at 5:45 p.m., “Pregame with Bob” features Chattanooga Symphony & Opera Music Director Emeritus Bob Bernhardt discussing the program and interviewing the artists. 
 
String Theory was founded in 2009 by Chien to expose new audiences to chamber music, invigorate the local classical scene, and cultivate a future generation of music lovers. 
 
This concert is generously sponsored by HK Architects. 
 
Tickets for the Tuesday evening performance are $54 for non-members, $42 for Hunter members, and $10 for students and music teachers with ID. Tickets are available until March 10. 

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit stringtheorymusic.org, email [email protected], or call (423) 414-2525.