String Theory at the Hunter, in partnership with Lee University and the Hunter Museum of American Art, will present “String Celebrations” at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14, at the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga. The performance will serve as the finale to String Theory’s 17th season.
 
The concert will feature violinists Benjamin Beilman, Erin Keefe, Alexi Kenney, and Arnaud Sussmann; violists Misha Amory and Nicholas Cords; cellists Nina Lee and Edward Arron; and double bassist Thomas Van Dyck.
 
“‘String Celebrations’ brings together eight masterful performers for a program that showcases the breadth, beauty, and bravura of chamber music for strings,” said Dr. Gloria Chien, founder and artistic director of String Theory.
 
The program will open with Antonín Dvořák’s “Terzetto in C Major,” a work known for its lyrical warmth and intimate interplay among the musicians. The evening will conclude with Felix Mendelssohn’s “Octet in E-flat Major,” a virtuosic and exuberant masterpiece composed when Mendelssohn was just 16, featuring all eight performers.
 
“This grand finale highlights the brilliance and energy that define this extraordinary repertoire,” said Chien.
 
Beilman studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Kronberg Academy and has received numerous honors, including a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and the London Music Masters Award.
 
Keefe is a violinist with the Minnesota Orchestra and joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2022. She has performed internationally throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.
 
Kenney, a graduate of the New England Conservatory, was the winner of the 2013 Concert Artists Guild Competition. The New York Times has praised his playing for its “architect’s eye for structure and space.”
 
Sussmann serves as co-artistic director of Music@Menlo’s International Program and teaches at Stony Brook University. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris and The Juilliard School.

Amory, winner of the 1991 Naumburg Viola Award, maintains an active performance career in the United States and Europe. He holds degrees from Yale University and The Juilliard School and serves on the faculties of both Juilliard and Curtis.

Cords is co-artistic director of the Silkroad Ensemble and a member of Brooklyn Rider. He studied at The Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music and is on faculty at the New England Conservatory.
 
Van Dyck holds degrees from Rice University and Boston University and has been a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 2013. He is also a member of the Boston Chamber Music Society and the East Coast Chamber Orchestra and serves on the faculties of the New England Conservatory and Boston University.
 
Chien, a noted performer, presenter, and educator, founded String Theory in 2009 to expand access to chamber music, invigorate the local classical music scene, and cultivate future audiences.
 
This concert is sponsored by the William L. Montague Jr. Performing Arts Fund.
 
Tickets are $54 for nonmembers, $42 for Hunter Museum members, and $10 for students and music teachers with valid ID.
 
For tickets or more information, visit stringtheorymusic.org, or email [email protected], or call (423) 414-2525.