String Theory begins its spring lineup Thursday evening by blending the talents of legendary violinist Jamie Laredo with cellist Sharon Robinson and pianist Gloria Chien along with Patrick Castillo as a guest speaker. The performance will be at 6:30 p.m., Jan. 19 at the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga.

String Theory, a partnership of Lee University and the Hunter Museum of American Art, is now in its third season and has consistently provided an innovative artistic experience for the Chattanooga community. Thursday’s event is no exception.

Musical selections for the evening will include Stravinsky, Debussy and Chopin, as well as the Southern premier of Inventions on a Marriage by Grammy-winning composer Richard Danielpour. The concert is co-commissioned by String Theory with a generous gift from Sherry Keller Brown in memory of Dorothy Barckman Keller.

The storybook romance of the Bolivian-born violinist Jaime Laredo and American cellist Sharon Robinson has, over the past 35 years, been expressed in every facet of their lives. The Laredo-Robinson Duo will be premiering Danielpour’s Inventions on a Marriage, a work that has been written especially for them. Adding to their rich repertoire is this 20-minute piece of contrasting movements that explores in “musical snapshots” the bond of marriage and long-term relationships.

Following tours across the United States and Europe, the Laredo-Robinson duo has also recorded a new album entitled “Triple Doubles,” released by BRIDGE this past fall. The husband-wife team has been part of the esteemed faculty of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University since 2005.

In 2008, the duo established an ambitious project to premiere and record newly commissioned double concerti across the U.S., resulting in the world premiere of David Ludwig’s Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Orchestra performed with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra under the baton of guest conductor Sarah Hicks. The duo also received a Grammy nomination for the Two Brahms Sextets CD with their renowned colleagues Isaac Stern, Cho-Liang Lin, Michael Tree, and Yo-Yo Ma.
 
An internationally acclaimed pianist and assistant professor of music at Lee, Gloria Chien has been picked by the Boston Globe as one of the Superior Pianists of the year, “… who appears to excel in everything.” In 2009, Chien was the founder and artistic director behind String Theory. Her recent CD with violinist Joanna Kurkowicz, featuring music of Grazyna Bacewicz was released on Chandos Records. The International Record Review writes, “[the violinist] could ask for no more sensitive or supportive a pianist than Gloria Chien.”

An avid chamber musician, Chien was chosen to join the roster of the Chamber Music Society Two of Lincoln Center from 2012. She has been the resident pianist with the Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston since 2000, a group known for its versatility and commitment to new music. Boston Herald praises her for “[playing] phenomenally.”

Chien is a prize winner of the World Piano Competition, Harvard Musical Association Award, as well as the San Antonio International Piano Competition, where she also received the prize for the Best Performance of the Commissioned Work. Chien has presented solo recitals at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Harvard Musical Association, Sanibel Musical Festival, Caramoor Musical Festival, Salle Cortot in Paris, and the National Concert Hall in Taiwan.

Patrick Castillo leads a multifaceted career as a composer, performer, writer, and educator. His music has been featured at festivals and venues throughout the United States and internationally including Spoleto Festival USA, June in Buffalo, the Santa Fe New Music Festival, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Berklee College of Music, Tenri Cultural Institute, Bavarian Academy of Music in Munich, and Nuremberg Museum of Contemporary Art.

In 2009, Castillo’s arrangements of Mendelssohn’s Lieder ohne Worte were performed by Emanuel Ax, Itzhak Perlman, and Yo-Yo Ma at Carnegie Hall. He has provided program notes for numerous concert series: most prolifically for Music@Menlo, a chamber music festival and institute in Silicon Valley for which he also serves as artistic administrator.

Castillo has authored, narrated, and produced the widely acclaimed AudioNotes series of listener’s guides to the chamber music literature. His writing credits also include New York City Opera’s musical introduction to Emmanuel Chabrier’s L’Étoile, a live presentation for young listeners featuring full orchestra and soloists. Castillo has been a guest lecturer at the Chamber Music Festival of the Bluegrass in Kentucky and Fordham University.

Prior to the performance, the Hunter Museum will feature a pre-concert conversation with the artists at 6 p.m. in the Hunter lobby.
 
Individual concert tickets are $20 per concert for donors and Hunter members, $25 per concert for non-members, and $10 for students with a valid student ID. Season tickets for members and donors are $120 each and $150 each for non-members.
For more information about String Theory at the Hunter or to purchase tickets, visit stringtheorymusic.org, call 423-267-0968, or email [email protected].

Photo:  (from top l to r) Robinson, Laredo, Castillo, Chien