Chamber Week

With three concerts in the next seven days, my quartet has a busy week ahead. On Thursday we will join Austin East High School's orchestra for their “Taste of Music” concert / fund-raiser. The symphony has an ongoing partnership with AEHS. Since the beginning of the season, five KSO musicians have attended rehearsals with the students. The goal is to mentor the string students on a continuing basis. We help them master technical aspects of the pieces that are being rehearsed as well as give them an idea about what it is like to be a professional musician. My quartet started it's rotation through the side by side program in January. I have enjoyed getting to know the students as well as their teacher, Mr. East. He does an incredible job with them.

Earlier in the day on Thursday the Principal Quartet will be performing live on WDVX's Blue Plate Special. I'm both nervous and excited about this performance. The quartet finalized our repertoire choices this morning: an excerpt from the Barber string quartet we're performing on Sunday, a Dixie tune, Ashokan Farewell, and a tango. The really neat thing about this performance is that you don't need to be in the WDVX listening area to tune in. They stream their broadcast live on their website. If you can't make it to the studio for the performance, tune in on the radio or web at 12 pm ET on Thursday.

Finally, on Sunday the Principal Quartet will be performing the entire Barber String Quartet (which includes the famous Adagio for Strings) on the KSO chamber concert. The concert features American chamber music with a variety of instrumentations. In addition to the Barber quartet there will be a piano trio, a series of songs featuring soprano Jennifer Barnett, a woodwind quintet, and a piece for flute, clarinet, bassoon, piano, and string quartet which was written by Timothy Cooper, winner of the Knoxville Symphony's composition competition. Don't let the parking situation deter you from attending this performance: the KSO is providing a free shuttle service from the State Street Garage to the Bijou before and after the concert.