An exhilarating journey through brilliant chamber masterworks past and present

Blair Milton, director

Made possible in part by a gift from the Allan R. and Ellen Drebin Opportunities Fund

Schedule :

January 10, 2024

7:30pm: Dover Quartet

Praised by Chicago Classical Review for their “live-wire intensity” and “keen blend of tonal warmth and incisiveness,” the two-time Grammy-nominated Dover Quartet is among the world’s most in-demand chamber ensembles. The quartet’s numerous awards include a stunning sweep of all prizes at the 2013 Banff International String Quartet Competition, grand and first prizes at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, and prizes at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition. The group’s 2024-25 season includes collaborative performances with preeminent artists including pianists Michelle Cann, Marc-André Hamelin, and Haochen Zhang, as well as premiere performances of works by Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate (‘90), a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and a leading composer of American Indian classical music. The Bienen School has co-commissioned Tate’s works on the evening’s program, together with the Curtis Institute of Music and a collective of chamber music presenters around the US.

Jessie Montgomery, Strum

Jerod Tate, Abokkoli' Taloowa' (Woodland Songs)

Jerod Tate, Rattle Songs

Antonín Dvo?ák, String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op. 96 ("American")

Buy Tickets

January 11, 2024

7:30pm: Third Coast Percussion with Jessie Montgomery

Jessie Montgomery, violin; David Skidmore, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, Sean Connors, and She-e Wu, percussion

Grammy Award-winning composer and violinist Jessie Montgomery joins the Grammy Award-winning Chicago-based quartet Third Coast Percussion for their first performance of 2025 and the first performance of their new program "Strum, Strike, Bend."

Acclaimed for her compositions that are “turbulent, wildly colorful and exploding with life” (Washington Post), Jessie Montgomery is the recipient of the ASCAP Foundation’s Leonard Bernstein Award and the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, and her growing body of work is performed by leading musicians and ensembles worldwide. She was appointed the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Mead Composer-in-Residence in 2021.

Praised for their “rare power” (Washington Post) and “inspirational sense of fun and curiosity” (Minnesota Star-Tribune), Third Coast Percussion—celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2025—has performed throughout the US and across four continents. The ensemble has commissioned and premiered new works by Philip Glass, Missy Mazzoli, Jlin, Danny Elfman, Clarice Assad, Augusta Read Thomas, Devonté Hynes, Glenn Kotche, and David T. Little, among many others.

Bienen Associate Professor of Percussion She-e Wu joins Third Coast Percussion for the performance of Lou Harrison's Concerto for Violin with Percussion Orchestra.

Jlin, Please Be Still

Jessie Montgomery, Lady Justice

Tigran Hamasyan, Sonata for Percussion

Jessie Montgomery (arr. Sean Connors), Suite from In Color

Lou Harrison, Concerto for Violin and Percussion Orchestra

Buy Tickets

January 12, 2024

3:00pm: Trio Valtorna

Ida Kavafian, violin; David Jolley, horn; Gilles Vonsattel, piano

The Danbury News-Times praises Trio Valtorna’s balance of “gentleness and power.” Bringing together the gifts of three internationally recognized artists, Trio Valtorna formed in 2011 when, after performing together at New Mexico’s Music from Angel Fire, violinist Ida Kavafian and horn player Daivd Jolley decided to extend their collaboration, inviting pianist Gilles Vonsattel to complete the ensemble. Highlights of the trio’s recent seasons include performances with Delaware’s Coastal Concerts series, the Birmingham Chamber Music Society, California’s Chamber on the Mountain, and the Auburn Chamber Music Society.

John Harbison, Twilight Music for horn, violin, and piano

Ludwig van Beethoven, Violin Sonata No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 12, No. 3

Johannes Brahms, Horn Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 40

Buy Tickets

January 17, 2024

7:30pm: Vertavo String Quartet

Øyvor Volle and Annabelle Meare, violin; Berit Cardas, viola; Bjørg Lewis, cello

“With phenomenal expressive flexibility, the Vertavo moved from warmest sensuality to knife-edge brittleness,” declares The Guardian. Since their founding in 1984, the Vertavo String Quartet has captivated audiences the world over, winning Norway’s Grieg Prize as well as taking First Prize, the Audience Prize, and the Critics’ Prize at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition. The quartet has toured extensively throughout Europe, the US, and Japan, and the group’s collaborations have included pianists Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Leif Ove Andsnes, clarinetist Sabine Meyer, and violinist and violist Isabelle van Keulen. Their 2000 recording of Debussy and Grieg quartets received the Diapason d’Or.

Elizabeth Maconchy, String Quartet No. 3

Maurice Ravel, String Quartet

Benjamin Britten, String Quartet No. 2 in C Major, Op. 36

Buy Tickets

January 19, 2024

3:00pm: Viano Quartet

Lucy Wang and Hao Zhou, violin; Aiden Kane, viola; Tate Zawadiuk, cello

“Many young quartets learn to express themselves eloquently, but this one, it is clear, also has something to say,” declares the Boston Globe. In 2019 the Viano Quartet received First Prize at the Banff International String Quartet Competition and Grand Prize at the 2019 ENKOR International Music Competition. The group has performed in major cities around the world and collaborated with pianists Marc-André Hamelin and Inon Barnatan, violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley, soprano Hila Plitmann, and clarinetist David Shifrin.  

Joseph Haydn, String Quartet No. 67 in F Major, Op. 77, No. 2

Krzysztof Penderecki, String Quartet No. 2

Aaron Jay Kernis, Adagio from String Quartet No. 1, “musica celestis”

Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130 with Große Fuge, Op. 133

Buy Tickets

January 24, 2024

7:30pm: Dudok Quartet Amsterdam

Judith van Driel and Marleen Wester, violin; Marie-Louise de Jong, viola; David Faber, cello

Acclaimed for its “sublime, incandescent” playing (Chicago Classical Review), the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam is the 2018 winner of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust award and The Netherlands’ coveted Kersjes Prize. The quartet’s recent projects have included the world premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s opera Only the Sound Remains, a collaboration with director Rosabel Huguet reimagining Beethoven’s Op. 132 String Quartet for children, and the recording and release of the first installment of the complete Tchaikovsky string quartets. Concert highlights include the group’s Australian debuts at the UKARIA Cultural Centre and Canberra International Festival, as well as the performance of John Adams’ Absolute Jest with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic.

Carlo Gesualdo (arr. Dudok Quartet Amsterdam), “Deh, come invan sospiro”

Joseph Haydn, String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 20, No. 3, Hob. III/33

Bushra El-Turk, Three Tributes for String Quartet (US premiere)

Dmitri Shostakovich (arr. Dudok Quartet Amsterdam), selection from Preludes for Piano, Op. 34

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, String Quartet No. 3 in E-flat Minor, Op. 30

Buy Tickets

January 26, 2024

3:00pm: Miró Quartet

Daniel Ching and William Fedkenheuer, violin; John Largess, viola; Joshua Gindele, cello

Celebrating 30 years together in 2025 and recognized for its “explosive vigor and technical finesse” by the New York Times, the Miró Quartet is a winner of the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Naumburg Chamber Music Competition. During its anniversary season, the quartet launches new collaborations with saxophonist Steven Banks and bass-baritone Joseph Parris, and makes concert appearances at the Kennedy Center, Music@Menlo, Chamber Music Detroit, and Music Toronto, among other North American venues. In May 2024, the quartet released its second album on the Pentatone label, Home, featuring two new commissions by Kevin Puts and Caroline Shaw together with music by George Walker and Samuel Barber.

Joseph Haydn, String Quartet No. 66 in G Major, Op. 77, No. 1

George Walker, Lyric for Strings

Caroline Shaw, Microfictions

Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet No. 8 in E Minor, Op. 59, No. 2

Buy Tickets

Date: January 10, 2024 - January 26, 2024

Location: Pick-Staiger Concert Hall,50 Arts Circle Drive,Evanston, IL 60208

Click Here For More Information