08-09 Season Begins Before You Know It!

As you  may have noticed from our new promotional material, our 2008-2009 season will be beginning much earlier than usual.  Our first group, the Beax Arts Trio will be performing at Trinity United Methodist Church on Friday, June 27.  This is much earlier than our seasons usually start.

Also, prior subscribers should be receiving their subscription packet in the mail shortly if they’ve not made it to their destination already.  If you are curious as to what image on the new cover belongs to what artist, try this flash app which identifies each of them.  Hover your mouse pointer over each image for the name of the artist as well as the date that they will be playing.

2008 - 2009 Celebrity Series Cover

Fresh off the presses, we’re pleased to post the cover for the upcoming 56th Celebrity Series Season.  

 

(click for larger version)

If you are a current subscriber, you should be receiving this in the mail in the not so distant future included with your renewal information.

Tentative 2008 - 2009 Schedule of Events

We’re pleased to announce the tentative schedule for our featured artists of our next season.  Please keep in mind that this schedule is still in development and may change either slightly or significantly as the season approaches.  We hope to announce more specific details in the very near future.

June 2008 -  Beaux Arts Trio
Early October 2008 -  Paul Jacobs, Organ
Late October 2008 -   Vienna Choir Boys
December 2008 - Canadian Brass

Early February 2009 - St. Olaf Choir
Late February 2009 - Guarneri String Quartet
March 2009 - Marilyn Horne Events
April 2009 - Chanticleer

Next Event: Olga Kern

Our next featured artist appearing at Trinity United Methodist will be Russian pianist Olga Kern.

At the age of seventeen, Olga received first prize at the first Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition.  Since then, she tied for first place in June of 2001 in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, becoming the first woman in over thirty years to gain the honor.  As a result of her success at the Cliburn Competition, Ms. Kern made her Boston Pops debut during the summer of 2001 and performed at the Kennedy Center with noted soprano Renée Fleming in tribute to Van Cliburn in December 2001.  Ms. Kern was featured in Playing on the Edge, the Peabody Award-winning documentary about the Eleventh Van Cliburn Competition which has aired on PBS stations across the United States. Her final round Cliburn Competition performances with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Maestro James Conlon are showcased in the PBS series Concerto.

The performance will take place on Friday, February 15th at 7:30 pm.  Tickets are available by calling HCMG at 256-824-6540.  We hope to see you there!

Next Event: Baltimore Consort on January 25th!

After a somewhat lengthy break, we are ready to get back into the swing of things with our first event of 2008, featuring the Baltimore Consort!  This fall marks the group’s 27 th season as one of America’s favorite early music ensembles. The Consort has made eleven recordings on the Dorian label and has toured widely in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

…They brought their lutes and viols to Glasgow, along with bewitching soprano, Custer LaRue…It ought to be offensive that the most exhilarating Scots music performance to turn up on our native soil this year should come from America…They bring to this music researched by them with awesome thoroughness, a mix of jazz and joy, of improvisation and uncanny insight…

—The Scotsman, Scotland’s National Newspaper

The performance will take place on Friday, January 25th at 7:30 pm at Trinity United Methodist Church.  Please call 256-824-6540 for tickets!

Next Event: King’s Singers on November 30th

Our next event on November 30th will feature the King’s Singers of Cambridge England, who will be performing during our Holiday Program. The King’s Singers have been active since 1968, having released well over thirty albums and having appeared on entertainment programs such as NBC’s Tonight Show on multiple occasions.

The King’s Singers will be appearing at Trinity United Methodist Church at 7:30 on November 30th, 2007. Tickets are still available through the HCMG by calling 256-824-6540. Please call in advance to reserve your seats, this is likely to be one of our more popular shows of the 2007-2008 season and it is very well possible that it may indeed sell out.

Our First Event a Big Success!

Thanks to everyone who attended Friday night’s wonderful event.  After playing a wonderful set, (of which included some familiar music to some of us from the film Napoleon Dynamite) the LAGQ was applauded to two encores!  If you were unable to attend or would otherwise like to see some images from the event, we have uploaded a set onto our Flickr page which you can view below.

Flickr Set: HCMG - Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

Be sure to make plans to attend our next event when we will be hosting the Emerson String Quartet on October 12th!

Two Days Until Showtime!

Our season opener with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet is only two days away, and we are all very excited!

Though it may not seem like it, there is much more involved with readying HCMG events than what it would appear like on the surface.  You may have noticed on our main website that we have a link for “Educational Encounters“.  Earlier in the afternoon on the day of the event, we will be happy to host some of the area schools to give them a sample of some of the music heard at the main event.  This also involves giving them pizza, but we’re happy to do whatever it takes to get them interested in classical music!

Much time is also invested in getting the main auditorium at Trinity Church in the right shape for the event.  The room is great for the acoustics for something like this, but we like to make sure that everyone can hear the performances as clearly as possible no matter where they are sitting.  Then of course, this being one of the bookend events of the season, we are all looking forward to a social dinner and Gala at the Bonefish Grill following the performance.  Bonefish has been wonderful in their cooperation with us, and have supplied some wonderful food for all of us.  (Though we might not admit it personally, this is the favorite part of the night for many of us!)

If you are new to the area, or haven’t familiarized yourself with the area around Trinity and Bonefish, now may be a good time to take a look at the area on Google Maps.  Traffic in this part of Huntsville is sometimes a mess, and it’s always good to plan ahead.  Especially if you plan on attending the Gala after the event.  While it is only just across the street, traffic is usually heavy at this time of a Friday night in Huntsville, and it isn’t a simple hop and a skip across the street as you might expect.  If you need any help getting there after the event, please feel free to ask any of us coordinating the event for assistance.

We are really looking forward to seeing everyone in Downtown Huntsville this Friday night.  We hope to see you there!  Please check back on this blog early next week for links to the eventual Flickr sets of photos from the event!

HCMG LAGQ Audio Promo

Click to listen to the audio advertisment.

Celebrity Series Event: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

The first event of the new season is quickly approaching! It will feature the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet at Trinity United Methodist Church on Airport Road in Huntsville, Alabama on Friday, September 28th at 7:30pm. The official website for the Quartet states the following about the group…

Recognized as one of America’s premier instrumental ensembles, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet is one of the most charismatic groups performing today. Popularly known as the LAGQ, these four virtuosi bring a new energy to the concert stage with their eclectic programs and dynamic musical interplay. Their critically acclaimed transcriptions of concert masterworks provide a fresh look at the music of the past, while their interpretations of works from the contemporary and world-music realms continually break new ground. The LAGQ has set new standards for the classical guitar quartet medium.

Samples of the Quartet can also be heard here on their website, as featured on National Public Radio’s Performance Today. The Huntsville Chamber Music Guild is proud to present this event on Friday, September 28th at 7:30pm. Also, the traditional opening Gala will be held at the Bonefish Grill across the street from Trinity Church at approximately 10:00pm. Both events are in honor of retiring Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Sue Kirkpatrick.

Please contact us at (256) 824-6540 for more information and to order tickets. We look forward to seeing you there!