Emerson String Quartet serves as Artistic Advisors on nine-concert series
featuring world-class artists in an acoustically rich and approachable setting
Vienna, Virginia (October 24, 2016) –Chamber Music at The Barns’ 20th anniversary season opens this Friday, October 28 with three of the most lauded names in chamber music – pianist Wu Han, violinist and Emerson String Quartet member Philip Setzer, and former Emerson cellist David Finckel, in an all-Beethoven program. The concert is the first in the nine-concert series, which bears the stamp of this season’s Artistic Advisors, the acclaimed Emerson String Quartet. A press calendar can be found here, images are available upon request, and the most up-to-date information on programming may be found at www.wolftrap.org/chamber.
Throughout the season, members of the Emerson String Quartet will perform alongside artists they have hand-selected for the series. In addition to their presence on the opening concert, three of the quartet members – violinist Eugene Drucker, violist Lawrence Drucker and cellist Paul Watkins – perform Mozart’s Divertimento and Brahms’ Sextet No. 1 alongside three of their most talented protégés in a program titled Passing the Torch (February 3). The Escher String Quartet (March 3), former students of Emerson players who are championed by the quartet, makes their Wolf Trap debut in a program of Mendelssohn, Bartok and Beethoven.
The full Emerson String Quartet (April 28) concludes the season with the Washington-area premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Shroud, a new co-commission by Wolf Trap Foundation, which the quartet is currently touring as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations.
The 2016-2017 Chamber Music at the Barns season highlights both established classical artists and young new talents, including four-hand piano duo Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung (January 8); internationally acclaimed soprano and Wolf Trap Opera alumna Ailyn Pérez (January 20); and Norwegian trumpeter Tine Thing Helselth’s all-female brass ensemble, tenThing (March 24). The series features two holiday-themed concerts: five-time Grammy award-winning a cappella group The Swingles (December 2) and the legendary Boston Brass (December 4).
Originally billed as The Discovery Series, Chamber Music at The Barns features top-notch artists in an intimate, accessible setting. Acoustically pristine and stylistically relaxed, performances on the series welcome audiences to interact with the artists through question-and-answer sessions and post-performance receptions. Select performances are recorded for national broadcast on “Center Stage from Wolf Trap,” an hour-long program hosted by Classical WETA announcer Rich Kleinfeldt and Lee Anne Myslewski, Wolf Trap's Director of Artistic Administration, Wolf Trap Opera and Classical Programming.
Special thanks to Dan and Gayle D’Aniello, Wolf Trap 2016 Season Underwriters.
Tickets for Chamber Music at The Barns
The most up-to-date information on artists, performances and ticket availability may be found on Wolf Trap’s website, WolfTrap.org/chamber.
Online: WolfTrap.org
By phone: 1.877.WOLFTRAP
In person: The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road, Vienna, Virgina
Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, produces and presents a full range of performance and education programs in the Greater Washington area, as well as nationally. Wolf Trap features three performance venues: the outdoor Filene Center and Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, both located at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, and The Barns at Wolf Trap, located down the road from the national park and adjacent to the Center for Education at Wolf Trap. The 7,028-seat Filene Center is operated in partnership with the National Park Service and annually showcases an extensive array of diverse artists, ranging from pop, country, folk, and blues to classical music, dance, and theatre, as well as multimedia presentations, from May through September. The Barns at Wolf Trap is operated by the Wolf Trap Foundation year round, and during the summer months is home to the Grammy-nominated Wolf Trap Opera, one of America’s outstanding resident ensemble programs for young opera singers. Wolf Trap’s education programs include the nationally acclaimed Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods, a diverse array of arts education classes, grants, and a nationally recognized internship program.
Media Information
(Please do not publish contact information)
Emily Smalling, Coordinator, Public Relations