CHAMBER MUSIC CHARLESTON RETURNS TO SOTTILE THEATRE

Guest Artists Join Musicians of CMC For String Sextets of Brahms and Schoenberg

Chamber Music Charleston’s acclaimed Ovation Concert Series continues on Sunday, November 3, 2024, at 3 PM at the College of Charleston Sottile Theatre. The concert features guest violinist Daniel Ching of the Miró Quartet and cellist Alan Rafferty of the Cincinnati Symphony joining musicians of Chamber Music. The concert opens with Schoenberg’s groundbreaking one-movement work, “Verklärte Nacht,” based on Richard Dehmel’s poem of the same name, and concludes with Brahms’ glorious Sextet in G Major.

Arnold Schoenberg’s “Verklärte Nacht,” composed in 1899, is a highly expressive and innovative work for string sextet. Inspired by Dehmel’s poem, the music vividly captures the emotional turmoil and eventual reconciliation between two lovers. The composition is renowned for its rich harmonic language and masterful use of counterpoint, marking a significant departure from traditional tonal structures and paving the way for Schoenberg’s later forays into atonality.
The program concludes with Johannes Brahms’ Sextet in G Major, Op. 36, composed in 1864-65. This expansive and lyrical work showcases Brahms’ ability to blend intricate musical textures with deep emotional expression. The sextet is characterized by its warm, glowing melodies, complex interweaving of the string parts, and the seamless integration of folk-inspired themes. The final movement, in particular, stands out for its exuberant energy and brilliant contrapuntal writing, making it one of the most celebrated works in the chamber music repertoire.

Tickets start at $25 ($5 for students/parents) and are available in advance online

ABOUT THE GUEST ARTISTS

Daniel Ching, a founding member of the Miró Quartet, began his violin studies at the age of 3 under tutelage of his father. At age 5, he entered the San Francisco Conservatory Preparatory Division on a full twelve‐year scholarship, where he studied violin with Serban Rusu and Zaven Melikian, and chamber music with Susan Bates. At the age of 10, Daniel was first introduced to string quartets.A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Daniel studied violin with Kathleen Winkler, Roland and Almita Vamos, and conducting with Robert Spano and Peter Jaffe. He completed his Masters degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with former Cleveland Quartet violinist Donald Weilerstein. He also studied recording engineering and production with Thomas Knab of Telarc, and subsequently engineered the Miró Quartet’s first promotional disc. Daniel is on faculty at the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin, where he teaches private violin students and coaches chamber music. He concurrently maintains an active international touring schedule as a member of the Miró Quartet.
Alan Rafferty is rapidly gaining recognition as a preeminent cellist, master teacher and innovative arts leader. In demand as a clinician around the world, Mr. Rafferty has presented Master Classes at numerous schools including the Cleveland Institute of Music, Northwestern University, the University of Michigan and University of Texas at Austin and has been a visiting faculty member for the Cleveland Institute of Music, Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and makes yearly visits to work with the Fellows at the New World Symphony. A member of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra since 2007, Mr. Rafferty holds the Ruth F. Rosevear endowed cello chair. In addition to playing over 1000 concerts as a member of the orchestra both in Cincinnati and around the world on tour, he has been a regular performer on the CSO Chamber Players Series and narrated Education Concerts. As a chamber musician, Mr. Rafferty regularly collaborates with the likes of Leon Fleisher, Cho-Liang Lin and the Miro Quartet. He is the Artistic Director of the Ascent International Chamber Music Festival currently hosted by the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. Since 2013, he has been a faculty member at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.

ABOUT CHAMBER MUSIC CHARLESTON

Chamber Music Charleston (CMC) is a nonprofit arts organization founded in 2006. CMC is known for its wide variety of engaging and exciting classical programs, from Ovation Concerts at the Dock Street and Sottile Theatres to intimate House Concerts in the historic homes of Downtown Charleston and grand living spaces of Kiawah Island and Bishop Gadsden. CMC attracts internationally acclaimed guest artists to play alongside their professional local musicians in over 50 concerts each season. Highlights of past seasons include performances by legendary violinist Midori, two sold-out performances at New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall, concerts at the South Carolina Aquarium, Old Exchange Building, and Drayton Hall, and the commission and world premiere performance of James Stephenson’s “There Are No Words,” written in response to Charleston’s Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting in June 2015.