Converse's STAND Chapter presents a moving and entertaining benefit dinner to create change and help end the genocide in Darfur. This is a student led and initiated event. STAND is the largest student anti-genocide coalition in the nation and we need your support; so come do your part by enjoying dinner and performances by Converse music, theatre, and dance students at the same time. It is strongly recommended that you buy your tickets early, the RSVP is APRIL 25th and seating is limited. To find out more call or go to our website at http://conversedinnerfordarfur.googlepages.com We hope to see you soon.

The New York Times praised their “warm, seductively luxurious sound and impressive precision and unity of purpose,” while the Washington Post stated simply that “they have established standards of chamber music performance equal to any in the world.” The American Chamber Players open this season’s series with a concert celebrating the tenth anniversary of the group’s first appearance at Converse. The delightfully varied program will feature a performance of Beethoven’s magnificent Septet for winds and strings.

In just a few years, the Hamann Sisters have won international recognition, captivating audiences and critics alike wherever they appear. Amy and Sara Hamann are the first American Piano Duo to win the Absolute First Prize in the Fryderyk Chopin Concorso Pianistico Internazionale, held in Rome, Italy and the First Prize winners of the International Grieg Competition, held in Oslo, Norway. In 1999, they became the youngest First Prize winners in the history of the National Federation of Music Clubs Ellis Competition for Duo-Pianists, which was held at Converse College. In addition to winning the First Prize that year, the Hamanns received the Lucile Parrish Ward Award for the best performance of American music. The sisters are also past winners of the distinguished McKnight Artist Fellowship for Performing Musicians administered by the MacPhail Center for Music, in Minneapolis. Along with works by W. F. Bach, Franz Liszt and others, they will perform Darius Milhaud's dazzling Scaramouch

The Guarneri String Quartet is “among the most revered and enduring ensembles of its kind in the world,” according to National Public Radio. They have circled the globe countless times since the group was formed in 1964, made numerous recordings, and played again and again in the most prestigious halls around the world. The Guarneri String Quartet has announced its retirement at the completion of the 2008-09 season, and will celebrate this last season by touring extensively throughout the United States. Their program will include the String Quartet in F Major by Maurice Ravel.

As a special bonus for our subscribers, violist and Petrie School of Music dean Miles Hoffman will close the season performing a recital with the virtuoso Bulgarian pianist and international prize-winner Anna Stoytcheva. One of the nation’s most distinguished champions of the viola as a solo instrument, Dean Hoffman’s career began with his 1979 debut recital, which the New York Times hailed as “an uplifting experience,” and has continued with recitals and appearances as soloist with orchestras all across the United States. His program with Ms. Stoytcheva will include works for viola and piano by Schumann, Shostakovich, Bruch, and Brahms.