Chamber Musicians Offer Performances During Three-Week Residency at Converse
Members of the Spartanburg community can enjoy a series of free chamber music concerts through July 5 at Converse College, performed by participants in Chamber Music on the Hill (aka CMOTH). The three-week intensive camp educates and nurtures young musicians in the art of chamber music, with a focus on cultivating musicianship, leadership skills, and relationships. This year’s 25 participants are working with a dedicated and distinguished faculty in daily masterclasses and chamber coachings, individual lessons, weekly performances and outreach concerts.
AZLA Quartet, this year’s Fellowship Quartet
2018 also marks the inaugural year of the CMOTH Fellowship Quartet Program, in which four outstanding young musicians were selected to work closely with the CMOTH faculty, studying and performing entire works from the quartet repertoire and mentoring some of the younger quartets. This mentoring approach deepens their understanding of string pedagogy and furthers their overall musical training. The four inaugural members were chosen from a highly competitive field of applicants and matched for their similarities in approach and commitment. They include: Zoe Kushubar, a rising junior at Converse College double majoring in Violin Performance and Chemistry; Alexander Parks, a rising junior at the Cleveland Institute of Music; and Lentz McNeill, violin and Andy Billings, viola, freshmen at East Carolina University majoring in Performance. With ample time daily for their own practice and rehearsals, the group prepares a full program which they will present in masterclasses and formal concerts. This year the Fellowship Quartet has chosen Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” and Haydn’s “Sunrise.”
“A key component of the CMOTH philosophy is one of giving back to the local community,
“A key component of the CMOTH philosophy is one of giving back to the local community,” said CMOTH artistic director and Converse professor Dr. Sarah Johnson. “Our students give outreach concerts at community venues, churches, retirement communities, private homes, and hospitals.” Through this initiative, CMOTH musicians will perform in the atrium of the Bearden-Josey Center for Breast Health at the Gibbs Cancer Center on Wednesday, June 27, from 10:00 a.m. –noon. In addition to their final chamber music concerts in the Daniel Recital Hall at Converse College (schedule below), the Fellowship Quartet will perform next Tuesday, July 3, at Summit Hills Assisted Living in Spartanburg.
For more info on CMOTH, visit https://www.cmoth.org/.
UPCOMING CONCERTS
Wednesday, June 27, 10:00 AM
Community Outreach Chamber Music
Gibbs Cancer Center in Spartanburg
Thursday, June 28, 7:00 PM
Student Chamber Finale I
Daniel Recital Hall, Converse College
Friday, June 29, 1:00 PM
Student Chamber Finale II
Daniel Recital Hall, Converse College
Friday, June 29, 3:00 PM
Student Chamber Finale III
Daniel Recital Hall, Converse College
Tuesday, July 3, 3:00 PM
The CMOTH Fellowship Quartet Program presents
AZLA Quartet
Summit Hills Assisted Living
Thursday, July 5, 7:00 PM
The CMOTH Fellowship Quartet Program presents
AZLA Quartet
Performing Haydn’s “Sunrise” and Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden”
Daniel Recital Hall, Converse College