The Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble proudly announces its 2015-16 season, our thirteenth season as Oklahoma City’s own residential chamber music ensemble. The season will consist of five Regular-Season concerts, starting in September 2015 and concluding in April 2016, followed by Brightmusic’s fifth annual Spring Chamber Music Festival. The concerts will take place at St. Paul’s Cathedral at 7th and Robinson in downtown Oklahoma City on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. Spring Festival dates, performance venue(s) and programs will be announced later in the season. Check out our website at www.brightmusic.org for updates during the season.
In the first concert, September 22, 2015,“From Beethoven to the Beatles,” classical and rock music join forces in Sean Osborn’s clarinet quintet, “The Beatles.” The program also includes the septet by Beethoven, one of his most successful and popular compositions, and works by Alexander Glazunov, Svante Henryson and Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, best known for his well-loved operas. Concert 2, “Dvorak, Schumann & Schoenfield,” presented November 10, 2015, will feature five Brightmusic musicians performing three works for piano and strings by Robert Schumann, Antonin Dvorak and contemporary American composer Paul Schoenfield.
“Piano and Friends,” on January 19, 2016, featuring works for solo piano, piano trios and a piano quartet, will spotlight guest artist concert pianist Tanya Bannister in a piano quartet by Gabriel Faure, a pair of piano trios by Johannes Brahms and Robert Muczynski, and Frederic Chopin’s Ballade No. 4 for solo piano.
A trio of trios will be presented on March 15, including works for clarinet, strings and piano by Emil Hartmann, Aaron Jay Kernis and Johannes Brahms in “Three Colorful Trios.” Rounding out our regular season will be “Quintets, Sextets and Queen,” on April 5, featuring the Brightmusic Winds in performance of works by Anton Reicha, Leos Janacek, Ludwig Thuille, and an arrangement of favorite pop tunes by another iconic British rock band, Queen, arranged by Brightmusic bassoonist Carl Rath.
Season passes for all five Regular-Season concerts and all concerts of the Spring Festival are available for $75/person season membership contribution. Membership contributions may be made online, by mail or at the concert door. Brightmusic is still one of Oklahoma City’s greatest music values for world-class music! We will send you a membership pass to be shown at the door. Single concert tickets will be available at the door for $20 each. Students and active-duty military personnel are admitted free with ID.
Concert 1 – September 22, 2015, “From Beethoven to the Beatles”
Pop music has often borrowed from the classics, and now the favor is returned in our Season Premier. The iconic British rock band takes a seat beside Beethoven in Sean Osborn’s clarinet quintet, “The Beatles.” The Ensemble will also perform Gioachino Rossini’s Duo for Cello and Double Bass in D Major, Alexander Glazunov’s “Reverie Orientale,” (Op. 14) for clarinet and string quartet, Svante Henryson’s “Backcountry Skiing” for jazz clarinet and cello, and will conclude with Beethoven’s Septet in E-flat major (Op. 20) for violin, viola, cello, bass, clarinet, bassoon and horn.
Concert 2 – November 10, 2015, “Dvorak, Schumann & Schoenfield”
A pair of piano quartets and a piano quintet are featured in our second concert. There will be a work by Paul Schoenfield, “Carolina Reveille,” for piano quartet, based on the 1922 Broadway song, “Carolina in the Morning.” Also on the program is the Piano Quartet in E-flat major (Op. 47) for piano, violin, viola and cello by Robert Schumann, and Antonin Dvorak’s Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major (Op. 81).
Concert 3 – January 19, 2016, “Piano & Friends”
Guest pianist Tanya Bannister will take the spotlight in a tour-de-force performance, which will include Robert Muczynski’s “Fantasy Trio,” (Op. 26) for piano, clarinet and cello, Johannes Brahms’ Trio in A minor (Op. 114) for piano, clarinet and cello, a solo piano work by Frederic Chopin, the Ballade No. 4 in F minor (Op. 52), and concluding with Gabriel Faure’s Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor (Op. 15) for piano, violin, viola and cello. Ms. Bannister is a concert pianist, recording artist and artistic director of the annual AlpenKammerMusik chamber music festival in Austria.
Concert 4 – March 15, 2016, “Three Colorful Trios”
A trio of trios will be featured in Concert 4, starting with Emil Hartmann’s “Serenade for Clarinet, Cello and Piano” in A major (Op. 24), Aaron Jay Kernis’ “Trio in Red” (cello, clarinet and piano) and concluding with Johannes Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 1 in B major (Op. 8) for piano, violin and cello.
Concert 5 – April 5, 2016, “Quintets, Sextets & Queen”
Wrapping up our regular season is a sextet by Czech-French composer Anton Reicha, his Wind Quintet in E-flat major (Op. 88, No. 2), for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn, Leos Janacek’s “Mladi” (“Youth”) for wind sextet (flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon and horn), Ludwig Thuille’s Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet (piano, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn), and an arrangement by Brightmusic’s own bassoonist Carl Rath, of hit pop tunes by the British rock legend, Queen, the “Queen Fantasy” for wind quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn).
Spring Chamber Music Festival – June 2016, Program to be Announced
Brightmusic will present its fifth annual Spring Chamber Music Festival in June 2016, with programs, dates and venue(s) to be announced later in the season. Keep an eye on our website, www.brightmusic.org for updates.
