Curated to Captivate

Highlands Chamber Music Festival puts a bow on a glorious 2023 Season with its Gershon/Cohn Festival All Stars gala concert and Dinner, set for August 6. Call (828) 526-9060 or email hccmfnc@gmail.com for tickets. Tickets are also available online at h-cmusicfestival.org.

Thanks to the HighlandsCashiers Chamber Music Festival, the town of Highlands has long been a paradise for chamber music, a status reaffirmed by the enthusiastic response to the creative excellence of the 2023 season.

On August 6 the festival maintains its much-loved tradition of concluding the season with a final gala concert and dinner, the Gershon/Cohn Festival All Stars. Named in honor of those who have made significant contributions to the festival, the gala takes place in the grand and acoustically impeccable venue of the Highlands Performing Arts Center.

Thoughtfully selected and curated to captivate audiences for the gala concert are Schumann’s Piano Quintet in Eb Major, Schumann and Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence for String Sextet, performed by this year’s music luminaries.

Playing cello are Charae Krueger, principal cellist with The Atlanta Opera and the Atlanta Ballet orchestras, and a lecturer and artist-in-residence at Kennesaw State University, and Zuill Bailey. Having established himself as one of the leading cellists of his generation, Bailey has won numerous awards and is well known for his passionate performances.

On viola are Yinzi Kong and Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt. A native of Shanghai, Kong is a founding member of the internationally acclaimed Vega String Quartet and has performed in major concert halls worldwide. A rising star in the viola world, Stadt is a violist of the Dover Quartet and a past recipient of the first prize and every special award at the Baff International String Quartet Competition. She has performed in recitals and chamber music concerts throughout the United States, Latin America, and Europe. Performing on Violin are Chee-Yun,

Artist-in-Residence at Southern Methodist University, and David Coucheron, concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony. After winning the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1989, Chee-Yun had her recital debut at Carnegie Hall and appeared in season 7 of Curb Your Enthusiasm. An active recording artist, Coucheron has given solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games.

Music written for piano will be performed by HCCMF Artistic Director, William Ransom. He is currently the Mary L. Emerson Professor of Piano at Emory University in Atlanta and is the founder and Artistic Director of the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta.

Dinner follows the concert at the Highlands Falls Country Club.

by Marlene Osteen