Emory
CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY of Atlanta
Cooke Noontime Series
This livestream concert is presented by the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts schwartz.emory.edu/virtual-stage Box Office/Audience Information 404.727.5050 • boxoffice@emory.edu
Photographs and Recordings Digital capture or recording of this concert is not permitted. Event and Program Information Available online at schwartz.emory.edu Cover Design By Lisa Baron Acknowledgment Eternal thanks to Donna and Marvin Schwartz for their many contributions.
The Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta is supported by the Cherry L. Emerson Endowment, the Rebecca Katz-Doft Chamber Music Endowment, the Ethel Orentlicher Gershon Fund, a generous gift from Dr. John and Linda Cooke, the Friends of Music at Emory, and by ongoing donations from music lovers like you.
ECMSA Cooke Noontime Series Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta William Ransom, artistic director
2020 2021
The Enchanted Harp
Elisabeth Remy Johnson, harp; Jessica Shuang Wu, violin; Yinzi Kong, viola
Friday, March 19, 2021, noon Eastern Schwartz Center for Performing Arts Virtual Stage
Program Preshow music provided by the Vega String Quartet
Fantaisie in A Major, op. 124 Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) Elisabeth Remy Johnson, harp; Jessica Shuang Wu, violin
Mel Bonis (1858–1937)
Quatre Morceaux Près du ruisseau Berceuse Mélisande Desdémona
Johanna Selleck (b. 1959)
Spindrift Elisabeth Remy Johnson, harp
Fantasy Sonata Allegro molto Allegro moderato Lento espressivo Allegro
Arnold Bax (1883–1953)
Elisabeth Remy Johnson, harp; Yinzi Kong viola
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Elisabeth Remy Johnson, harp Elisabeth Remy Johnson was appointed principal harpist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) in 1995. She holds the endowed Delta Air Lines Chair, and also held the honorary UPS Community Service Chair for the 2006–2007 season. With the ASO, Remy Johnson has performed concertos by Debussy, Handel, Mozart, and Ginastera. Winner of first-place awards in competitions of the American Harp Society and the American String Teachers Association, Remy Johnson is also an NFAA/ARTS awardee. She studied with Ann Hobson Pilot in Boston and with Alice Chalifoux at the Salzedo Summer Harp Colony in Camden, Maine. She graduated from Harvard University Phi Beta Kappa with a double major in music and French. In addition to her numerous orchestra recordings with the ASO, Remy Johnson recorded Britten’s Ceremony of Carols with Robert Shaw and his Chamber Singers for the Telarc recording A Robert Shaw Christmas: Angels on High. Her first solo CD, Whirlwind, recorded on the ACA Digital Recording label, was released in fall 2000. A flute and harp recording with ASO principal flutist Christina Smith, Encantamiento, was released in fall 2008. The American Record Guide writes: “This collection is aptly named, for we have enchantment here long before we reach the composition with that title, and the sound of Elisabeth Remy Johnson’s harp is captured with exceptional brilliance, her artistry a constant joy.” In addition to frequent solo and chamber music recitals in the greater-Atlanta area, Remy Johnson has performed with the Atlanta Chamber Players and the Carolina Chamber Music Festival, and is a frequent guest at the Meeting 5
House Chamber Music Festival on Cape Cod. Remy Johnson has performed at the American Harp Society National Conventions numerous times. Recently, she was invited to give a solo recital at the International Harp Festival in Rio de Janeiro and was the featured guest solo artist at the MidAtlantic Harp Festival. Remy Johnson teaches harp privately through the ASO Talent Development Program and at several universities in the Atlanta area. She coaches the harpists of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra and is an artist affiliate at Emory University, artist in residence at Kennesaw State University, and adjunct instructor at Georgia State University. Remy Johnson is co-founder and was artistic director (2000–2010) of the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble, a program serving 55 students from several Atlanta public schools. For this work, she received Atlanta’s Channel Eleven Community Service Award and the TBS Pathfinder Award. In fall 2009, Remy Johnson was awarded the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “Up & Comers Award,” also known as “40 under 40,” showcasing young community leaders in Atlanta.
Jessica Shuang Wu, violin As a founding member of the Vega String Quartet, quartet in residence at Emory University, Jessica Shuang Wu has performed extensively throughout North America, Asia, and Europe and has been broadcast on NPR’s Performance Today (USA), Radio France, the National Radio of China, the National Radio of the Czech Republic, and Shanghai TV. Her concert appearances include the Vega String Quartet’s critically acclaimed Lincoln Center debut and “a triumphant L. A. debut” (Los Angeles Times), along with performances at the Weill and Zankel recital halls and Issac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, Harvard Club in New York, Museum d’Orsay of Paris, Highlands Festival in North Carolina, Aspen Music festival, and La Jolla Concert Series, among many others.
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Born in Shanghai, China, Wu began her violin studies at age five and made her solo debut with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra at age twelve. At age nine, she joined the Shanghai Conservatory and began playing chamber music at age thirteen. In 1998, Wu and the other musicians of the Vega String Quartet won the first prize at the Coleman International Chamber Ensemble Competition and first prize at the Carmel International Chamber Music Competition. The following year, the quartet was awarded four out of six total prizes from the 1999 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in France, including the International Music Critics’ prize. The quartet has released a CD under Naxos Records Inc., of 20th-century American music. Wu appears regularly in chamber music concerts with many of today’s leading artists such as Richard Stoltzman, William Preucil, Sarah Chang, Robert McDuffle, Charles Wadsworth, Elliot Fisk, Christopher O’Reily, and the Eroica Trio.
Yinzi Kong, viola Violist Yinzi Kong, born and raised in Shanghai, China, is a founding member of the internationally acclaimed Vega String Quartet. Kong began her musical training at age five and gave her first public performances at seven. After moving to the United States in 1995, Kong received a bachelor’s degree from the Harid Conservatory in Florida and a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Since winning several top prizes at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in France, the Carmel String Quartet Competition, and the Coleman Competition in the United States with the Vega String Quartet, Kong has enjoyed a versatile career in both solo and chamber music performance and teaching. She has performed in major concert halls all over the world, including on the stages of Carnegie Hall, and her live performances have been heard on NPR’s Performance Today (USA), the National Radio of China, Shanghai TV, Radio France, France Musiques, and the National Radio of the Czech Republic. Kong has also collaborated with some of the finest contemporary musicians including Elliot Fisk, William Preucil, David Shifrin, Richard Stoltzman, Charles Wadsworth, and Sarah Chang, among others. 7
Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta
Now celebrating its 28th season of excellence, the Southeast’s largest and most active chamber music organization brings together some of the city’s finest resident musicians with internationally known guest artists who are dedicated to performing the most delightful, exciting, and interesting music from the chamber repertoire in some of the most acoustically and visually beautiful spaces in Atlanta. Guests have included Yo-Yo Ma, Richard Stoltzman, Alan Gilbert, Dave Brubeck, William Preucil, Eliot Fisk, Robert Spano, and many others. The mission of the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta (ECMSA) is to create new generations of passionate and educated music lovers who will cherish and support this great art forever. In addition to presenting an Emerson Series, a Family Series, and the Cooke Noontime Concert Series at Emory, the ECMSA tours, participates in recording projects, commissions new works, and supports numerous community outreach activities. Education is an integral part of the ECMSA’s mission, and members teach in a wide variety of ways throughout the university and greater community, coach student chamber music ensembles, and give private lessons. Emory’s String Quartet in Residence program, held by the internationally acclaimed Vega String Quartet, lies at the heart of the ECMSA’s mission to spread this great music throughout the Atlanta community, reaching audiences of all ages. The Vega String Quartet is the first professional string quartet to ever make Atlanta its home base, and as such, it is transforming music education and performance throughout the area. Until further notice, all ECMSA concerts will be presented online only. Concerts remain free of charge, but donations are greatly appreciated. William Ransom, artistic director wransom@emory.edu/404.727.6443 8
More events coming soon to the Schwartz Center Virtual Stage schwartz.emory.edu/virtual-stage Bach Birthday Recital Sunday, March 21 at 4 p.m. Emory University Organist Timothy Albrecht, in an hour-long recital, features selections from Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier, Part 2, performed on a variety of keyboard instruments.
Emory Collaborative Piano Sunday, March 28 at 7 p.m. Emory undergraduate students perform works in two-piano repertoire. Selections include Le Petite Suite by Claude Debussy, Slavonic Dance, op. 72, No. 10 by Antonín Dvořák, Rondo in C Major, op. 73 by Frédéric Chopin), and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Suite for Two Pianos, op. 17, Romance.
ECMSA String Theory Saturday, April 3 at 8 p.m. Let the vibrations of the strings move you with Martinu’s magical Madrigals for Violin and Viola and Tchaikovsky’s rousing Souvenir de Florence Sextet for Strings performed by Paul Murphy, viola; Roy Harran, cello; and the Vega String Quartet with David Coucheron, guest first violin.
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Music at Emory Music at Emory brings together students, faculty, and world-class artists to create an exciting and innovative season of performances and events. In a typical year, Music at Emory presents more than 150 events across multiple Emory venues; however, in this challenging season, we are committed to coming together virtually for a variety of musical offerings. For spring 2021 concerts, we remain steadfast in our mission and continue to present events virtually based on guidance from Emory University and public health officials. Please visit music.emory.edu for the most up-to-date schedule and announcements.
404.727.5050 music.emory.edu