2021–2022
MUSIC@ EMORY
This concert is presented by the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. 404.727.5050 | schwartz.emory.edu | boxoffice@emory.edu
Audience Information In Consideration
Please turn off all electronic devices. Face masks covering the nose and mouth are required at all times in the Schwartz Center. The concert hall capacity has been reduced in order to allow distance between seated parties. Please be mindful of distancing.
Photographs and Recordings
Digital capture or recording of this concert is not permitted.
Ushers
The Schwartz Center welcomes a volunteer usher corps of approximately 60 members each year. Visit schwartz.emory.edu/volunteer or call 404.727.6640 for ushering opportunities.
Accessibility
The Schwartz Center is committed to providing performances and facilities accessible to all. Please direct accommodation requests to the Schwartz Center Box Office at 404.727.5050, or by email at boxoffice@emory.edu.
Design and Photography Credits
Cover and Program Design: Lisa Baron | Cover Photo: Mark Teague
Acknowledgment
The Schwartz Center gratefully acknowledges the generous ongoing support of Donna and Marvin Schwartz.
ECMSA EMERSON SERIES Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta William Ransom, artistic director
2021 2022
Beethoven & Bluegrass Mark O’Connor Duo with Maggie O’Connor Vega String Quartet with Emily Daggett Smith, guest first violin Saturday, September 25, 2021, 8:00 p.m. Program begins on page 4.
Beethoven and a Big Band Helen Hwaya Kim, violin; Charae Krueger, cello; William Ransom, piano The Joe Gransden Big Band Saturday, October 30, 2021, 8:00 p.m. Program begins on page 11. Emerson Concert Hall Schwartz Center for Performing Arts
Beethoven & Bluegrass Saturday, September 25, 2021, 8:00 p.m. String Quartet in F Minor, op. 95 Allegro con brio Allegretto ma non troppo Allegro assai vivace ma serioso–Trio Larghetto espressivo–Allegretto agitato
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
The Vega String Quartet
String Quartet No. 2, “Bluegrass” Movement II Movement III
Mark O’Connor (b. 1961)
The Vega String Quartet
—Intermission— Bluegrass selections to be announced from the stage Mark O’Connor Duo with Maggie O’Connor
Information on Mark and Maggie O’Connor can be found at: markoconnor.com and maggieoconnorviolin.com. Information on the O’Connor Method for violin and strings is available at oconnormethod.com. For Mark O’Connor’s downloadable sheet music and recordings on his own OMAC Records label, please visit markoconnor.com and omacrecords.com. Mark and Maggie O’Connor use D’Addario Strings and Equipment.
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, and by music lovers like you. To encourage physical distancing and avoid crowding in the lobbies and restrooms, you may exit the concert hall as needed between pieces. An usher will assist in returning you to your seat at an appropriate time.
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Mark O’Connor Mark O’Connor began his creative journey at the feet of American fiddling legend Benny Thomasson, and the iconic French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli. Now, at age 59, he has melded these influences into a new American classical music, and is perpetuating his vision of an American School of String Playing. O’Connor has won three Grammys and seven CMA awards, as well as several national fiddle, guitar, and mandolin champion titles. His distinguished career includes representing the United States Information Agency in cultural diplomacy to six continents and performing in front of several United States presidents, including being invited to the White House by President Ronald Reagan to perform as a teen. After recording a series of albums for Rounder and Warner Bros. including his multiple Grammy-winning New Nashville Cats, his recordings for Sony Classical with Yo-Yo Ma, Appalachia Waltz and Appalachian Journey sold a million CDs and gained O’Connor worldwide recognition as a leading proponent of a new American musical idiom. O’Connor’s Fiddle Concerto released on Warner Bros. has become the most-performed violin concerto composed in the last 50 years. On his own OMAC Records label, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra recorded his sweeping Americana Symphony while his groundbreaking ninth concerto, The Improvised Violin Concerto was recorded in Boston Symphony Hall. The Mark O’Connor Band consisting of family members (wife, son, and daughter-in-law) debuted at number one on Billboard magazine’s bluegrass album chart and its first album Coming Home won a Grammy in 2017. The band released a live album called A Musical Legacy. O’Connor’s new solo guitar album Markology II is a 42-year sequel to the first one released when he was 16. Béla Fleck writes the album notes for the new CD. He says “ . . . a bit stunned at the shear technical bravado his guitar playing is capable of (including that bit of jealousy that I’ve always had at how well this guy’s hands work!). Great tone he pulls from his guitars . . . puts us mortal musicians into a state of awe.” O’Connor has authored a series of educational books called the O’Connor Method, which is now the fastest growing violin method in the country—tens of thousands can credit the O’Connor books for 5
learning how to play stringed instruments. The O’Connor Method features American music styles, creativity, cultural diversity, and western classical technical training. O’Connor tours nationally as the Mark O’Connor Duo with his wife Maggie, with his perennial An Appalachian Christmas, and performs his original concertos with symphony orchestras. He resides in North Carolina with his wife and duo partner Maggie O’Connor. For more information, visit markoconnor.com and oconnormethod.com.
Maggie O’Connor Violinist and American fiddler Maggie O’Connor performs a variety of musical styles throughout the United States and beyond, most recently as a member of the Grammy Award–winning Mark O’Connor Band. Frequently performing with her husband, violinist and composer Mark O’Connor, together they have appeared as guest soloists with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, the Santa Rosa Symphony, the Walla Walla Symphony, the Nashville Symphony with the O’Connor Band, and many other symphony orchestras performing his compositions ranging from his Strings and Threads Suite to his Double Violin Concerto and Johnny Appleseed Suite. The couple has also performed violin duos around the world, including the Leopold Auer Music Academy Hungary as well as the Berlin Konzerthaus celebrating the centennial birthday of the great violinist Yehudi Menuhin. O’Connor was a member of the O’Connor Band, whose debut album Coming Home won a Grammy Award for “Best Bluegrass Album of the Year” in 2017. Along with the Mark O’Connor Duo, she has also performed in her husband’s ensembles ranging from Hot Swing to An Appalachian Christmas, a hit concert tour each holiday season. O’Connor continues to work as co-director with her husband at O’Connor Method String Camps featuring the lesson book series that is rising in popularity each year. She also makes unique violin peg necklaces to raise funds for scholarships at these camps. O’Connor is featured on her and her husband’s album Duo, of which David McGee of Deep Roots magazine claims; “As a technician and as an expressive player, she is formidable, has it all. What I find so special about her, apart from the sheer soulfulness abundant in the music she makes, is her uncanny 6
sense of playing off of and with Mark, knowing when to assert herself and when to be empathetic and supportive.” Growing up in a musical family in the suburbs of Atlanta, O’Connor started playing the violin at age seven in a family band. Concurrently, she took classical violin lessons with Larisa Morgulis, a distinguished graduate of the Odessa Conservatory in Ukraine. Playing music with her family band is where she began to develop an ear for arranging, recording, group playing, and improvisation—skills she has embraced throughout her musical life. In her early years, O’Connor was a member of numerous bluegrass and rock bands while also being a member and soloist with Atlanta’s top three youth orchestras. After growing up playing American and classical music styles, O’Connor continued her professional training at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University where she studied with violinist Herbert Greenberg earning a bachelor’s and a master of music degrees in violin performance. She was also a finalist in the Marbury Prize Competition for Undergraduate Violinists while finishing up her undergraduate degree with distinction. She had the honor of being accepted into the five-year advanced degree program along with being awarded the Career Development Grant while at Peabody. She was the recipient of full tuition scholarships while studying at the Aspen Music Festival and School for three years. O’Connor resides in North Carolina with her husband and plays a beautifully handcrafted 1996 violin made by Lukas Wronski.
The Vega String Quartet Jessica Shuang Wu, violin; Yinzi Kong, viola; Guang Wang, cello The Vega String Quartet, quartet-in-residence at Emory, is cultivating a new generation of chamber music lovers through dynamic performances and innovative community engagement. The New York Times raved that “[the quartet’s] playing had a kind of clean intoxication to it, pulling the listener along . . . the musicians took real risks in their music making,” and the Los Angeles Times praised its “triumphant L.A. debut.” The quartet concertizes both nationally and internationally, most recently in Baltimore, Chicago, Nashville, Sacramento, Berlin, San Miguel, and the Brahmssaal in Vienna’s Musikverein. The quartet’s major performing projects at Emory have included the complete cycle of Beethoven quartets, as well as pairing Bach’s complete works for solo violin, viola, and cello with the six Bartók quartets. The group has also developed a series of Jazz Meets Classics programs, bringing the two genres together. 7
One of the unique aspects of the quartet’s residency at Emory is to bring performance into the classroom, collaborating with academic professors to create interdisciplinary parallels and conversations. It also enriches the cultural life of its community, having founded the Emory Youth Chamber Music Program, which gives intensive training in small ensemble playing to advanced pre-college students. The quartet was appointed to the roster of the Woodruff Arts Center’s Young Audiences program, engaging thousands of students throughout the greaterAtlanta school system. The quartet has also held residencies in Augusta, Jacksonville, and Juneau that combined traditional performances with educational outreach, performances in non-traditional venues, and master classes for area students. The Vega String Quartet has won numerous international awards, including at the Bordeaux String Quartet Competition, as well as top prizes from the Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition, the Carmel Chamber Music Competition, and the National Society of Arts and Letters String Quartet Competition. The quartet tours throughout Asia, Europe, and North America and has appeared at Weill Hall and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Bargemusic, and Duke Hall at the Royal Academy of Music, London. The members of the Vega String Quartet collaborate with some of the world’s finest musicians including Andres Cardenes, Eliot Fisk, Christopher O’Riley, William Preucil, Richard Stoltzman, Robert Spano, Charles Wadsworth, Peter Wiley, and the Eroica Trio. The group also commissions, premiers, and records works by leading composers. The quartet is a frequent guest at numerous music festivals including Amelia Island, Aspen, Brevard, Highlands-Cashiers, Juneau Jazz & Classics, Kingston, Mostly Mozart, Rockport, San Miguel de Allende, and SummerFest La Jolla.
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Emily Daggett Smith, guest first violin A violinist praised as playing “gorgeously” and with “gracefulness and easy rapport” (the Boston Globe), Emily Daggett Smith performs regularly as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. Her performances have taken her across the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia, and she has been described as playing with a “very beautiful tone” (the Gathering Note) and “irrepressible élan” (the Seattle Times). Highlights of the 2020–2021 season include performances of Bach’s Violin Concerto in E Major with Lionel Party for the Lenape Baroque-Fest, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the National Music Festival Orchestra, and a series of solo violin recitals at the University at Albany’s Art Museum, which includes two new commissions by composers Andrea Cassarubios and Gabrielle Herbst. Her critically acclaimed performances as part of the Beethoven For One series of the complete Beethoven string quartets in New York City in November 2020, was hailed by Richard Brody of the New Yorker: “I’ve heard Beethoven performed in large and famous concert halls by some of the great quartets of the era (including the Juilliard, the Emerson, and the Takács); none came close to delivering the jagged immediacy and breathtaking intimacy of Saturday afternoon’s quartet . . . the greatness of these not-yet-famous musicians was revealed and exalted in closeup . . . For me, Beethoven for One stands as an ideal and a corrective to the usual run of classical concerts, even after they’re able to resume.” As a soloist, Smith made her New York concerto debut at age 21 in Alice Tully Hall, playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra and conductor Emmanuel Villaume. Since then, she has performed concerti with many orchestras including Iris Orchestra, Festival Mozaic Orchestra, New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Classical Players. She has performed solo recitals across the country at venues including the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, Music in the Loft in Chicago, and Washington Performing Arts’ “Music in the Country.” As a concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra she worked with renowned conductors including Michael Tilson-Thomas and Leonard Slatkin, and has appeared as guest concertmaster of orchestras including Iris Orchestra, the Orlando Philharmonic, and the Knights. 9
An avid chamber musician, Smith has shared the stage with many renowned musicians, including current and former members of the Cleveland, Emerson, and Juilliard string quartets. She has performed at some of the world’s greatest halls, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Shanghai Grand Theatre, and the Vienna Konzerthaus, and have been featured on PBS’s national broadcast Live from Lincoln Center, NPR’s From the Top, Classical King FM in Seattle, WQXR in New York, and WWFM the Classical Network in New York and Pennsylvania. She has appeared at festivals including Caramoor, Ravinia Steans Institute, Ravinia Festival, Rockport Music, the Seattle Chamber Music Society, and Tanglewood. In addition to performing the masterpieces of the 17th through the 20th century, Smith is also a strong advocate of new music. She has premiered dozens of new works, including the world premiere of Dan Visconti’s Silvertone, which was commissioned for her debut recital in Chicago. Her extensive work as a member of the Knights also speaks to her passion for an organic blend of old and new music, and as the founding first violinist of the Tessera Quartet, she recorded a world-premiere album of Harold Brown’s complete works for String Quartet on Albany Records. Despite her busy performance schedule, Smith is dedicated to education and maintains various teaching and outreach activities. She has served on violin faculty at the Bard College Conservatory Pre-College and the Juilliard School, where she is assistant to Laurie Smukler. She also served on the violin faculty of the undergraduate department of Stony Brook University, and has appeared as faculty and given master classes at summer festivals including the National Music Festival, the Manchester Music Festival, and Greenwood Music Camp. One of the most rewarding musical experiences of her life was teaching, giving master classes, and performing with young musicians in the la Red music program in Medellín, Colombia, over two consecutive years as part of Medellín Festicamará. Her teaching style is one that blends and deepens the traditions of her great teachers Soovin Kim, Philip Setzer, Joel Smirnoff, Laurie Smukler, Masuko Ushioda, and Donald Weilerstein. Smith has received numerous awards and scholarships. She is a winner of the Juilliard Concerto Competition; the SYLFF Fellowship; the Brockton, Newton, and Waltham Symphony concerto competitions; and the Gold Medal at the Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition in the junior division. She has a bachelor’s and master of music degrees from the Juilliard School, and as a recipient of the prestigious Staller Scholar Award, recently completed a doctor of musical arts degree at Stony Brook University. She plays on an 1801 Johannes Cuypers violin, which was generously donated by Marylou Witz. 10
Beethoven and a Big Band Saturday, October 30, 2021, 8:00 p.m. Trio in B-flat Major, op. 97, “Archduke” Allegro moderato Scherzo: Allegro Andante cantabile ma però con moto Allegro moderato
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Helen Kim, violin; Charae Krueger, cello; William Ransom, piano
—Intermission— Classic and new selections for big band to be announced from the stage The Joe Gransden Big Band
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, and by music lovers like you. To encourage physical distancing and avoid crowding in the lobbies and restrooms, you may exit the concert hall as needed after intermission. An usher will assist in returning you to your seat at an appropriate time.
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Helen Hwaya Kim, violin Helen Hwaya Kim made her orchestral debut with the Calgary Philharmonic at age six. She has appeared as a soloist with the Boston Pops at Boston’s Symphony Hall, as well as with the Milwaukee and Atlanta symphonies. Kim earned BM and MM degrees from Juilliard, where her teachers included Cho-Liang Lin and Dorothy DeLay, and she was a winner of the Juilliard Concerto Competition. Kim is the recipient of more than 100 national and international awards. In 1992, she won the prestigious Artists International Competition in New York and, as a result, gave debut recitals at Carnegie Weill Hall and the Aspen Music Festival. A native of Canada, Kim has been engaged by many of Canada’s leading orchestras, including the National Arts Center; Montreal Metropolitan; Vancouver; McGill Chamber; and the Windsor, Regina, Victoria, and Prince George symphonies. She has also appeared with the DeKalb, New Orleans, Aspen, and Banff Festival orchestras, and with orchestras in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Poland. Kim has toured extensively throughout Canada and the United States, including performances at Alice Tully Hall and the Santa Fe and La Jolla Music festivals, where she performed with Cho-Liang Lin, Gary Hoffman, Andre Previn, and the Orion String Quartet. She performed Bach’s Double violin concerto with Hilary Hahn at the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival. Kim served as assistant and associate concertmaster for the Atlanta Symphony for three seasons. She is currently the assistant concertmaster of the Atlanta Opera Orchestra and professor of violin at Kennesaw State University. She is also the violinist of the Atlanta Chamber Players and the new music ensemble, Sonic Generator.
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Charae Krueger, cello Charae Krueger is principal cellist for the Atlanta Opera Orchestra and the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra. She is the cello artist-in-residence at Kennesaw State University (KSU) and performs with the Summit Piano Trio and KSU Faculty String Trio. Krueger enjoys chamber music and solo recital work and plays throughout the Southeastern United States. She is a regular featured artist at the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and at the North Georgia Chamber Music Festival. Her solo and chamber music recitals have been featured on NPR’s Performance Today, WABE Radio Atlanta, and WGBH Radio Boston. She also plays frequently with the Atlanta Symphony. Krueger also enjoys recording studio work and has played on albums of Bruce Springsteen, Faith Hill, and Natalie Cole. Recent concerts include performances with violinists William Preucil and Tim Fain, concerts at the North Georgia Chamber Music Festival, Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta, with SO Percussion Ensemble, appearances with Sonic Generator, Atlanta Chamber Players, and Fringe concert series, as well as concerto performances with the DeKalb Symphony, Atlanta Community Orchestra, and the KSU Orchestra. She has twice performed the entire Beethoven cycle of cello sonatas with pianist Robert Henry and has done a recital tour and accompanying live CD of the Southeastern United States with pianist Stanley Yerlow. Krueger received her early cello training in Canada at the Regina Conservatory of Music. She went on to study at Brandon University and has a bachelor of music performance degree from New England Conservatory. She also holds an artist diploma from the Longy School of Music. She continued her training during the summers at the Banff Centre in Canada and did quartet training with the Juilliard Quartet at the summer program at the Juilliard School. Krueger was also a participant in the New York String Orchestra Seminar under the direction of Alexander Schneider with concerts at Carnegie Hall.
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William Ransom, piano Pianist, artistic director, master teacher, editor, and judge for international competitions, William Ransom appears around the world as soloist with orchestras, recitalist, and chamber musician. His performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio and television in the United States, Argentina, Poland, and Japan. He regularly collaborates with musicians including Yo-Yo Ma, Richard Stoltzman, William Preucil, Stephen Isserlis, Robert McDuffie, and members of the Emerson, Tokyo, Cleveland, Juilliard, American, St. Petersburg, Borromeo, Parker, Ariel, and Lark string quartets; the Empire Brass Quintet, Eroica Trio, and the percussion group Nexus, among others. As a master teacher, he performs and gives master classes at numerous schools of music and universities around the world. He has recorded for ACA Digital and Rising Star Records. Ransom is the Mary Emerson Professor of Piano at Emory University and founder and artistic director of the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta. A graduate of the Juilliard School and the University of Michigan, in the summers, Ransom is artistic director of the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival in North Carolina and for a decade was an artist-faculty member at the Kamisaibara Pianists Camp in Japan. In 2016 he was named artistic director of the Juneau Jazz & Classics Festival and also one of Musical America Worldwide’s “30 Musical Innovators.”
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The Joe Gransden Big Band The Joe Gransden 16-Piece Big Band is one of the busiest groups on the jazz scene. Originally formed in 2009, Gransden and the band members have continued to build momentum and are performing numerous shows around the country. The band’s new release titled It’s A Beautiful Thing, has sold incredibly well and is getting radio air play all over the world. The CD was recorded live at Cafe 290 in Atlanta where the band holds a steady gig the first and third Mondays each month. “The big band truly has its own sound and really swings,” says Gransden. “I attribute that to the arrangements that were all written by jazz trombone great Wes Funderburk. It’s such a pleasure to front a band of top musicians that can interpret Wes’s arrangements perfectly. These guys are the best!” The band’s legions of fans continue to grow as well. Smokey Robinson says, “Joe has an innate ability to connect with an audience. His singing and trumpet playing are world class. Throw in his 16-piece big band and you have something very special!” Clint Eastwood says, “Joe is a young man with an old soul and a classic voice. He is a great new talent with a wonderful sense of humor to boot. And don’t forget, he plays a hell of a trumpet!” Freddie Cole says, “Joe is an extraordinary musician and on top of that, a wonderful person and that ain’t no lie. With Joe singin’ and the band swingin’, it’s a beautiful thing!” Gransden and his 16-piece big band recently played two sold out shows at the world famous Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City.
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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, lectures, workshops, and master classes. With more than 150 events each year across multiple Emory venues, audiences experience a wide variety of musical offerings. As you explore Music at Emory, we hope you enjoy this variety by sampling an assortment of work from our student ensembles, community youth ensembles, artists in residence, professional faculty, up-and-coming prodigies, and virtuosos from around the world.
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