Bravo! Vail Chamber Music Series Opens July 1

VAIL, Colo. - June 29, 2014 - PRLog -- The sounds of extraordinary chamber music return to the Vail Valley on Tuesday, July 1 as the Bravo! Vail Chamber Music Series begins with “Gershwin and Copland: Chamber Jazz,” a jazz-infused evening featuring members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jeff Tyzik. For 2014, Bravo! Vail’s Chamber Music Series spotlights five unique concerts highlighting both well-known classics and inspiring 20th Century compositions, and features members of each of Bravo Vail’s resident orchestras: the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.

“Each season, the Bravo! Vail Chamber Music Series brings together artists who share the same passion for chamber music; the intensity of these groups creates a fresh sense of energy and inspiration rarely found in other settings,” said Anne-Marie McDermott, artistic director, Bravo! Vail. “This summer, audiences can expect many firsts for Bravo! Vail, including the stellar percussion ensemble, Third Coast Percussion, whose concert marks the first time percussion will be highlighted in the series. Another notable first is the series opener that fuses chamber and jazz; it was specially created for Bravo! Vail audiences by Jeff Tyzik.”

Bravo! Vail’s five-concert Chamber Music Series presents diverse offerings ranging from “Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons” with members of The Philadelphia Orchestra on July 8, to “McDermott and Members of the Philharmonic” featuring violinist Kerry McDermott and cellist Eileen Moon, both members of the New York Philharmonic, together with Anne-Marie McDermott in performance of trios by Beethoven and Schubert on July 15.

“Bravo! Vail’s Chamber Music Series is an ideal way to experience great masterpieces and musicians up close and personal,” said James W. Palermo, president & executive director, Bravo! Vail. “The intimacy of the music making and connection between audiences and performers is why I love these concerts so much. And, this year, most of these concerts will occur at the lovely Donovan Pavilion. Being right there close to nature, enjoying great music with friends – well, that’s what makes the experience so special.”

The Chamber Music Series features Third Coast Percussion, the Chicago-based ensemble that explores the sonic possibilities of the percussion repertoire, delivering exciting performances for audiences of all kinds. Hailed by The New Yorker as “vibrant” and “superb,” these “savvy and hyper-talented young percussionists” (Musical Toronto) make their Bravo! Vail debut on July 22. This concert, which features both Anne-Marie McDermott and Gilles Vonsattel at the piano, pairs Bartók’s individualistic and expressive Sonata for Two Pianos & Percussion with a composition for the same instrumentation by American composer, Stephen Reich.

“I have been planning on the Bartok for years,” said Anne-Marie McDermott. “It is such a brilliant work and I know the audience will love the energy of piano and percussion.”

The Chamber Music Series concludes on August 2 with a union of the old and the new, featuring John Adams’ sometimes witty, emotionally moving work, Gnarly Buttons, a concerto for clarinet performed here by Alexey Goroholinsky and small orchestra with James Moore on guitar/banjo/mandolin, followed by glorious baroque concertos by Bach and Vivaldi. New musical collective Le Train Bleu, an ensemble of New York’s most exciting young players, concludes its first-ever Bravo! Vail residency with this concert, which also spotlights the return of the Calder Quartet.

“Le Train Bleu is the quintessential hip New York music collective,” continued Anne-Marie McDermott. “They’ve been working with choreographers, directors, and composers doing some of the most interesting work in the City. I am incredibly excited they are coming to Vail. Their director (my friend and colleague Ransom Wilson) is a fabulous conductor and flutist, and has worked with me to curate our most wide ranging series of concerts, ever!”

Bravo! Vail 2014 Chamber Music Series

If You Go: Gershwin and Joplin: Chamber Jazz
Members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra join Grammy Award-winning conductor Jeff Tyzik in a jazzy concert featuring Tyzik’s arrangement of Royal Garden Blues, first popularized by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, as well as Joplin’s Rags, Gershwin’s Rialto Ripples, and Tunes for Clarinet by Jelly Roll Morton.
What: Gershwin and Joplin: Chamber Jazz
Where: Vail Mountain School, 3000 Booth Falls Rd, Vail, CO 81657
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Cost: Tickets start from $29.

If You Go: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons is an iconic masterpiece that has inspired audiences for centuries. Members of The Philadelphia Orchestra perform this dramatic and evocative work. Bravo! Vail Artistic Director, pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, is then featured in Bach’s Concerto in D Minor for Keyboard and Strings.
What: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
Where: Donovan Pavilion, 1600 South Frontage Rd W, Vail, CO 81657
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Cost: Tickets start from $29.

If You Go: McDermott and Members of the Philharmonic
Members of the New York Philharmonic join Bravo! Vail Artistic Director and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott for the very first time on Bravo! Vail’s Chamber Music Series. Featured works include Beethoven’s brilliant Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 1, No. 1 and Schubert’s irresistible Piano Trio in B-flat major.
What: McDermott and Members of the Philharmonic
Where: Donovan Pavilion, 1600 South Frontage Rd W, Vail, CO 81657
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Cost: Tickets start from $29.

If You Go: Bartók and Reich
Pianists Anne-Marie McDermott and Gilles Vonsattel come together with Third Coast Percussion in a program that pairs Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion with Stephen Reich’s composition for the same instrumentation, Sextet. Reich’s Sextet, written for an ensemble of four percussionists and two keyboardists, received its American premiere in 1985 as part of the Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The percussionists play (at various times) three marimbas, two vibraphones, two bass drums, crotales, sticks, and tam-tam.
What: Bartók and Reich
Where: Donovan Pavilion, 1600 South Frontage Rd W, Vail, CO 81657
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Cost: Tickets start from $29.

If You Go: Baroque Concertos and More
A mix of the old and new, this final event of the season begins with John Adams’ sometimes witty, emotionally moving work, Gnarly Buttons, followed by a series of glorious baroque concertos by Bach and Vivaldi.
What: Baroque Concertos and More
Where: Vilar Performing Arts Center, 68 Avondale Ln, Beaver Creek, CO 81620
When: 6 p.m. Saturday, August 2, 2014
Cost: Tickets start from $29.

All tickets for the 27th Season of Bravo! Vail are now on sale. Purchase tickets online at bravovail.org (http://www.bravovail.org/) or by calling the box office at 877.812.5700.