June 29, 2005 -

Ottawa, Canada -- Over the course of two Chamber Music Extravaganza concerts, music-lovers can hear the famed Orion String Quartet, stars of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, members of the faculty of the Summer Music Institute and guest pianist Peter Serkin. Chamber Music Extravaganza I takes place on Thursday, June 30 at Dominion Chalmers Church at 19:30, and Chamber Music Extravaganza II is in the National Arts Centre’s Southam Hall on Saturday, July 2 at 19:30.

The first Chamber Music Extravaganza on June 30 opens with Joseph Kalichstein, a world renowned pianist who has returned this summer to the faculty of the Summer Music Institute (SMI), performing Schumann’s Arabesque for solo piano. Then Kalichstein together with NAC Orchestra Music Director Pinchas on violin, guest violist and SMI faculty member Steven Dann, and NAC Orchestra principal cello Amanda Forsyth in Schumann’s Piano Quartet. The concert closes with the Orion String Quartet performing Bartók’s mighty String Quartet No. 5, a monument of 20th century chamber music. Dominion Chalmers Church is located at 355 Cooper Street.

The second Chamber Music Extravaganza on July 2 at 19:30 in Southam Hall follows an all-day Chamber Music Marathon featuring all the members of the NAC Young Artists Programme performing mini-concerts in the NAC Foyer at 10:30, 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00. The evening Extravaganza at 19:30 opens with massed ensembles of some of these young musical talents. First an ensemble of cellos together with three cellists from the NAC Orchestra will perform Pablo Casals “Les rois mages” from the oratorio El Pesebre. The strings will then perform the Adagio from Bruckner’s Quintet in F major with Pinchas Zukerman conducting multiple musicians on each part. Celebrated pianist Peter Serkin will join the Orion String Quartet for the Quintet for Piano and Strings by American composer Peter Lieberson. In the early 80s, Peter Serkin premiered the Boston Symphony-commissioned Piano Concerto by Lieberson which catapulted the largely unknown composer to fame. The Quintet to be performed on July 2 is the latest in a long series of works that Lieberson has composed for Serkin. The concert concludes with Mozart’s Piano Quartet in E-flat major, K.493 performed by Serkin and three members of the Orion Quartet.

The Orion String Quartet, hailed for its exquisite artistry, technical mastery and astute approach to concert programming, is one of the most admired chamber ensembles on the international music scene. Highlights of the Quartet’s 17-year history include diverse projects ranging from collaborations with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company to performances of the complete Beethoven Quartets in a five-concert series over the span of a single weekend. The members of the Quartet – violinists Daniel Phillips and Todd Phillips (brothers who share the first violin chair equally), violist Steven Tenenbom and cellist Timothy Eddy – have worked with such legendary figures as Pablo Casals, Rudolf Serkin, Peter Serkin, Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman, Yo-Yo Ma, András Schiff, Wynton Marsalis, members of TASHI and the Beaux Arts Trio, as well as the Budapest, Végh, Galimir and Guarneri String Quartets. The Orion continues to perform in the world’s leading concert halls and serves as Quartet-in-Residence at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and New York’s Mannes College of Music. Earlier this season Orion premiered jazz great Chick Corea's String Quartet, and recently gave the New York premiere of this work at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Tickets for either of the Chamber Music Extravaganzas on June 30 and July 2 are $12. Or for only $5 you can add either concert to the purchase of a ticket to any of the four Great Composer series concerts with the National Arts Centre Orchestra on July 5, 7, 12 or 20, or to the Chamber Music Marathon on July 2. Tickets are on sale now at the NAC Box Office (Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 21:00), and through Ticketmaster (with surcharges) at 613-755-1111. Ticketmaster may also be accessed through the NAC’s web-site at www.nac-cna.ca.

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For more information:
Jane Morris, Marketing Officer,
National Arts Centre Orchestra
(613) 947-7000, 335
jmorris@nac-cna.ca