Danforth University Center Chamber Music Series

The husband-and-wife team of Roger Kaza, principal horn of the St. Louis Symphony, and pianist Patti Wolf will launch the Danforth University Center’s spring Chamber Music Series at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31.

The free performance, sponsored by the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences and the Danforth University Center, will take place in the Goldberg Formal Lounge.

The Danforth University Center is located at 6475 Forsyth Blvd. For more information, call (314) 935-5566 or email daniels@wustl.edu.

The program will open with the music of Eugène Bozza, Maurice Ravel and Camille Saint-Saëns, followed by compositions from Gabriel Fauré and Paul Dukas.

After a brief intermission, the program will continue with a medley of traditional Civil War tunes and then conclude with works by George Gershwin and Charles Ives.

Kaza, in addition to his appointment with the St. Louis Symphony, is principal horn of the Chautauqua Symphony in upstate New York. He previously held positions with the Houston Symphony, the Vancouver Symphony, the Boston Symphony and the Boston Pops, where he was solo horn under John Williams.

A frequent chamber musician, Kaza has appeared at numerous summer venues, including the Aspen, Marrowstone and Bravo! Vail Valley festivals as well as at Music in the Mountains, Chamber Music Northwest and Mainly Mozart. He presently serves as instructor of horn at the Chautauqua Institution’s Music School.

Wolf has appeared as a soloist with the St. Louis Symphony, the Houston Symphony and the Portland Youth Philharmonic, performing under the batons of Leonard Slatkin, Catherine Comet, Raymond Leppard and many others. She also has performed widely as a recitalist and chamber musician.

Last April, Wolf was featured in the Sheldon Concert Hall’s classical series. In addition to maintaining a private studio, she currently is a regular pianist for the St. Louis Symphony, the Chautauqua Symphony and the Chamber Music Society of Saint Louis.

Subsequent concerts in the Chamber Music Series will include:

Feb 23, 2012
Debra Hillabrand, mezzo-soprano
Adrianne Honnold, saxophone
Laura Reycraft, viola
Peter Henderson, piano
“Intimate Songs”: Music of Brahms, Laitman, Larsen and Hindemith

Hillabrand and Honnold both are teachers of applied music at WUSTL. Hillabrand earned a master’s in vocal performance from Washington University; last summer, she performed in her fifth season with Union Avenue Opera of St. Louis. Honnold also has appointments at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and St. Louis Community College.

Reycraft is an active freelancer in the St. Louis area and a regular substitute with the St. Louis Symphony. She maintains a private teaching studio and is on faculty with the Community Music School of Webster University and City Academy.

Henderson, assistant professor of music at Maryville University, is active in solo, chamber and orchestral settings. He frequently performs as an ensemble keyboardist with the St. Louis Symphony.

March 20
Trinity Piano Trio
Music of Turina and Villa-Lobos

Now in its eighth season, the Trinity Piano Trio is committed to performing both new and standard repertoire, from well-known works to smaller, less familiar compositions to new premieres by St. Louis composers.

The group comprises pianist Amanda Kirkpatrick, teacher of applied music in Arts & Sciences, with cellist Tracy Andreotti and violinist Manuela Kaymakanova. The three have played together for years in various chamber and larger ensembles, notably the contemporary ensemble Synchronia and Operation Tango, dedicated to works by Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla.

April 3
Fifth House Ensemble presents
“This Rocks”

Known for pioneering the art of narrative chamber, the Chicago-based Fifth House Ensemble — currently Ensemble-in-Residence at Carthage College — has been praised by The New York Times for its “conviction, authority and finesse.”

Its members are active as orchestral musicians, performing with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and others. Also active as educators, members of Fifth House serve on the faculties of Carthage College, the Merit School of Music, Trinity University and DePaul University.

May 3
Musicians from the Missouri Chamber Music Festival

Dedicated to the fine art of small ensemble playing, the Missouri Chamber Music Festival invites nationally recognized professional musicians to perform a series of chamber music concerts in historic Webster Groves, Mo., each June.

In addition to new and commissioned works, the diverse programming includes the Pro-Am Intensive, a workshop designed to foster collaboration between the visiting musicians and adult amateur instrumentalists.

For more information about the 2012 Missouri Chamber Music Festival, scheduled from June 21-24, visit mochambermusic.org.