Stones River Chamber Players close season at free April 7 concert

The Stones River Chamber Players, MTSU’s ensemble-in-residence, will close their 2013-14 season with a free public concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 7, in Hinton Music Hall inside MTSU’s Wright Music Building.

The ensemble members, all of whom teach in MTSU’s School of Music, will perform two French works: Maurice Ravel’s song cycle “Don Quichotte a Dulcinée” for baritone and piano and Olivier Messiaen’s “The Quartet for the End of Time” for violin, clarinet, cello and piano.

Click on the graphic above to listen to streaming audio performances by the Stones River Chamber Players.

MTSU voice professor Stephen Smith will sing the Ravel piece with professor Lynn Rice-See on piano.

“These three (Ravel) songs were originally intended for a French film project based upon the story of Don Quixote, the main character in Cervantes’ novel, ‘El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha,’” Smith explained.

“They were originally written for a baritone voice, but Ravel himself agreed to have them published in a higher, more tenor-friendly key, and the higher settings are the ones I will be performing.”

The Messiaen quartet will be performed by MTSU faculty members Andrea Dawson on violin, Todd Waldecker on clarinet, Christine Kim on cello and Arunesh Nadgir on piano.

Dr. Michael Parkinson, director of the MTSU School of Music, said the “‘Quartet for the End of Time’ is internationally acknowledged as one of the major musical works of the past century.” Messiaen created the piece as a prisoner of war in Nazi Germany.

“This performance by the Chamber Players is my first opportunity to hear the work in person, something I have wanted to enjoy for a long time,” Parkinson said. “I hope that music lovers from throughout our metropolitan area will come together to hear this remarkable piece.”

ou can listen to streaming audio performances by the Stones River Chamber Players at www.mtsu.edu/music/srcpabout.php. For details on more MTSU School of Music performances, call 615-898-2493 or visit www.mtsumusic.com and click on the “Concert Calendar” link.