Pan Harmonia announces 16th season

Local professional chamber music repertory company Pan Harmonia announces concerts for its 16th season.

Press release from event organizers:

Known for its zesty and dynamic programming, Pan Harmonia, Asheville’s professional chamber music repertory company, announces its 16th season. Its eclectic performances by acclaimed local musicians take place in a variety of venues around the area including art galleries, historic churches and community halls.

The 2015-2016 season opens on Monday, September 14 in the Asheville Haen Gallery with the first of a six-concert series, “AMERICAN MOSAIC,” exploring the work of American composers past and present. Kate Steinbeck and Amy Brucksch perform works for flute and guitar evoking Native American legends and enchanted landscapes by Katherine Hoover, Gary Shocker, Tania Gabrielle French, George Gershwin and Stephen Foster. This program will be repeated in the Brevard Haen Gallery on October 11 at 3 PM. The AMERICAN MOSAIC project is supported in part by a grant the North Carolina Arts Council. These concerts enliven the senses with live music in the midst of stunning paintings and sculptures. Music lovers are encouraged to buy in advance and arrive early for wine and cheese, as seating is limited.

Multi-percussionist Byron Hedgepeth joins bassoonist Rosalind Buda and Kate Steinbeck in AMERICAN MOSAIC 2 with fresh, contemporary sounds of Eric Ewazen, Gene Koshinsky and the American Songbook at Black Mountain Center for the Arts on Friday, October 23 and All Souls Parish Hall, Biltmore Village on Sunday, October 25.

New offerings this season include Chamber Music Chats and Asheville Baroque Concert Series. Chamber Music Chats provide an opportunity to meet Pan Harmonia musicians in an informal setting and to learn about their process, inspiration, the music they love and more. These events take place at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNCA and are free and open to the public.

Created by internationally acclaimed viola de gambist and Asheville resident, Gail Ann Schroeder, Asheville Baroque Concert Series will present three Sunday concerts at Oakley United Methodist Church in Asheville. Each performance will feature an early music ensemble collaborating with a guest soloist: October 4 “Music for Awhile” with Margaret Carpenter, soprano; January 17 “The Mediterranean Blues” Salomé Sandoval, soprano, lute and baroque guitar, and April 3 “Totally Telemann” with Kelly Roudabush, Baroque flute.

The third and final AMERICAN MOSAIC set features free Tuesday morning open rehearsals (on October 27, November 3, November 10, at First Baptist Church of Asheville), which provide a behind-the-scenes experience into the music-making process. Kate Steinbeck will be joined by Fred Lemmons, clarinet, Andrea Pettigrew, violin, Franklin Keel, cello and Ivan Seng, piano, performing dazzling works by Dana Wilson, William Grant Still, Daniel Godfrey and Leonard Bernstein in concert on Friday, November 13 at White Horse Black Mountain and Sunday, November 15 at Asheville First Presbyterian Church.

Season 16 also offers a variety of free admission events including a GeneratioNext concert, a Holocaust Remembrance and “Chamber Music Messiah.” Pan Harmonia welcomes back eighteen-year old piano phenomenon, Maria Parrini, now studying at the Cleveland Institute of Music, on Monday, November 23. In her third Asheville appearance, Maria will perform solo works of Debussy, Rachmaninoff and Scriabin at First Baptist Church of Asheville. This concert benefits The Academy For The Arts Scholarship Fund.

Pan Harmonia’s 7th Annual Holocaust Remembrance commemoration, ELEGY, takes place on Sunday, November 8 at 5 PM at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville. This year’s concert is entitled “Songs of Lamentation” and is free and open to the public.

For the Yuletide season, Pan Harmonia offers “Chamber Music Messiah,” a spirited and jubilant twist on a popular holiday tradition in which instrumentalists “sing” the vocal parts of George Frederick Handel’s beloved oratorio accompanied by organ as “orchestra.” The merriment takes place in Asheville First Presbyterian Church at 3 PM on Sunday, December 7, as a benefit for Homeward Bound, a community effort to end homelessness in Asheville.
In addition to supporting the work of Homeward Bound, Pan Harmonia musicians also play for underserved audiences throughout the year with its “Shining Light” Project. Affirming that social justice and arts access go hand in hand, Pan Harmonia brings live music to people who might not otherwise be able to experience it. Past performances have included concerts for seniors at Battery Park Apartments, for disabled adults at Haywood Occupational Vocation Center, for inmates at Swannanoa Women’s and Craggy Correctional Centers, and for homeless men at Western Carolina Rescue Ministry. This program is underwritten by private donors and profoundly connects artists and community.

The New Year rings in with a new collaboration with ISIS Restaurant and Music Hall on January 10, “Music and Wine Interlude,” pairing beautiful music with delicious food and wine. Unique winter offerings continue with “Counterparts, Bassoon and Sax” featuring Rosalind Buda, bassoon, Alan Theisen, saxophone, and Ivan Seng, piano performing March 8 at Mars Hill University, March 13 at Asheville First Presbyterian Church and at ISIS on Sunday, March 20. Pan Harmonia offers free admission to the March 13 concert to NC Public School teachers and their families in grateful recognition and support of their work.

April offers a diverse music menu. Haen Gallery concerts resume with “THREE GUITARS” featuring Amy Brucksch, Steve Newbrough, David Stevenson on April 10 and 11 in Brevard and Asheville. On Friday evening, April 22, bassist Mike Holstein and drummer Justin Watt join Byron Hedgepeth on vibes for “Jazz is chamber music” in the Parish Hall of All Souls Cathedral in Biltmore Village. In a rare duo appearance, Franklin Keel and Kimberly Cann will explore the Hungarian gypsy spirit of Johannes Brahms on Sunday, April 24 at Merrimon Avenue Baptist Church. The program will feature Brahms’ Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 along with works by Bartok, De Falla, Piazzola for cello and piano.

Season 16 culminates with “Baroque Vibes” on Sunday, May 22 in Asheville First Presbyterian Church. In a modern twist on the traditional Baroque setting, vibes & percussion master Byron Hedgepeth joins harpsichordist Barbara Weiss, flutist Bradford Malbon, and bassoonist Rosalind Buda for a frolicking good time!

2015-2016 Chamber Music Chats @ Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNCA
• September 11: Kate Steinbeck discusses Pan Harmonia’s upcoming 16th season
• October 9: Kate Steinbeck and Ivan Seng discuss Modern American Music
• November 20: Kate Steinbeck and Fred Lemmons visit “Treble Land” or “Trouble with Trebles”
• February 26: Explore the bombarde and Breton music with Rosalind Buda
• April 8: Learn about the classical guitar with Amy Brucksch
• May 20: Harpsichordist Barbara Weiss discussing Baroque music with a twist

Scheduled for Friday afternoons at 3 PM (except for November 20, which is at 1:30 PM), Chamber Music Chats take place in the Reuter Center’s Manheimer Room, Chamber Music Chats are free and open to the public.