As has become tradition, the last concert of each Chamber Music Athens festival brings together guest artists, UGA faculty and students for a night of musical fireworks featuring some of the most beloved works of the repertoire. Mendelssohn’s Overture to The Midsummer Night’s Dream arranged for two pianos, four hands transports us to the magical realm. Borromeo String Quartet members lead an ensemble of UGA faculty and students in Bach’s exuberant Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. The festival closes with Tchaikovsky’s virtuosic string sextet Souvenir de Florence.

World areas: Germany, Russia, Italy

GUEST ARTISTS:
Borromeo String Quartet

FACULTY ARTISTS:
Michael Heald, violin
Maggie Snyder, viola
David Starkweather, cello
Liza Stepanova, piano
Alan Woo, piano

STUDENT ARTISTS:
CMA Chamber Ensemble
Daijing Ren, harpsichord (DMA‘26)
Jesse Hu, piano
Further student artists will be established in the spring.

VENUE:
Ramsey Concert Hall
UGA Performing Arts Center
230 River Road, Athens, GA 30606

TICKETS: $30 - Adults, $5 - Students with a valid UGA ID, Children 6-18 are free

Click Here for tickets to the CMA Gala Finale on 5/21/24

Borromeo String Quartet with special guest, David Starkweather, cello

Praised by the Boston Globe as “simply the best,” the Borromeo String Quartet has been inspiring audiences for over 25 years as one of the most important string quartets of our time. Their Chamber Music Athens recital includes the passionate String Quartet in D minor by the Nordic master Jean Sibelius and a short work by acclaimed Jamaican-British composer Eleanor Alberga. For the second half, Borromeo team up with UGA professor of cello, David Starkweather for Franz Schubert’s transcendent Quintet, considered one of the greatest works of all chamber music. Starkweather is retiring at the end of this season after over four decades of teaching. Don’t miss this very special event!

World areas: Jamaica, Northern Europe-Finland, Western Europe-Germany

GUEST ARTISTS:
Borromeo String Quartet

FACULTY ARTIST:
David Starkweather, cello

Venue:
First Baptist Church
355 Pulaski St.
Athens, GA 30601

Tickets: $30 - Adults, $5 students with valid UGA ID, Children 6-18 are free.

Order Tickets for "The Art of the String Quartet" on Sunday, 5/19/24

In Collaboration with The Christopher Durant Ballew Memorial Series, presented by the Friends of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia.

Transporting the audience to magical Paris for an evening, this concert is a feast of chamber musical sounds. The centerpiece of the first half of the program is Debussy’s sensuous and rarely heard Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp. The work is flanked by Bizet’s playful Jeux d’enfants (“Children’s Games”) for piano four-hands, Saint-Saëns’s Fantasy for Violin and Harp, and a selection of Francis Poulenc’s most beautiful songs. The second half brings together Zorman, Reardon, Yang and Gabriella McClellan (BM ‘2025, winner of the UGA 2022 Concerto Competition) for Gabriel Fauré’s sumptuous Piano Quartet No. 1. 

World area: France

GUEST ARTISTS:
Amy Yang, piano
Itamar Zorman, violin
Melissa Reardon, viola (Borromeo String Quartet)
Elisabeth Remy-Johnson, harp (ASO)

FACULTY ARTISTS:
Amy Petrongelli, soprano
Angela Jones-Reus, flute
Liza Stepanova, piano

STUDENT ARTISTS:
Gabriella McClellan, cello
(BM Performance, ‘25)

VENUE:
Day Chapel at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia
2450 S. Dilledge Ave.
Athens, GA 30605

Tickets: $40 - Adults, $15 - Students with valid UGA ID, $10 - Children 6-18
Reception included in ticket price.
Tickets for this event will go on sale on Thursday, February 15th.

The Christopher Durant Ballew Memorial Series was established by the late Ms. Despy Karlas and Dr. Leighton Ballew in memory of their son. The endowed series brings noted authors, lecturers, musicians, and exhibitions to the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in celebration of the beauty and splendor of nature.

At the heart of modern chamber musical exploration is the discovery and creation of new music. Join Amy Yang, Dean of the storied Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, alongside UGA student composers and performers, as they explore newly created, multidisciplinary works inspired by poetry, art, and the environment. Among several World Premieres on the program, UGA doctoral pianist Jacob Skiles will perform a piece written for him by a Julliard School composer, and UGA composers will present new music inspired by the exhibits of the Georgia Museum of Art.

GUEST ARTISTS:
Amy Yang, piano

STUDENT ARTISTS:
UGA composers
Jacob Skiles, piano (DMA ‘25)
Chamber Music Athens soloists and chamber groups

Venue:
Georgia Museum
90 Carlton St.
Athens, GA 30602

This concert is free. No tickets are required.