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Experience the 35th Season of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival Beginning July 15

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Get in on the festivities of the 35th season of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.  From Beethoven to World Premieres, the 2007 anniversary opens on July 15 at the St. Francis Auditorium in the Museum of Fine Arts on the Plaza in Santa Fe, NM.  Enjoy six weeks of beautiful music and amazing performances that include 45 concerts, 80 artists and over 100 different compositions.

Highlights of the season include the beginning of a two-year cycle of the Beethoven String Quartets played by the Orion String Quartet, the return of the Monastic Choir of Christ in the Desert in a program of Gregorian Chant, a first-time-ever Percussion Festival featuring D’Drum, Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins with Pinchas Zukerman and Viviane Hagner, and the Festival debut of composer and cabaret singer  HK Gruber.   Two works commissioned by the Festival will receive their world premieres: Marc Neikrug’s Ritual on July 15 and 16, and John Wyre’s Percussion Quartet on August 11.

Celebrating his tenth season as Artistic Director, Neikrug approaches the Festival’s repertoire with a composer’s ear. "I program each concert both as a balanced unit and as part of an entire repertoire," he said, "Choosing the music is based on a sense of what plays well together as well as what enables our audience to develop their own musical understanding.

Yuja Wang
The opening program, performed on both July 15 and 16, typifies the diversity and depth which have marked the Festival throughout its history. Vocalduos by Schumann and Brahms will be sung by Patricia Racette and Beth Clayton.  Tchaikovsky’sPiano Trio in A Minor will be performed by dazzling young pianist Yuja Wang, violinist Daniel Hope and cellist Lynn Harrell. Ritual, by Mr. Neikrug, will be premiered by Real Quiet – an new-edgy ensemble comprising percussionist David Cossin, cellist Felix Fan, and pianist Andrew Russo.

Yuja Wang, Pinchas Zukerman

Other July highlights include July 22 and 23 performances of Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, featuring Ms. Wang, violinist Soovin Kim, cellist Peter Stumpf, and clarinetist Todd Levy. A playful program for, in Mr. Neikrug’s words, "grown up kids" on July 29 and 30 features Ravel’s Mother Goose, Saint-Saëns’s Carnival of the Animals and Bizet’s Children’s Games with Mr. Gruber as narrator in his  Frankenstein!! A Pan-demonium for Chansonnier and Ensemble.  
The popular noon series at St. Francis Auditorium begins July 17 with Tan Dun’s music from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Piazolla’s sensual Grand Tango and cello sonatas by Beethoven and Britten.  The series continues with a July 19 piano recital by
Ms. Wang.

Now in its second year, the Los Alamos series begins on July 18 with Mr. Harrell, Ms. Wang and others in a varied program of works by Stravinsky, Handel, and Poulenc.

August highlights include the Beethoven string quartet cycle, the Modern Masters series on August 3 featuring pianist Alan Feinberg in a solo piano recital of works by Javanshir Kuliev, Mauricio Kagel, Judith Weir, Conlon Nancarrow, and Poul Ruders. On August 10 and 11, the world-class percussionists of D’ Drum  and their instruments collected from around the world are featured in a Percussion Festival honoring the late John Wyre.

On August 15, three spectacular pieces will be presented:
Schubert’s great string quartet, "Death and the Maiden," performed by the Miró Quartet, Beethoven’s Quintet for Piano and Winds, and a new work by Native American composer Brent Michael Davids. Another highlight is the Bach Plus series program of double concertos on August 18, featuring Vivaldi concertos for two oboes and two cellos along with Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins.

Pinchas Zukerman
In a fitting finale to the season on August 20, Mendelssohn’s Octet and Crumb’s seductive Voice of the Whale bring together the prodigious talents of Pinchas Zukerman, the Miró Quartet, Michael Tree and many more.

The Festival’s annual free Indian Market concert for the community will be presented on August 17, featuring masterworks by Beethoven and Dvorák.

Venues – Concerts are performed in three intimate settings: St. Francis Auditorium and The Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe, and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Los Alamos.

A complete listing of programs, performance locations and times for the 2007 season is attached.

For tickets, including the popular Sixpass, which can be used to create a series suited to individual schedules and musical preferences, and information, visit www.santafemusic.org or call         505.982.1890             or toll-free          888.221.9836                     

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