The School of Music at Brigham Young University will welcome Utah’s celebrated NOVA Chamber Music Series in a free concert Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall.
The performance will start with Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber’s “Annunciation” from the Rosary Sonata No. 1, followed by Bach’s Trio Sonata in C major, BWV 1037. The chamber ensemble will continue with a commissioned work by BYU composition faculty member Steven Ricks and will conclude with Brahms’ Sextet in G major, Op. 36.
The performance is directed by the Utah Symphony principal keyboardist Jason Hardink, who performed as a guest artist at BYU in January. NOVA musicians to play at the concert include Gerald Elias and Hasse Borup, violin; Julie Edwards and Carl Johansen, viola; Walter Haman and Kevin Shumway, cello; and Jason Hardink, harpsichord and organ.
According to its website, NOVA’s 2010–2011 concert season, dubbed “10.11,” focuses on the consummate works of the chamber music repertoire. Their programs explore the national musical identities of both Russia and Italy and will feature masterpieces by Bach, Brahms and Schumann, as well as contemporary pieces by local composers.
The NOVA Chamber Music Series was founded in 1977 by Utah Symphony clarinetist Russell Harlow. In 1986, Utah Symphony violinist Barbara Scowcroft was appointed as the group’s artistic director. During her tenure of 18 seasons, the series continued the innovative programming and artistic growth of the previous decade and in 1999 received the Utah Governor’s Award for the Arts.
For more details about the concert, contact Ken Crossley at (801) 422-9348 or ken_crossley@byu.edu. For more about the NOVA Chamber Music Series, visit novachambermusicseries.org.
Writer: Philip Volmar