FEATURED EVENTS 2007-2008

4-29	Emerson Quartet Acclaimed for its insightful performances, brilliant artistry and technical mastery, the Emerson String Quartet is one of the world's foremost chamber ensembles, and has amassed an impressive list of achievements: a brilliant series of recordings exclusively documented by Deutsche Grammophon since 1987; six Grammy Awards including two unprecedented honors for "Best Classical Album;" three Gramophone Magazine Awards and performances of the complete cycles of Beethoven, Bartók and Shostakovich quartets in major concert halls throughout the world.
4-17	Fusion2: A Feast for the Senses Come explore a world where cutting-edge artwork and innovative music blend with an array of tempting culinary samplings. Shepherd School composers and musicians, together with the help of Houston’s hottest restaurants and galleries, will transform the Grand Foyer of Alice Pratt Brown Hall into a feast for the senses. This event appeals to art collectors, music enthusiasts and “foodies” alike - experience the fusion! Shepherd Society members and their guests will receive complimentary admission, and the general public will be admitted for only $25 per person.  Please call: 713-348-3492 or e-mail: theshepherdsociety@rice.edu to reserve your place at FUSION2 today!
4-12	Shepherd School Chamber Music Festival From morning to evening for an entire day, this festival will survey music written in the ten years preceding and following a new century, including works by Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Britten, Fauré, Debussy, Bartók, Prokofiev, Ives, and others.
4-8	Belcea Quartet The Belcea Quartet has gained an enviable reputation as one of the leading quartets of the new generation. They continue to take the British and international chamber music circuit by storm, consistently receiving critical acclaim for their performances.
3-27 3-28 3-29	Adolph (Bud) Herseth, trumpet Retired after fifty-five seasons as principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bud Herseth is widely admired for his virtuosity and musicality. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest orchestral trumpeters of his generation.  For decades, he passed on the keys to technical mastery and his love for orchestral music to students through his work with the CSO's Civic Orchestra, a training orchestra for young players.
3-19 3-20 3-22 3-24	L’elisir d’amore The Shepherd School of Music will delight opera and musical lovers alike with a four-show production of Gaetano Donizetti's “L’elisir d’amore,” a beloved comic opera about a love elixir, performed by the Shepherd School Opera and the Shepherd School Chamber Orchestra.
3-11	Edwin Barker, double bass Edwin Barker has performed and recorded with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Chamber Players and with Collage, a Boston-based contemporary music ensemble. He is also a frequent guest performer with the Boston Chamber Music Society in Boston's Jordan Hall.
3-11	Florestan Trio Florestan is a regular guest at all the UK’s major festivals and performs frequently in London’s principal concert halls. Recent tours have taken them to South America, Israel, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and they regularly visit other European countries.
2-29	Fenia Chang, piano Born in Taiwan, Ms. Chang made her solo debut at age 11, after wining the first Japan Kawai Piano Competition. The performance was broadcasted on national television in Taiwan. She has performed extensively at different venues including Avery Fisher Hall and Alice Tully at Lincoln Center, Carnegie’s Weil Recital Hall, the Museum of Modern Arts in New York, Washington Arts Club Concert Series, the Terrace Theater at Kennedy Center, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington DC, the Strathmore Hall, Fairfax Auditorium, the Ellipse Arts Center, Friday Morning Music Club Artist Series in Maryland and Virginia, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Concert Hall in Beijing and Shanghai, China. She has appeared as soloists with numerous orchestras including the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Maryland Chamber Orchestra, Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, the Albuquerque Symphony, New World Symphony, and National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed in concert in Paris, Milan, Dublin, and Hong Kong.
2-23	Young People’s Concert 2008 Join us for a musical adventure, as we journey to southern Spain through Manuel de Falla’s “Three Dances” from “The Three-Cornered Hat” (Suite No. 2) featuring the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra conducted by Thomas Hong and Cristian Macelaru. Our guide and narrator, Rachel Buchman, will help us discover the Flamenco roots of this colorful piece. In the spirit of rodeo season, the Shepherd School Brass Choir, conducted by Marie Speziale, will perform the Houston premiere of Jon Deak’s rousing tribute to Annie Oakley, the theatrical Fanfare to “Annie O.” Recommended for ages 4+. Two performances: 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., Stude Concert Hall
2-15	Helen Callus, viola Her debut recording for ASV, “Portrait of the Viola” with Robert McDonald – piano released in 2002, was met with the highest of critical acclaim. Strings magazine described Ms. Callus as a “violist of the highest caliber.”The American Record Guide wrote "The night I wrote this review, I found her performance so moving, so addicting, that I kept listening to it over and over before I could bring myself to finish the review. Very rarely have I felt a need to listen to a recording over and over. Only really great artistry can hold a listener in thrall like that, and that is the artistry of Helen Callus."
2-12	Cantus Nine-member male vocal ensemble performs works that range from Thomas Tallis to contemporary works written for them, in addition to Indian ragas, Motown, Japanese folk music, African-American spirituals, and more.
1-30	Fischer Duo with Kathleen Winkler, violin The critic from the The Toledo Blade summed up a concert experience with the Fischer Duo: “If there was a prize for Most Elegant Sound by a Chamber Group, the Fischer Duo would surely win it. The two together have a sort of slow-burning combustion on stage that makes for some really exciting and spon-taneous music. This is a pair that really knows their repertoire, and more importantly, knows how to absorb an audience into their own musical universe.”
1-22	Ying and Turtle Island Quartets The four Ying siblings joined as an ensemble in 1992; the very next year they rose to international prominence, winning the prestigious Naumburg Chamber Music Award.   The Ying Quartet’s reputation for “instinctive unanimity” Philadelphia Inquirer and “astonishing, refreshing exaltation and exhilaration” Los Angeles Times is matched by its unparalleled success in making creative connections between chamber music and other art forms. Its collaboration with the Turtle Island String Quartet blends the classical string tradition with jazz, improvisation and contemporary composition.  The Ying/Turtle Island CD “4 + Four” received a 2006 Grammy Award in the Best Classical Crossover Category.  HFM is proud to offer this unique combination on Tuesday, January 22.
12-4	Concertante In the past decade Concertante has acquired a sheen, warmth, and polish only a few ensembles ever achieve. Comprised of a core of six virtuoso string players, the group performs in varied combinations of instrumentalists. As solo performers who have won major national and international music competitions, they have graced the premier stages of the world from New York's Carnegie Hall to London's Royal Festival Hall to Shanghai's Grand Theatre. Concertante has performed a wide array of repertoire ranging from works by established masters to less commonly performed composers.
11-30	Spirit of the Season: A Special Shepherd Society Holiday Event You are cordially invited to kick off the holiday season in style with a night at The Shepherd School of Music.  Champagne and cocktails, and a concert in Duncan Recital Hall of arias, famous opera ensembles, and holiday music, followed by an elegant seated dinner in the Grand Foyer of Alice Pratt Brown Hall, all combine to create a memorable evening that is certain to put you and your guests in the holiday spirit. Call 713-348-4992 to make your reservations. Tickets start at $350.
11-19	Jean Ferrandis, flute In addition to his performing career, Mr. Ferrandis serves as professor at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. He regularly presents master classes in Japan, the United States, and Korea, and this fall also appeared in Taiwan and South Africa. As a conductor he leads the Saint Petersburg Camerata in Russia and in Vilnius (Lithuania) the Saint Christopher Chamber Orchestra, with which he has recorded flute concertos of C. P. E. Bach. Other compact discs include Mozart’s complete flute concertos (with Marie-Pierre Langlamet, solo harpist of the Berlin Philharmonic), works of Honegger and d’Indy, Schubert’s sonatinas and the “Arpeggione” sonata, and a two-disc set of works for flute by Yuko Uebayashi.
11-17	Shepherd School Chamber Music Festival: Spotlight on Eastern Europe From morning to evening for an entire day, music of Eastern Europe performed by students of the Shepherd School
11-15	Percussion Ensemble The Shepherd School of Music has one of the country's most active and productive percussion studios. Carefully selected from both graduate and undergraduate applicants, this intense group of students works under the full-time guidance of its director, Richard Brown. Members of this group have consistently won places in every major summer festival, most recently Tanglewood, the National Repertory Orchestra, the National Orchestral Institute, the Pacific Music Festival, and the Spoleto Festival.
11-12 11-13	Trio con Brio Copenhagen The trio was founded in Vienna in 1999 and first drew attention with a sensational performance that took the highest prize at Germany’s prestigious ARD-Munich Competition in 2002.  Since then, they won first prize in several more competitions: Italy’s Premio Vittorio Gui (Florence, 2003), Norway’s Trondheim Chamber Music Competition (2003), and the Danish Radio Competition (Copenhagen, 2002). They also won the “Allianz-Preis” for Best Ensemble in Germany's Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (2003) and second prize in the Vienna Haydn Competition (2001) and the Premio Trio di Trieste (Italy, 2002). Critics have praised the trio for their “sparkling joie de vivre” and “magic dialogue;”—a review of their performance at the Salzburg Mozarteum said, “they cast a spell over their audience . . . so alive, so musical . . . ravishing.” Trio con Brio Copenhagen belongs unquestionably to the upper echelons of young chamber ensembles performing today.
11-10 11-11	Martin Amlin, composer and pianist Mr. Amlin has appeared as soloist with the Boston Pops Orchestra in performances of Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, and has performed on the Boston Symphony Orchestra's Prelude concerts at both Symphony Hall and Tanglewood. He has also appeared on the FleetBoston Celebrity Series and has been pianist for the M.I.T. Experimental Music Studio and the New England Ragtime Ensemble. He has often been heard live on Boston's WGBH radio station as both performer and composer, and has given the premiere of many new pieces, including works by Lukas Foss, George Perle, Stefan Kaske, and Armand Qualliotine.
11-8	Brent Phillips, trombone Since 1996, Mr. Phillips has been principal trombone with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of maestro Stuart Malina and has enjoyed Harrisburg as a vibrant and culturally rich city in which to work. Mr. Phillips has been a soloist on two occasions with the Harrisburg Symphony and is honored that Harrisburg will premiere a major work for trombone and orchestra.
11-7 11-9 11-11 11-12	Shepherd School Opera and the Shepherd School Chamber Orchestra present “Rinaldo” by George Frideric Handel The first Italian opera to be composed specifically for the English stage, Rinaldo is the fourth of Handel’s surviving operas. Its huge success, which established Handel as the most celebrated composer of the moment, was based largely on the theatricality of the setting, which was designed to utilize spectacular stage effects, and the intense emotional situations of the characters, exploited brilliantly by Handel’s compelling dramatic genius.
11-5	Jasper String Quartet The Jasper String Quartet formed at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 2003. They immediately gained attention, winning the Oberlin-Smithsonian fellowship twice in their first two years, followed by the Presser Music Award in 2004, and the Kauffman Chamber Music Prize three times. In 2005 they were invited to play at the Vigeland Museum in Oslo, Norway. Other recent highlights include performances at the Kennedy Center, the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and the Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music Series in New York City.
11-3	Gereon Krahforst, organist Two performances with different programs: 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Music of August Gottfried Ritter, Joseph Jongen, Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, Richard Bartmuß, Sigfried Karg-Elert, Camillo Schumann, Max Reger, and improvisations.
10-25	Meet and Mingle: A Shepherd Society Social Members of The Shepherd Society and those interested in learning more about membership are invited to sample the musical offerings of our talented young artists, meet members of the faculty, tour the building, and get to know each other a little better. Watch an opera rehearsal in progress, learn about the majestic Grand Organ, hear a string quartet performance, and so much more!
10-13 10-14	National Careers Forum Featured Speaker: Shoshana Dobrow, Assistant Professor of Management Systems, Fordham University Participating student leaders will join together in a series of informal performances to be held in four classrooms at the Shepherd School. The public is invited to hear a series of 30 minute mini-concerts, which will be performed by conference student participants during the forum. These “lab” performances are designed as “experiments” where the students can discover ways to connect and present individual solo works using the information and insights learned from the weekend experiences.
10-9	Miró Quartet The dynamic Miró Quartet, one of America's highest-profile chamber groups, has risen to the top of the international chamber music scene in only a decade, captivating audiences and critics around the world with its youthful intensity and mature interpretations.
9-23	Washington National Opera The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University is showing a free, live broadcast of Washington National Opera’s edgy new production of Puccini’s La Bohème on Sunday, September 23 at 1:00 p.m. (CST). Rice University is one of 32 schools across the country locally presenting the live simulcast from the Opera House stage at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. This event is anticipated to be the largest ever simultaneous viewing of an opera in the world, with more than 45,000 expected viewers.
9-18	Tokyo String Quartet Founded in 1969, this remarkable ensemble of Eastern and Western musicians appears regularly in the major music centers of the world. Praised for their superb technical command and the commitment and intensity they bring to performances and recordings, the members of the Tokyo String Quartet have captivated an entire generation through their continuing musical achievements.
9-14	Webster Trio The Webster Trio was founded in 1988 by Michael Webster and Leone Buyse in order to expand and promote the repertoire for flute, clarinet, and piano through commissions, transcriptions, and research. The trio's pianist is Robert Moeling; other previous collaborative pianists have been the legendary Beveridge Webster, Michael's late father and a long-time member of the Juilliard School faculty, pianist-composer Martin Amlin of Boston University, and University of Michigan faculty member Katherine Collier