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Akron Art Museum and Tuesday Musical Association’s FUZE! Concert Series Program

The Akron Art Museum and Tuesday Musical Association eagerly present another exciting series of cutting-edge performances by world-class, classically trained musicians testing new musical frontiers by fusing standard repertoire and works by contemporary composers. FUZE! returns for a third season to the intimate, up-close setting of the museum’s Charles and Jane Lehner Auditorium.

”It has been wonderful to see the FUZE! series take its place in Akron’s cultural community,” said Mitchell Kahan, director & CEO of the Akron Art Museum. “There is a very sophisticated feel to these concerts, something more easily found in New York, Philadelphia or Chicago, but here they are – in our own backyard.”

Fueled in large part by a generous grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, this year’s musical collaboration enhances the outreach component of the popular concert series with the intent of fostering the next generation of adventurous classical music lovers. Through special tickets to the museum performances, interactive assemblies and master class sessions in schools, this year’s line-up of musicians will engage local university and secondary students on a whole new level.

“Thanks to the generosity of our funders, this year finds the musicians going to the classrooms working with area students from middle school to university level,” said Tuesday Musical Association Director Barbara Feld. “Our FUZE! musicians understand the importance of mentoring, inspiring and challenging young people. It once happened to them and all of them are committed to passing it on.”

All concerts begin promptly at 6:30 pm, with doors opening at 6 pm.

Friday, February 11, 2011
Tracy Silverman and Three Part Invention
In redefining Contemporary Chamber Music, three of the most original instrumentalists to ever emerge out of the classical gene pool join forces to breathe new life into the time-honored piano trio tradition, featuring violinist Tracy Silverman, pianist Philip Aaberg and cellist Eugene Friesen. Performing works from their new album, featuring reinterpretations of Bach masterpieces, the trio’s live concerts also include original works and reinventions of other classical repertoire. Their iconoclastic performances are full of approachable good humor and break all the pretenses of classical performance conventions—jazz, pop and world influences paradoxically accent the beauty, elegance and soulfulness of traditional masterworks. All three artists have created vibrant solo careers by stretching from their classical roots into folk, jazz, rock and world music. Together in Three Part Invention, their paths converge in homage to the music they first loved. Three Part Invention’s performance will be followed by the opening for the M.C. Escher: Impossible Realities exhibition.

Thursday, April 14, 2011
ETHEL with guest artist, Native American flutist Robert Mirabal, present Music of the Sun
The inaugural FUZE! concert series launched in 2009 with an exuberant, intense and magnificent performance by the premier postclassical string quartet ETHEL. Formed in 1998, New York’s ebullient ETHEL is comprised of Juilliard-trained performers Cornelius Dufallo (violin), Ralph Farris (viola), Dorothy Lawson (cello) and Mary Rowell (violin). The 2011 season welcomes ETHEL back, this time accompanied by Grammy Award-winning Native American flutist Robert Mirabal, to present a program inspired by the sun mythology of Native America. This extraordinary collaboration grew out of the ETHEL/Mirabal work on TruckStop®, which premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2008. Included in the program are collaborations on Mirabal’s compositions as well as arrangements of ancient Native American music. Using the instruments of the string quartet, Native American flutes (Tdoop-Pootse) and drums (Mooloo), as well as ethereal voices of an area high school chamber choir, ETHEL and Mirabal unite to create a cross-cultural contemporary music event.
Following each concert, a special cash bar cocktail reception will be held in the museum’s Beatrice Knapp McDowell Grand Lobby, where audience members will have the opportunity to meet with the musicians.

Only 160 seats make this an unrivaled chamber experience. Tickets are $30 general public, $25 AAM, TMA, 89.7 WKSU and 91.3 The Summit members, $15 students with valid identification. Tickets can be purchased with a credit card by visiting www.AkronArtMuseum.org, by calling 330.376.9186 x268 or visiting the Visitor Service Desk at the museum. All ticket prices are subject to additional ticket handling fees.

The 2011 FUZE! Series is made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation, Ohio Arts Council and a friend of the Akron Art Museum.

The Akron Art Museum One South High, Akron, OH 44308
Tel: 330.376.9185
Fax: 330.376.1180
www.AkronArtMuseum.org

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