The Portsmouth Athenaeum presents this annual series of chamber music concerts held in historic venues around Portsmouth. This year, the public is invited to attend the following four chamber concerts:
The Neave Trio includes cellist Mikhail Veselov, pianist Eri Nakamura, and violinist Anna Williams. Courtesy photo.
NEAVE TRIO
SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 3 p.m.
The Dance Hall, Kittery, Maine
Formed in 2010, the GRAMMY®–nominated Neave Trio – violinist Anna Williams, cellist Mikhail Veselov, and pianist Eri Nakamura – has earned praise for its engaging, cutting-edge performances. New York City’s WQXR explains, “’Neave’ is actually a Gaelic name meaning ‘bright’ and ‘radiant’, both of which certainly apply to this trio’s music-making.”
Their 2022 album Musical Remembrances was nominated for a GRAMMY in the Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble category. Musical Remembrances features Rachmaninoff, Brahms and Ravel. It is the Neave Trio’s fourth album with Chandos Records.
Neave has performed at many esteemed festivals worldwide, including Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 92nd Street Y, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Norfolk and Norwich Chamber Music Series (United Kingdom), and the Samoylov and Rimsky Korsakow Museums’ Chamber Music Series in St. Petersburg (Russia).
During the 2023-24 season, the Neave Trio will be the inaugural Ensemble-in-Residence at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Ariel Horowitz and Evren Ozel. Courtesy photo.
PIANO DUO, EVREN OZEL AND ARIEL HOROWITZ
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6, 3 p.m.
St. John’s Church
American pianist Evren Ozel is a musician of “refined restraint” (Third Coast Review), combining fluent virtuosity with probing, thoughtful interpretations. He is the recipient of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, 2022 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and is currently an Ambassador Prize Winner of the 2021 Victor Elmaleh Competition.
Evren received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the New England Conservatory, and is a candidate in their prestigious Artist Diploma program, under the tutelage of Wha Kyung Byun.
The Washington Post describes violinist Ariel Horowitz as “sweetly lyrical.” She proclaims a lifelong love of music. A recent graduate of the Yale School of Music under Ani Kavafian, Ariel previously studied with Itzhak Perlman and Catherine Cho at The Juilliard School. Prizewinner at the Menuhin, Grumiaux, Stulberg, and Klein International Competitions, Ariel also received a Salon De Virtuosi Career Grant in 2017 and Yale’s School of Music’s 2019 Broadus Erle Award in Violin and 2020 Philip F. Nelson Award for excellence in musicianship and entrepreneurship.
Ariel and Evren have been delighting audiences together for three years.
The Balourdet Quartet is comprised of four very talented string instrumentalists: Benjamin Zannoni, Viola; Justin DeFilippis, Violin; Russel Huston, Cello; and Angela Bae, Violin. Courtesy photo.
BALOURDET STRING QUARTET
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 3 p.m.
South Church
The Balourdet Quartet – currently Graduate Quartet in Residence at the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University – received Chamber Music America’s 2024 Cleveland Quartet Award and the Grand Prize at the 2021 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, as well as top prizes in international competitions including the Banff, Premio, Paolo Borciani, Carl Nielsen, Fischoff and Yellow Springs Competitions.
As recent graduates of the New England Conservatory’s Professional String Quartet training program, the group received Chamber Music America’s 2021 Commissioning grant with composer Karim Al-Zand as well as a 2023 grant from the Barlow endowment with Paul Novak.
The Balourdet Quartet was formed in 2018 at Rice University in Houston, Texas under the tutelage of James Dunham, Norman Fischer, and Cho-Liang Lin. It is composed of violinists Angela Bae and Justin DeFilippis, violist Benjamin Zannoni, and cellist Russell Houston. The Quartet takes its name from Antoine Balourdet, chef extraordinaire at the Hotel St. Bernard and beloved member of the Taos School of Music community.
Cellist Sam Ou, pianist Thomas Pandolfi, and violinist Emil Altschuler of the ASMI Chamber Ensemble.
ASMI TRIO
SUNDAY, November 17, 3 p.m.
St. John’s Church
The Altschuler Summer Music Institute (ASMI) Chamber Ensemble performs as a collaboration between ASMI’s world renowned faculty and up-andcoming young artists. The ASMI was launched by Emil Altschuler in 2019 in historic Rimini, Italy.
One of the leading pianists of our time, Thomas Pandolfi studied at The Juilliard School and has become an audience favorite, selling out the world’s most prestigious stages, including Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Strathmore, The Kennedy Center, Kiev Opera House and many others.
Cellist Sam Ou enjoys an active musical life in the Greater Boston area. Mr. Ou has performed at Tanglewood, Sarasota, Musicorda, Santa Fe and La Jolla music festivals. He is a faculty member and assistant chairperson at the New England Conservatory’s (NEC’s) Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education.
Acclaimed violinist Emil Altschuler holds degrees from the Juilliard School and the Yale School of Music He has performed in major venues such as Lincoln Center. Emil pursues an active career as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician.
CHAMBER MUSIC TICKETS
SERIES SUBSCRIPTION TICKETS
$100 for all four concerts
PATRON SPONSORSHIP
$275 per person
Each Patron receives a ticket to the four-concert series & post-concert receptions with performers.
Please make checks payable to the Portsmouth Athenaeum.
Send to:
Portsmouth Athenaeum
PO BOX 366, Portsmouth, NH 03802
(Please note PACM on memo line)
INDIVIDUAL CONCERTS
Admission $30 (in advance or at the door)
Student Tickets $10
We accept cash, checks, credit cards, and Venmo.
The public is invited! All programs subject to change.
Etching by Childe Hassam, 1895-1935, “Done from nature in Miss Dorothy Whitcomb’s car.” Collection of the Portsmouth Athenaeum.
Membership and participation are open to everyone.