September 15, 2010

Chamber Music Society to open season on Sept. 19

by Andrea Hahn

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois Chamber Music Society, affiliated with the School of Music at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, opens the 2010-2011 season with a performance featuring School of Music faculty.

The performance begins at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 19, at the Unitarian Fellowship, 105 N. Parrish Lane, in Carbondale. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $3 for students, and are available at the door.

This performance features Michael Barta, professor of violin; Junghwa Lee, associate professor of piano; Eric Lenz, assistant professor of cello; Aurélian Pétillot, instructor of viola; and Metiney Suwanawongse, a graduate student in violin.

All the faculty members have extensive performance credits and maintain vigorous professional musical careers in addition to their teaching responsibilities at SIUC. Suwanawongse accompanied the SIUC Wind Ensemble on its 2009 performance tour of China.

Chamber music is instrumental art music intended for a small number of musicians, often performed in a small, more intimate, venue. The Southern Illinois Chamber Music Society presents several performances annually with the dual goal of promoting chamber music in Southern Illinois and raising money for School of Music scholarships.