DATE: November 16 2008, 3 PM
SITE: The Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts
PROGRAM
The Ritz Chamber Players, the nation's first chamber music ensemble series comprised solely of accomplished musicians spanning the African diaspora, brings a fresh, new energy to the classical music genre. The Ritz Chamber Players include some of the world's most accomplished musicians. They have performed with the most prestigious musical organizations such as the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra and London Symphony. The Ritz Chamber Players made their triumphant sold-out Carnegie Hall Debut in 2004, their international radio debut with the BBC in 2005, and national television debut as performers on the 37th Annual NAACP Image Awards in 2006.
Founded in 2002 by Artistic Director and Clarinetist Terrance Patterson, the Ritz Chamber Players performs a subscription series at the Times-Union Center for the Performance Arts in Jacksonville, Florida. The Ritz Chamber Players performs chamber works from the standard classical repertoire in many combinations, as well as highlighting the works of contemporary African-American composers. The Ritz Chamber Players have recently performed to large audiences in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Baltimore, Raleigh, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando and Miami, and participated in the Madison and Amelia Island Chamber Music Festivals. The Ritz Chamber Players seek to increase the visibility of African-American classical composers and heighten public awareness of the African-American musician contributions within the classical music genre.
Terrance Patterson - Clarinet Founder and Artistic Director
A Jacksonville, Florida, native, Terrance Patterson has performed in Paris, London, Milan, Brussels, Belgrade, Munich, Amsterdam, Moscow, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Miami, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York. He has performed with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, the Sphinx Symphony of Detroit and the Nashville, Florida West Coast, Huntsville, Festival, and Las Vegas Symphonies. He attended the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University where he studied with clarinetist Lorin Kitt, principal clarinetist of the National Symphony Orchestra.
Kelly Hall-Tompkins - Violin
One of New York City's most in-demand violinists, Kelly Hall-Tompkins' dynamic career spans solo, chamber, and orchestral performance. Her solo performances include the Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago, broadcast live by WFMT Radio; in Baltimore, the Peggy and Yale Gordon Trust performances; and, through a special grant from the IBM Corporation, concerts at the Peace Center in Greenville, South Carolina. Ms. Hall-Tompkins has been a soloist with the Dallas, Greenville, and Monmouth Symphonies, the Philharmonic of Uruguay, the Gateways Festival Orchestra, the Festival of the Atlantic Orchestra, and the Atlanta University Orchestra and her performances in recital have been featured on several occasions on the McGraw-Hill Young Artist Showcase, broadcast in New York by WQXR. Ms. Hall-Tompkins' distinguished orchestral career has included extensive touring in the United States and internationally with the renowned Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. In 1999 she won auditions held by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and was subsequently appointed to the orchestra's First Violin section. Hall-Tompkins began her violin studies at age nine. She earned a Master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music under the mentorship of Glenn Dicterow, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic.
Amadi Hummings - Viola
Amadi Hummings, violist, has been heard in recital in major cities throughout the United States, such as New York, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Houston, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., including an appearance at the U.S. Supreme Court. In recent seasons, Mr. Hummings has been a guest of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at the Alice Tully Hall in New York, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He has also appeared in recital at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, on the "Discovery" recital series in La Jolla, as guest artist at the 1993 International Viola Congress, and at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Since then, he has performed throughout Israel, Canada, South America, Central America, India, Japan, Hong Kong, and throughout the Caribbean. He has also collaborated with such artists as Awadagin Pratt, Mitsuko Uchida, Andras Schiff, Nobuko Imai, David Soyer, and Felix Galimir. His performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio's "Performance Today," "St. Paul Sunday," and on WNYC in New York. Hummings is also Director of Program Development for the Gateways Music Festival while serving on the faculties of both the James Madison University and The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Troy Stuart - Cello
A graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, Stuart has performed solo and chamber music concerts with such notables as Isaac Stern, Jaime Laredo, Pamela Frank, and Paul Badura-Skoda. He currently teaches cello in the Peabody Preparatory Young People's String program. Stuart was invited to participate in the internationally televised (CBS) "Kennedy Center Honors" honoring the great Alexander Schneider. Actor/musician Dudley Moore presented Stuart with the Martell Cordon Bleu Award.
Kevin Sharpe - Piano
Regarded as one of the country's most promising concert pianists, Kevin Sharpe has been praised by critics for his "precise touch" and "strong individual voice," following a sparkling debut at New York City's Weill Recital Hall. Sharpe's piano studies began at the age of 12 at the Newark School of the Arts. He continued his education at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Indiana University. Currently, Sharpe holds the position of Associate Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at the University of Florida where he is active as a soloist and chamber musician. As a guest Soloist, he performs frequently with orchestras throughout Florida, Washington and Indiana. International appearances have taken him to Mexico, Iceland, Finland, Argentina and Hong Kong.
Artist Website: www.ritzchamberplayers.org