CSO Presents “Remembering” featuring violinist Stella Chen
COLUMBUS, GA - March 8th, 2022 - The Columbus Symphony Orchestra (CSO) presents “Remembering…” on March 18th, 2023. This concert finds its inspiration in our desire to remember: a departed loved one, a bittersweet history, and a gallery of dear friends. Award-winning violinist Stella Chen joins the CSO to perform Corigliano’s music composed for the film The Red Violin. Enigmatic pieces by Edward Elgar and American female composer Margaret Brouwer complete the concert. The concert will begin at 7:30 PM and will be performed in the Bill Heard Theatre at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts.
The concert opens with Remembrances by female composer Margaret Brouwer. This tone poem is an elegy and a tribute to Robert Stewart who was a musician, composer, sailor and loved one. Beginning with an expression of grief and sorrow, the music evolves into a musical portrait, full of warm memories, love and admiration, and images of sailing.
Award-winning violinist Stella Chen joins the CSO to perform John Corigliano’s The Red Violin: Chaconne for Violin and Orchestra, which was written for the film of the same name. The film spans three centuries in the life of a magnificent but haunted violin in its travels through space and time. Stella Chen garnered worldwide attention with her first-prize win at the 2019 Queen Elizabeth International Violin Competition, followed by the 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grant and 2020 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award.
The CSO closes the concert with Edward Elgar’s Variations on an Original Theme “Enigma,” popularly known as the “Enigma Variations.” This piece started as a humorous work but expanded into deep seriousness. It contains musical sketches in the form of variations that serve as brief musical portraits of a close friend of the Elgars or of themselves.
On Saturday, March 18, the CSO will present an Open Dress Rehearsal beginning at 12:30 PM. We encourage attendance from all members of the community, including those who are unable to attend the evening concert or interested in a “behind-the-scenes” look into the ensemble. It is a great way to introduce young children to a live musical experience. Continuing the tradition, this informal and all-inclusive atmosphere is breaking the financial barrier by encouraging attendees to “pay what you want.” Audience members set their own prices to eliminate hesitation and allow new viewers to partake in the music being created by the CSO.
To enhance the concert experience, the CSO offers a pre-concert discussion with George Del Gobbo that gives insight into the composers and works being performed called Know the Score. Know the Score occurs at 6:30 PM in Studio Theatre directly before the concert and admission is included with the purchase of a concert ticket.
Tickets can be purchased online at csoga.org/tickets or in-person at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts located at 900 Broadway, Columbus, Ga. Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 5:30 PM (Broadway entrance). Single ticket prices range from $10-$40. Senior, military, educator, and student discounts are available in person or by calling 706-256-3612. Children ages 4 and under are not admitted to the concert but are encouraged to attend Open Dress Rehearsals.
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About the Columbus Symphony Orchestra
The Columbus Symphony Orchestra, formed in 1855, is the second orchestra founded in the nation and the first founded in Georgia. The CSO, under the direction of George Del Gobbo, has long been considered one of the Southeast’s premier musical ensembles. The CSO’s performance venue at RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, Bill Heard Theatre, seats 2,000 patrons and provides a state-of-the-art visual and acoustic experience. For more information about the CSO, visit our website at csoga.org.
About Stella Chen, violin
American violinist Stella Chen garnered worldwide attention with her first-prize win at the 2019 Queen Elizabeth International Violin Competition, followed by the 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grant and 2020 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award. Since then, Stella has appeared across North America and beyond in concerto, recital, and chamber music performances. She recently made debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and many others and appeared at the Vienna Musikverein and Berlin Philharmonie with the Malta Philharmonic. In July 2022 she returned to Belgium in a live TV and radio broadcast of the Korngold Concerto with the Belgian National Orchestra. In recital, recent appearances include Carnegie Hall, the Phillips Collection, Rockport Music Festival, and Nume Festival in Italy. She appears frequently with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center both in New York and on tour. She is the first recipient of the Robert Levin Award from Harvard University, the top prize winner of the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition and youngest-ever prize winner of the Menuhin Competition. Stella plays the 1700 ex-Petri Stradivarius, on generous loan from Dr. Ryuji Ueno and Rare Violins In Consortium, Artists and Benefactors Collaborative and the 1708 Huggins Stradivarius courtesy of the Nippon Foundation. Stella received her doctorate from the Juilliard School, where she serves as a teaching assistant to her longtime mentor, Li Lin.