Cleveland Museum Of Art Presents "In Concert With Members Of The Silk Road Ensemble"

The Cleveland Museum of Art proudly presents members of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble in concert performing an evening of music by the Hungarian composer Bela Bartok, the Armenian composer omitas, and by two Iranian composers Kayhan Kalhor and Hossein Alizadeh on Wednesday, Jan. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in Reinberger Chamber Hall at Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Ave., in Cleveland's University Circle.

Admission to the performance is $34; $29 for CMA Members. Parking is available on-site at the Case University Campus Center Garage, adjacent to Severance Hall.

Founded in 1998 by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the Silk Road Project takes its name from the ancient trade routes that once linked Asian and European cultures. Today, the cross-cultural ensemble's vast exploration of music from Japan to Near East and beyond has been called by The World & I magazine "a new trans-highway of culture."

According to Ma, the group is striving "to bring new ideas, talent and energy into the world of classical music, and at the same time, nurture musical creativity drawing on wonderfully diverse and distinguished sources of cultural heritage." The group has released two recordings on the Sony Classical label and has performed for audiences worldwide.

For the VIVA! & Gala Around Town performance, the ensemble comprises eight brilliant musicians: Jeffrey Beecher, bass; Nicholas Cords, viola; Jonathan Gandelsman, violin; Colin Jacobsen, violin; EricJacobsen, cello; Siamak Jahangiri, ney; Kayhan Kalhor,kemancheh; and Mark Suter, percussion.

Jeffrey Beecher, the youngest bassist ever admitted to Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music, attended both the Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard Preparatory divisions. He continues to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Lukes.

Nicholas Cords, who also studied at Juilliard and the Curtis Institute of Music, has performed in numerous venues globally, both as a chamber musician and a soloist. After winning top honors in Juilliard's viola competition, he gave the New York premiere of John Harbison's Viola Concerto in Avery Fisher Hall. He teaches at Princeton University and routinely spends his summers teaching at the Bennington Chamber Music and Composers' Conference.

Jonathan Gandelsman, was born in Russia where he studied violin with Maya Glesarova. He emigrated to Israel in 1990 and subsequently settled in the United States, where he attended the Curtis Institute of Music. He has appeared as a soloist with such conductors as Zubin Mehta, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Shlomo Mintz, and Daniel Oren with a variety of orchestras including the Israel Philharmonic, the Jerusalem Symphony, the Deutsche Oper Orchester, Duisburg Symphony Orchestra, the Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestra di Maggio Fiorentino, the Polish Broadcasting Orchestra and The Wild Ginger Philharmonic. His performances have taken him to France, England, Holland, Greece, the Baltic States, Turkey, Brazil, Japan, Mexico and the United States.

Colin Jacobsen, who plays a 1696 Guarneri violin, began his studies at the age of four, later winning Juilliard's school-wide concerto competition. He received the Grand Prize from both the New York State and National American String Teachers Association competitions and has studied at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. Having performed extensively both as a soloist and chamber musician, he performs regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Bargemusic and also is a member of the Metropolitan Museum's Artists in Concert.

Eric Jacobsen is a regular presenter at Bargemusic, now serving as curator and musical director of the 92nd St. Y's Makor Center for Classical Café. He has appeared as a soloist with various groups and has been heard on programs such as NPR's Sound Check and Performance Today. A graduate of the Juilliard School, he plays a Bernardus Calcanius cello crafted in 1744.

Siamak Jahangiri is a rising star of Iranian classical music. He received his degree in music from Tehran University of the Arts and has written a book on the ney (reed flute), its masters and its playing techniques in the 20th century. When not performing as a member of the Silk Road Ensemble, he is a teacher of the instrument.

Kayhan Kalhor is a three-time Grammy-nominated internationally-acclaimed virtuoso of the kemancheh (spiked fiddle). A native of Tehran, he was invited at the age of 13 to work with the National Orchestra of Radio and Television in Iran, where he performed for five years. By the age of 17, he was working with the Shayda Ensemble of the Chavosh Cultural Center, Iran's most prestigious arts organization at the time. He has toured and studied throughout the world, and has composed works for Iran's great masters and renowned vocalists. He also has made three recordings on the Shanachie label.

Mark Suter, who earned degrees in music from the University of Michigan and California State University at Northridge, has studied and performed around the globe, from Brazil to Kazakhstan to Costa Rica. He has worked with artists such as Aretha Franklin, Sam Newsome and Vanessa Falabella, and is a founding member of the New Power Trio. He is the principal percussionist with the Stamford Symphony and also performs regularly with the Orchestra of St. Lukes, the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra and the Singapore Symphony. He has recorded for numerous labels.

The next performance in the VIVA! & Gala Around Town series will be the Artemis String Quartet, appearing in Plymouth Church of Shaker Heights, UCC at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9. The quartet was the first ever to be awarded the Music Prize of the Association of German Critics. The New York Times called the group "the most impressive quartet among the new generation." For more information on the entire VIVA! & Gala Around Town series, visit www.clevelandart.org/viva.

The Museum receives operating support from the Ohio Arts Council. Additional support provided by The Ernest L. and Louise M. Gartner Fund, The P.J. McMyler Musical Endowment Fund, The Anton and Rose Zverina Music Fund, the Musart Society, and supporting sponsor Margaret W. Wong & Associates, Co., LPA. Promotional support for VIVA! & Gala Around Town is provided by WKSU 89.7 FM, WCLV 104.9 FM and 90.3 WCPN Ideastream.

The Cleveland Museum of Art is one of America's leading comprehensive Museums. Its permanent collection is world renowned for its quality and breadth, spanning 6,000 years. The Museum is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship and art acquisitions.

By www.clevelandart.org