Sunmi Chang in Chamber Music Quad Cities: “Into the Light" at the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Parish Hall -- March 16.
Sunday, March 16, 3 p.m.
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Parish Hall, 121 West 12th Street, Davenport IA
Their March 16 event boasting works by composers Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Zemlinsky, Ned Rorem, and David Conte, Chamber Music Quad Cities continues its 2024-25 season at Davenport's Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Parish Hall with Into the Light, in which international laureate and violin master Sunmi Chang and Quad Cities native and baritone Nathaniel Sullivan perform alongside CMQC co-artistic directors Gregory Sauer on cello and Thomas Sauer on piano.
As the laureate of both the 2007 International Markneukirchen and Sion-Valais International Violin Competitions, Korean born violinist Sunmi Chang has performed widely to much acclaim throughout North America and Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. At the age of 17, she toured with the Yehudi Menuhin School Orchestra playing Bach Double Concerto for 2 Violins conducted by Lord Menuhin in UNESCO Headquarters and Guildford Cathedral in England. In 2008, Chang was the soloist on Yale Philharmonia's tour to Seoul, Beijing, and Shanghai, performing the Beethoven Concerto. To celebrate Beethoven’s 250th birthday, she returned to Yale, performing Beethoven Triple Concerto with cellist Paul Watkins, pianist Melvin Chen conducted by Peter Oundjian.
An active chamber musician, Chang has been invited to take part in chamber music festivals such as the Rising Stars Series at Caramoor, Vivace Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Music in the Vineyards, and Chamber Music Northwest. She is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Summit Chamber Music Series committed to bringing world-class chamber music to West Virginia. In December of 2023, Chang released Mother Tales under the Parma recordings with pianist Clara Yang, an album that pays tribute to four remarkable women composers: Florence Price, Gabriela Lena Frank, Liliya Ugay, and Amy Beach. The violinist received her Bachelor’s degree at the Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule in Berlin, Master’s and Artist Diploma degrees at Yale School of Music, and the Doctoral degree from the University of Michigan. Her principal teachers have included Eberhard Feltz, Peter Oundjian, Soovin Kim, Ani Kavafian. She recently joined as the violin faculty at the School of Music at the University of Oregon.
Baritone Nathaniel Sullivan is a musician, theatre artist, and writer devoted to holding space for reflection, understanding, and creative projects that champion change. An "alert and highly musical baritone" (Opera News), Sullivan infuses his work with "impressive strength and precision" (Schmopera), as well as “great eloquence” and "allegiance to both music and words" (ConcertoNet). His upcoming performances include the Riverview Chamber Series (April) and Piano Lunaire (May), while recent highlights include the role of The King in the North American premiere of George Benjamin's Lessons in Love & Violence at Tanglewood and covering the role of Harvey Milk in the world premiere of Stewart Wallace's Harvey Milk Reimagined at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
Sullivan was one of seven winners of the 2023 Astral Artists National Competition and has been awarded the Grace B. Jackson Prize for exceptional service at Tanglewood (2019), Third Place in the Washington International Competition (2023), Third Place in the Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Solo Competition (2019), Third Place in the Orpheus Vocal Competition (2019), and First Place in the NATS National Musical Theatre Competition (2018). He received his BM from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (2014) and his MM from the Bard College Conservatory.
Lauded for his versatility, cellist Gregory Sauer performs in many different musical arenas. He has appeared in recital at the Old First Concert Series in San Francisco, Vanderbilt University, Rice University, the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, and the Brightmusic Concert Series in Oklahoma City, among many others throughout the U.S. Sauer has performed concertos with orchestras such as the Houston Symphony, the Quad City Symphony, the Columbus (GA) Symphony, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, and the Missoula Symphony, among many others, and as a member of Trio Solis, he performed in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall.
Pianist Thomas Sauer is highly sought after as soloist and chamber musician in a wide range of repertoire. Recent appearances include Carnegie Hall, St. John’s College, Oxford, and the Chamber Music Societies of Lincoln Center, Boston, and Philadelphia. With his long-time duo partner Colin Carr, Sauer has appeared at the Wigmore Hall (London), the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston), and Da Camera (Houston), in addition to performing with members of the Juilliard String Quartet at the Library of Congress and numerous times with the Brentano String Quartet.
Chamber Music Quad Cities presents classical concert music at affordable prices in intimate settings. An outgrowth of many years of concert-giving in the Quad Cities by Davenport natives Gregory and Thomas Sauer, CMQC was founded in 1994. Together with pianist Robert Satterlee, the Sauer brothers established Chamber Music Quad Cities as a non-profit, 501(c)3 corporation in that year and began to enlist support from the community that has been consistent to this day. Violinist David Bowlin assumed the artistic direction of CMQC in 2007; upon his departure in the summer of 2017, the Sauer brothers returned as Artistic Co-Directors.
Chamber Music Quad Cities' Into the Light will take place at Davenport's Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Parish Hall on March 16, admission to the 3 p.m. concert is $20 for adults and $5 for students (student tickets only available at the door), and more information and tickets are available by visiting ChamberMusicQC.org.
