Renowned violinist helps realize vision of bringing chamber music to north Georgia
6/11/2012 2:16:43 PM
(June 11, 2012) – Cecylia Arzewski,
violinist and former concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, is just
as passionate about bringing chamber music to north Georgia as she is about
Bach.
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| Cecylia Arzewski |
"My first acquaintance with the
magic spells of chamber music came when I was a student at Juilliard in 1962.
There is nothing quite like the exhilaration of being swept along by the
powerful currents of the most intimate form of music making," she said.
"The solitude in chamber music shapes its visions over the hall. Everyone
is alone, yet together at the same time. Listeners are pulled into the quiet,
sometimes painful, sometimes blissful space created within us."
Her dream becomes a reality this
weekend as nine world-class musicians bring their talents to the Dahlonega
campus of North Georgia College & State University for the inaugural North
Georgia Chamber Music Festival.
The event features four programs of
music spread out over two weekends in June -- two Friday night concerts and two
Sunday afternoon concerts. The four concerts will be held in the Gloria Shott
Performance Hall, an intimate auditorium with just 162 seats that is perfectly
suited for the festival.
Arzewski, artistic director for the
festival, was born in Krakow, Poland, and began studying violin at age 5. She
has studied at the Krakow Music Academy, the Tel Aviv Conservatory, Juilliard,
the Meadowmount School of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music.
In 1978, after receiving a prize at the Bach International Competition,
Arzewski played a debut recital at Carnegie Hall consisting entirely of Bach
unaccompanied violin works.
Arzewski has served as assistant
concertmaster or concertmaster for three major American symphonies -- the
Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony. She also has
appeared as soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Boston Pops and played
regularly in chamber music concerts throughout New England. She has appeared in
concerts with the Georgian Chamber Players and in recitals throughout Europe.
Arzewski served as concertmaster of
the Atlanta Symphony for 18 years and left the symphony in 2008 to concentrate
on teaching, performing and recording projects. She was honored with the
Hambidge Distinguished Artist Award for 2009.
The North Georgia Chamber Festival
that Arzewski helped create begins Friday, June 15 with a performance by The
Vega String Quartet, the quartet in residence at Emory University since 2006.
The festival's next two concerts
feature four members of three premiere Atlanta orchestras; Kenn Wagner, Olga
Shpitko and Yang-Yoon Kim are with the Atlanta Symphony and Charae Krueger is
with the Atlanta Opera and Atlanta Ballet orchestras. Krueger also plays
frequently with the Atlanta Symphony.
The four Atlanta musicians will be
joined by renowned pianist William Ransom for the final concert of the festival
on Sunday, June 24. The festival will feature pieces from Haydn, Beethoven,
Mendelssohn, Bach, Handel, Mozart, Debussy and Stravinsky.
For more information about the
festival, including directions and accommodations, visit the website at www.northgeorgia.edu/chambermusic. Tickets also may be purchased
online via the website. Tickets are $30 for each concert and discounted tickets
are available for multiple concerts.