Historic Ann Arbor venue to host chamber music trio

12/27/2012
BY SALLY VALLONGO
SPECIAL TO THE BLADE
Pianist Robert Satterlee, above, and hornist Andrew Pelletier, right, will perform along with violinist Elizabeth Suh Lane at 7 p.m. Jan 6 in Kerrytown Concert House, Ann Arbor.
Pianist Robert Satterlee, above, and hornist Andrew Pelletier, right, will perform along with violinist Elizabeth Suh Lane at 7 p.m. Jan 6 in Kerrytown Concert House, Ann Arbor.

Some fine chamber music performed by renowned musicians offers a great way to kick off your Musical Year 2013.

The concert, set for 7 p.m. Jan. 6 in Kerrytown Concert House, Ann Arbor, will bring together pianist Robert Satterlee, hornist Andrew Pelletier, and violinist Elizabeth Suh Lane for music by Mozart, Brahms, Schumann, and Piazzolla.

Satterlee and Pelletier are on the faculty of Bowling Green State University, but pursue performing and educational careers which take them far and wide.

With degrees in piano from Yale University, Peabody Conservatory, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, Satterlee has been a collaborative pianist with members of the Chicago, London, Philadelphia, and Detroit symphony orchestras.

He teaches at Interlochen and the Saarburg International Music Festival in Germany during the summer.

Pelletier is a Grammy Award-winning performer with the Southwest Chamber Music in California, and also is a member of the Motor City Brass Quintet. Los Angeles Times critic John Henken has called his playing "gleaming, handsome." Pelletier is a multiple first-prize winner in the International Horn Society Horn Competition and performs and teaches widely in the United States and abroad. He is principal horn of the Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit and performs with orchestras across the country.

Suh Lane has performed with orchestras in London, Chicago, Tanglewood, and in Japan and Germany. Active as a chamber musician and soloist, she is a regular at international festivals and was part of the London Symphony Orchestra's teaching team. She also maintains a busy teaching schedule.

The program will begin with Mozart's Sonata for Violin in F Major and continue with Milongo en Re for Violin and Piano by Piazzolla. Pelletier and Satterlee will play Schumann's Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70.

The finale of the program will be Brahms' Horn Trio in E Flat Major, with Suh Lane, Satterlee, and Pelletier.

The renovated historic concert house is in the Kerrytown neighborhood, 415 N. Fourth Ave.

Tickets range from $5-$25 and reservations are suggested at 734-769-2999 or www.kerrytownconcerthouse.com.

This weekend the Toledo Museum of Art continues its Great Art Escape -- brief but original events sampling dance and music.

ALMA Drum & Dance will present a new program of traditional West African rhythm and steps at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Peristyle.

Joining the local dancers and musicians will be CircAfrique, a similar group from West Lafayette, Ind., which specializes in the village style of drumming. The show is free.

ALMA, founded in 2007 by Yaya Kabo, of Casamance, Senegal, comprises professional musicians and dancers from the Toledo area who perform and teach their traditions.

On Sunday, Brian Percoco will perform on the Wendell Castle Piano at 1 p.m. in Gallery 1. At 2 p.m., the Ardan Dance Academy will bring the spirit and precision of Irish step dancing to the Peristyle stage.

Chihiro, a local collective of dancers and musicians coordinated by Jill Berkana, will premiere a work at 4 p.m. in the Cloister. The name of the program is Surprise Beauty: On Finding a Dandelion in a Winter Field.

Flutist Elise Roy will perform Debussy's haunting elegy, "Syrinx," with dancers, followed by a Japanese folk song written in the same 19th century period. A Vietnam War veteran will also describe his experiences. Performers include Elizabeth and Emily Hall, Frank McElhannon, Sean Payton, and Berkana.

Admission is free.

The Toledo Piano Teachers will hold their first regular meeting of the new year at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 8 in St. Andrews United Methodist Church, 3629 Heatherdowns Blvd. Member Gay Galvin will present a program titled Teaching the Music of Mendelssohn.

The meeting is free to the public.

Masterworks Chorale has been awarded a grant of $2500 to support youth outreach during this current season by the Toledo Community Foundation. The Stranahan Supporting Organization, managed by the TCF, was the donor. With the funds received, Masterworks already presented its Messiah Sing-Along on Dec. 9, held a holiday flash mob at the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library on Dec. 8, and will present competitions and internships for high school and elementary students next year.

Auditions for the upcoming Collage Concert, MC5-2013, to be presented by the Monroe County Community College on March 3 in the La-Z-Boy Center, are set for 6 to 9 p.m. Jan. 7 in the center.

Singers, dancers, and other live entertainment artists can try out for a slot in the two 90-minute performances. Appointments are required and can be made with Tom Ryder at 734-384-4201.

The Cleveland-based Almeda Trio has just released its debut album on the Albany label with music by Paul Ferguson, Astor Piazzolla, and Paul Schoenfield, formerly of the University of Toledo composition faculty. For members Robert Cassidy, piano; Cara Tweed, violin, and Ida Mercer, cello, the program represents the kind of eclectic programming they prefer. The Ferguson work, Solstice Suite, was commissioned by the Almeda Trio. For information about the group and its recording, check www.almedatrio.com or www.albanyrecords.com.

Items for News of Music should be sent to svallongo@theblade.com at least two weeks in advance of the event.