Violinist Nancy Dahn and pianist Timothy Steeves — together known as Duo Concertante — will give a free guest recital at Ithaca College on Wednesday, March 18. The performance will begin at 8:15 p.m. in the Hockett Family Recital Hall in the James J. Whalen Center for Music.
The program will include a Beethoven sonata, a duo by R. Murray Schafer, and a fantasy by Schubert. The program will conclude with three lighter selections: “A Night in Tunisia” by Dizzy Gillespie, the traditional Irish tune “The Lark in the Clear Air,” and “Tico Tico.”
Since forming in 1997, Duo Concertante’s performances have been acclaimed throughout the United States, Canada, and abroad for brilliance, subtlety, passion, and stunning ensemble. Hailed for their “artistry, poetry, and impeccable technique” (“La Scena Musicale”), “exceptional warmth and intimacy” (“Ottawa Citizen”), Dahn and Steeves have been described as superb musicians who “work together with uncanny perfection” (“Waterloo Gazette”). Their teamwork and powerfully-charged performances set them apart from more conventional violin/piano collaborations, with a critic from “La Scene Musicale” observing, “One doesn’t listen to a program of violin music here, but to real chamber music, as it should be.”
The Ithaca College Concert Series will continue on Friday, with the Tarab Cello Ensemble, eight
cellists dedicated to the performance of new music for cello choir, performing a free concert at Ithaca College on Friday, March 20 at 8:15 pm in Ford Hall. They will be joined by Ithaca College faculty cellist Elizabeth Simkin. With one exception from 1996, their entire program will consist of music composed in the 21st century.
Tarab Cello Ensemble is dedicated to the commissioning and performance of twenty-first century American music for eight cellos, with the goal of establishing a vital contemporary repertoire for this instrumentation. Since its inception in 2000, the ensemble has premiered more than twenty works, from such composers as Larry Bell, Caleb Burhans, Garrett Byrnes, Dennis DeSantis, David Liptak, Brad Lubman, Gregory Mertl, Joe Michaels, Sam Pellman, Martin Scherzinger, Aaron Travers, and Dan Trueman. Its repertoire also includes such compositions as Pierre Boulez' /Messagesquisse/, Arvo Pärt's /Fratres/, Augusta Read Thomas’ /Blizzard in Paradise /and Luciano Berio's /Korot/.
More information about these performances and about Ithaca College's Concert Series can be found here.