UGA Today

Performing Arts Center presents Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Oct. 24

October 8, 2012

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Bobby Tyler

Bobby Tyler

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Athens, Ga. - The University of Georgia Performing Arts Center will present the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall. The performance, a part of the Franklin College Chamber Music Series, will feature works by Borodin, Brahms and Mendelssohn.

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields was formed in London in 1959 by a group of 11 musicians with the aim of performing in public without a conductor. Their first three recordings led to a succession of long-term contracts, and the Academy grew in size to a full orchestra, eventually becoming one of the world's most recorded ensembles.

The Chamber Ensemble was created in 1967 by the principal players of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields orchestra to perform the larger chamber works-from quintets to octets-with players who customarily work together, instead of the usual string quartet with additional guests. The Chamber Ensemble tours as a string octet, string sextet and in other configurations including winds. Its touring commitments are extensive, with annual visits to France, Germany and Spain, and frequent tours to North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan.

Gramophone magazine has called the Chamber Ensemble "nothing short of stunning," and the Milwaukee Sentinel said the ensemble is a "good reason to turn off the stereo and go to a live concert."

The eight musicians scheduled to perform on the Athens program are guest leader and violinist Thomas Bowes; violinists Harvey de Souza, Jennifer Godson and Martin Burgess; violists Robert Smissen and Duncan Ferguson; and cellists Stephen Orton and John Heley.

Tickets for the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble concert are $39, with discounts for UGA students and groups of 10 or more. Tickets can be purchased online at pac.uga.edu or by calling the box office at 706/542-4400 or toll free at 888/289-8497.

Thomas and Jean Lauth are the underwriters for the concert.

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