The Hugh Hodgson School of Music Chamber Music Athens Festival is making a full return to from May 12-21.
This premier festival brings together internationally acclaimed guest artists, UGA faculty and UGA students for 10 days of concerts, public masterclasses, panel discussions and intensive collaboration in rehearsals and chamber music coaching.
This year, the Borromeo String Quartet headlines a group of 12 artists, including JP Jofre, bandoneon, from Argentina; Elisabeth Remy Johnson, harp, from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Joshua Stewart, operatic tenor; Amy Yang, piano; and Itamar Zorman, piano. Local Athens artists are featured as well, including poet Lemuel LaRoche, Hip Hop artist Squallé and ambassador of the Athens Hip Hop community William “Montu” Miller.
“At the center of what Chamber Music Athens (CMA) is all about, it is a celebration, a culmination, of so much of what that the Hugh Hodgson School of Music has to offer,” said Liza Stepanova, associate professor of piano, piano area chair and organizer of the Chamber Music Athens Festival. “It is also a way for the students to share what they’ve learned with the Athens community.”
Several Athens venues are participating as co-sponsors for Chamber Music Athens, including the historic Morton Theatre Corporation, the Georgia Museum of Art, First Baptist Church Athens and First Presbyterian Church of Athens. The festival is further supported by media sponsors WUGA and Flagpole Magazine.
Launched in 2019, the 2024 CMA will be the third full festival, after having endured an “involuntary two-year hiatus” before the 2022 festival due to COVID-19. Stepanova is excited to be back again in 2024 with a theme she says is “around the world in music. We sample genres and styles from several continents, and we have some amazing guest artists joining us from all over.”
“This is a very special festival for Athens,” said CMA and HHSOM donor Madeline Van Dyke. “Phil and I are always very excited to support this because these international guests bring such a varied and diverse collection of music to our audience and our students.”
Anna Hawkins, DMA in piano (2024), and a two-time participant in CMA agrees. “The thing I enjoyed most about the festival was the multitude of opportunities to play for and learn from the distinguished guest artists.”
Tickets and details are available at chambermusicathens.org or by calling the UGA Performing Arts Center box office at 706-542-4400.
