West Bloomfield

Chamber Music Society to perform at Berman

By Eric Czarnik
C & G Staff Writer

WEST BLOOMFIELD — Six elite musicians from a New York-based music repertory company are scheduled to bring the intimacy of chamber music to the Berman Center for the Performing Arts Jan. 31.

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s musicians will play piano and woodwinds and play five classical pieces for one night only in West Bloomfield.

Berman Managing Director Elaine Hendriks Smith said she was delighted that the Chamber Music Society could come, adding that many Berman patrons also attend classical music functions elsewhere in the region.

“There actually is a lot of classical music played in this area, and people keep asking for it, so we’re going to give it to them,” she said.

According to the program, the musicians will play chamber music in trios and quintets from Mozart and 20th-century composers Canteloube, Poulenc, Milhaud and Ligeti.

The program is scheduled to feature Gilles Vonsattel on piano, Tara Helen O’Connor on flute, David Shifrin on clarinet, Steve Taylor on oboe, Peter Kolkay on bassoon and Bill Purvis on horn.

Chamber Music Society spokeswoman Marlisa Monroe said her group has a wide variety of musicians whom it draws from when it conducts tours across the United States, Europe and Asia.

“We’re the largest organization of this kind in the world,” she said. “We draw from the finest musicians in the world, not just in the country. We have players from all over the world who come to New York and go on tour with us.”

Monroe said the chamber society’s performances are geared toward people who appreciate classical music, particularly the intimacy of chamber music. The organization has outreach programs in schools to introduce the music to a younger generation, she said.

The appeal of the music and its nuances are what draws people to the shows.

“There are things you want to hear over and over and over again,” she said. “It’s music that never goes out of style. It’s always interesting to hear different musicians perform. … I’m always intrigued by how different performers are going to interpret it.”

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will perform at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at the Berman Center for the Performing Arts, 6600 W. Maple Road, in West Bloomfield. Admission is $46, or $36 for Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit members. Learn more at www.theberman.org or by calling (248) 661-1900.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Eric Czarnik at eczarnik@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1058.