Houston based Apollo Chamber Players challenge the traditional notions of classical chamber music presentation and audience engagement by highlighting the rich cultural influences and folkloric traditions of various world cultures.
Program:
Shostakovich: String quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110
Malek Jandali: Syrian String Quartet
Piazzolla: Tango Ballet
Arthur Gottschalk: Imágenes de Cuba
Houston (TX) based Apollo Chamber Players has “found fruitful territory” (Houston Chronicle) through its mission to explore the cultural and folkloric influences in classical music, and the ensemble’s performances have “rhythmic air and doses of virtuosity” (The Strad). Apollo presents thematically-programmed concerts both regionally and nationally including two recent tours of the East Coast, with a Carnegie Hall debut in 2013 and concerts for Chamber Music Society of Little Rock, Seattle University, Grand Junction Symphony, and Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC. In January 2017, the ensemble will be the first American chamber music ensemble to record and perform in Cuba, and it returns to Carnegie Hall for a collaborative concert with Syrian composer-pianist Malek Jandali. Apollo is featured frequently on American Public Media’s nationally syndicated program, Performance Today.
Apollo’s 20x2020 commissioned works have reached a listening audience of over 8 million since the project’s launch in 2014, and the ensemble’s albums have received international critical acclaim and airplay. Winner of HoustonPress’ 2014 MasterMinds award, Apollo was one of three organizations in Houston to be recognized for positively impacting the local arts community. In recent seasons Apollo has collaborated with Houston Ballet, Houston METdance, and Catholic Charities of Houston, and concertized with acclaimed artists James Dunham, Ivo-Jan van der Werff, Timothy Pitts, Ismail Lumanovski, and Robin Kesselman.
Pigott Auditorium
$5 students; $8 faculty/staff/alumni; $12 general admission
tickets available at Brown Paper Tickets, at the Lee Center Box Office, or at the door.
