A&E
American Chamber Players perform haunting concert in Wellin Hall
By Ian Hohm ’20
October 27, 2016
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Last Saturday, Oct. 21, the American Chamber Players visited and performed at Hamilton College’s Wellin Hall. The Hamilton College concert was the final show in a three-day tour that included performances at two local elementary schools and two nursing homes. Led by violinist and NPR music commentator Miles Hoffman, the American Chamber Players have toured nationally and internationally; they are the resident ensemble of Chambers in both Washington, D.C. and Greenville, S.C. They are considered to be one of the most exciting and innovative chamber ensembles in the world; the Washington Post has praised the group, saying they are, “An extraordinarily talented group who play beautifully together…They have established standards of chamber music performance equal to any in the world.”
The American Chamber Players began in 1985 as a core group of artists of The Library of Congress Summer Chamber Festival. Since then, they have expanded their repertoire to encompass familiar works as well as widely unknown masterpieces. The players use an interesting combination of instruments in their performances, including the cello, violin, viola, piano and flute. Not only are the American Chamber Players well known internationally as a sensational ensemble, but the individual members have also made names for themselves on an international platform. Stephan Balderson for example, the group’s cellist, has appeared as an international soloist, is a professor at DePaul University School of Music in Chicago, and has performed in several orchestras in America. Sara Stern, the ensemble’s flutist, has made many of her own recordings and has premiered countless works at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Each of the other performers is internationally known for their talents across Europe, both as soloists and as members of The American Chamber Players.
For their performance at Hamilton, the American Chamber Players selected music from a variety of classical compositions including Ravel’s “Sonata in C Major” for violin and cello, Bach’s “Sonata in G Minor” for flute and piano, and Beethoven’s “Quartet in E-flat Major” for piano and strings. However, the performance was as educational as it was musical. The performance was preceded by an introduction by the leader of the ensemble, Miles Hoffmann, who gave the audience an introduction to the pieces which had been selected. He explained the historical context of the pieces that were chosen, and the aspects of the pieces which earned them a place in the performance. Many of the pieces, especially Bach’s “Sonata,” had a strong flute focus which was interesting and refreshing to hear, and the songs that included pizzicato were especially adept at creating a “haunting” performance. Overall, the concert was a success and the curtain call was met with thunderous applause.