Pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin Joins Pacifica Quartet at Segerstrom Center Tonight

Two thrilling musical forces will share the stage tonight, November 12 to launch Segerstrom Center's 2013 - 2014 Chamber Music Series as pianist Marc-André Hamelin joins the acclaimed Pacifica Quartet - Simin Ganatra, violin; Sibbi Bernhardsson, violin; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Brandon Vamos, cello - for a spectacular program featuring Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 7 in F minor, Op. 108 and Antonín Dvorák's Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81. The evening also includes Leo Ornstein's innovative Piano Quintet, Op. 92.

"Introducing Leo Ornstein's Piano Quintet more widely to audiences has been a dream of mine for many years, and I'm thrilled to have the chance to perform it in tandem with the Pacifica Quartet, who I know are the perfect ensemble to give life to this work," says Hamelin.

Tickets for Pacifica Quartet with Marc-André Hamelin start at $29 and will go on sale Sunday, October 20 at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets will be available online at SCFTA.org, at the Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling (714) 556-2787. For inquiries about group ticket savings for 10 or more, call the Group Services office at (714) 755-0236. The TTY number is (714) 556-2746. A free Preview Talk with musicologist and author Herbert Glass will take place at 7:15 p.m. in Samueli Theater.

Recognized for its virtuosity, exuberant performance style, and often-daring repertory choices, over the past two decades the Pacifica Quartet has gained international stature as one of the finest chamber ensembles performing today. The Pacifica tours extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia, performing regularly in the world's major concert halls. Named the quartet-in-residence at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music in March 2012, the Pacifica was the quartet-in-residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009 - 2012) ? a position previously held by the Guarneri String Quartet ? and received the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance. Prior to their appointment to the Jacobs School, the Quartet was on the faculty of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana from 2003 to 2012. The Pacifica Quartet also serves as resident performing artist at the University of Chicago.

Formed in 1994, the Pacifica Quartet quickly won chamber music's top competitions, including the 1998 Naumburg Chamber Music Award. In 2002, the ensemble was honored with Chamber Music America's Cleveland Quartet Award and the appointment to Lincoln Center's CMS Two, and in 2006 was awarded a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, becoming only the second chamber ensemble so honored in the Grant's long history. In 2006, the Quartet was featured on the cover of Gramophone and heralded as one of "five new quartets you should know about," the only American quartet to make the list. And in 2009, the Quartet was named "Ensemble of the Year" by Musical America. For more information about the Pacifica Quartet, visit: www.pacificaquartet.com.

Marc-André Hamelin's unique blend of musicianship and virtuosity brings forth interpretations remarkable for their freedom, originality and prodigious mastery of the piano's resources. A musician of broad musical interests and curiosity, Hamelin is renowned in equal measure for his fresh readings of the established repertoire and for his exploration of lesser known works of the 19th and 20th centuries, both in the recording studio and in the concert hall.

In recent seasons, Hamelin has performed with orchestras and in solo recitals at New York City's Lincoln Center, in recital and in chamber music on the various stages of Carnegie Hall and on an international tour of the Schumann Piano Quintet with the Takács Quartet. The Pro Musica Society of Montreal paid tribute to Hamelin with a six-concert series, "The Art of Marc-André Hamelin." Hamelin is the recipient of a lifetime achievement prize by the German Record Critic's Association, and is an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Chevalier de l'Ordre du Québec and a member of the Royal Society of Canada. To learn more, visit: www.marcandrehamelin.com.

The Center's 2013 - 2014 Chamber Music Series also includes:

Kahane Swensen Brey Trio - December 12, 2013
Emerson String Quartet - January 10, 2014
St. Lawrence String Quartet - February 19, 2014
Philharmonia Baroque Chamber Players - March 16, 2014
Single tickets go on sale for all upcoming concerts on Sunday, October 20.

Classical KUSC is the Media Partner of the Chamber Music Series.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is unique as both an acclaimed arts institution and as a multi- disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence on all of its stages, offering unsurpassed experiences, and engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring programs.

Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center traces its roots back to the late 1960s when a dedicated group of community leaders decided Orange County should have its own world-class performing arts venue.

As Orange County's largest non-profit arts organization, Segerstrom Center for the Arts owns and operates the 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall and intimate 250-seat Founders Hall, which opened in 1986, and the 2,000-seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, which opened in 2006 and also houses the 500-seat Samueli Theater, the Lawrence and Kristina Dodge Education Center's studio performance space and Boeing Education Lab. A spacious arts plaza anchors Segerstrom Center for the Arts and is home to numerous free performances throughout the year as part of Segerstrom Center for the Arts' ongoing Free for All series.

The Center presents a broad range of programming each season for audiences of all ages from throughout Orange County and beyond, including international ballet and dance, national tours of top Broadway shows, intimate performances of jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, free performances open to the public from outdoor movie screenings to dancing on the plaza and many other special events. It offers many education programs designed to inspire young people through the arts. These programs reach hundreds of thousands of students of all ages with vital arts-in-education programs, enhancing their studies and enriching their lives well into the future.

In addition to the presenting and producing institution Segerstrom Center for the Arts, the 14-acre campus also embraces the facilities of two independent acclaimed organizations: Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory and a site designated as the future home of the Orange County Museum of Art.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is also proud to serve as the artistic home to three of the region's major performing arts organizations: Pacific Symphony, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Pacific Chorale, who contribute greatly to the artistic life of the region with annual seasons at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

Photo Credit: Saverio Truglia

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