Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields Ensemble Performs Schubert Octet

The Chamber Music Society of Detroit presents London's famed Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble on Saturday, October 6, 8:00 PM performing Schubert's epic Octet in F major for Winds and Strings, D. 803. The concert takes place at Seligman Performing Arts Center, located at 22305 West 13 Mile Road, at Lahser Road, on the Detroit Country Day School campus. Tickets priced at $20 - $65 for adults, $25 - $60 for seniors and $10 - $32.50 for students are available by phone at 313-335-3300 or online at www.CMSDetroit.org.

Schubert's Octet, a chamber work for eight string and woodwind players of symphonic proportions, is one of the grandest masterpieces of the chamber music literature, although it's not often performed. With the entire evening devoted to the single work, audience members will experience the performance in the Chamber Music Society's innovative "inDepth" format: first, a deep-dive introduction to the work by the artists themselves, followed by a brief pause and then a full concert performance, and finally, a conversation between the artists and the audience facilitated by writer and former Detroit Free Press music critic, Mark Stryker

The "inDepth" format is itself an evocation of the CMSD's historic tradition of enhancing its series with educational components, first associated with the organization's founder, Karl Haas, who was also host of the long-running, nationally syndicated radio program, "Adventures in Good Music."

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields is one of the world's finest chamber orchestras, renowned for fresh, brilliant interpretations of the world's greatest orchestral music.

Formed by Sir Neville Marriner in 1958 from a group of leading London musicians, the Academy gave its first performance in its namesake church in November 1959. Through unrivalled live performances and a vast recording output - highlights of which include the 1969 best-seller Vivaldi's Four Seasons and the soundtrack to the Oscar-winning film Amadeus - the Academy quickly gained an enviable international reputation for its distinctive, polished and refined sound. With over 500 releases in a much-vaunted discography and a comprehensive international touring program, the name and sound of the Academy is known and loved by classical audiences throughout the world.

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble was created in 1967 to perform the larger chamber works with players who customarily worked together, instead of the usual string quartet with additional guests. Drawn from the principal players of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields orchestra and led by violinist Tomo Keller, the Chamber Ensemble performs in all shapes and sizes, from string quintets to octets, and in various other configurations featuring winds. Its touring commitments are extensive and include regular tours of Europe and North America, while recording contracts with Philips Classics, Hyperion, and Chandos have led to the release of over thirty CDs.

The Chamber Music Society of Detroit, metropolitan Detroit's anchor organization for chamber music, celebrates its 75th anniversary season in 2018-19 with 25 concerts that include several special events in Detroit plus four series in venues across southeast Michigan: the flagship Signature Series at Seligman Performing Arts Center in Beverly Hills, the sixth annual series at Oakland University's Varner Recital Hall, and new series at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial and the Village Theater at Cherry Hill in Canton. More information at www.CMSDetroit.org.

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