Emerald City Music Announces Fall 2021 Programming

Emerald City Music, the Pacific Northwest home for eclectic, intimate, and social classical chamber music experiences, announces its Fall 2021 lineup of performances and engagements, under the leadership of Artistic Director and violinist Kristin Lee and Managing Director Andrew Jones. ECM's sixth season "Welcome Back, Welcome Home." celebrates the return of in-person concerts and events, and expands new technologies and experiences gained during the pandemic.

Fall 2021 performance highlights include the Seattle Premiere of Filipino-American composer Patrick Castillo's Winter Light, co-commissioned by ECM, on October 22 & 23; the UK-based Castalian Quartet's Seattle debut performing quartets by Mozart and Mendelssohn on November 12 & 13; and Sandbox Percussion's world premiere performance of Seven Pillars by Japanese-American composer Andy Akiho on December 2 & 3.

"After a year and a half of virtual performances, we cannot be more thrilled to be returning to our home at 415 Westlake to bring back live music," commented ECM Artistic Director Kristin Lee. "With two Seattle premieres and a debut performance of the Castalian String Quartet, I am confident that this season will grasp the essence of what Emerald City Music is all about- fresh, eclectic, and forward-thinking experience!"

All of ECM's Mainstage performances will be recorded live and then made available on Emerald TV, ECM's newly launched subscription-based streaming platform for performances and additional video content. ECM is also thrilled to announce that its office headquarters has moved into its longstanding Seattle performance home, 415 Westlake. In addition to its Friday Mainstage performances, ECM will host Java Concerts in the space on select Monday evenings. Wine Down Mondays are an opportunity for audiences to get to know ECM's world-renowned musicians up-close in a casual environment and hear them perform. Listen & Chat with Jones - "Book Club" style gatherings - provide a judgement-free space to discuss musical recordings with Andrew Jones.

Emerald City Music Season 06 "Welcome Back, Welcome Home."

Fall 2021 Mainstage Performances and Events

Tickets for all performances: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/season

Full artist biographies and high-resolution images: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/season-artists

Note: Due to current COVID-19 government mandates, each Mainstage performance will be held twice at each venue for reduced-capacity audiences.

Mainstage #1: What You Are To Me

Friday, October 22, 2021 at 8pm & 10pm at 415 Westlake in Seattle

Saturday, October 23, 2021 at 5:30pm & 7:30pm at Kenneth J Minnaert Center for the Arts at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia (2011 Mottman Road SW)

Tickets and Information: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/season/what-you-are-to-me

Martinu: Variations on a Theme of Rossini, H. 290 for Cello and Piano (1942)

Patrick Castillo: Winter Light (2020) Seattle Premiere

Korngold: Suite for Two Violins, Cello, and Left Hand Piano, Op. 23 (1930)

Artists

Kristin Lee, violin (New York, NY): Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, Artistic Director of Emerald City Music

Sean Lee, violin (Albany, NY): Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, a winner of Paganini International Violin Competition

Dmitri Atapine, cello (Reno, Nevada): member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Gloria Chien, piano (Boston, MA): co-Artistic Director of Chamber Music Northwest; founder of String Theory

Hyeyeon Park, piano (Seoul, Korea): prizewinner of international competitions: Oberlin, Ettlingen, Prix Amadèo

Patrick Castillo, composer (New York, NY): Vice President of Artistic Planning of the New York Philharmonic

Emerald City Music kicks off Season 06 with a program titled What You Are To Me, featuring Erich Korngold's Suite for Two Violins, Cello, and Left Hand Piano that was written for Paul Wittgenstein-a virtuoso pianist who lost his right arm during World War I. This work embodies the perseverance of the arts, similar to what we've dealt with this past year and coming back with LIVE concerts. The program also features the Seattle premiere of Patrick Castillo's Winter Light, co-commissioned by Emerald City Music.

Of his piece, Castillo writes, "Winter Light for two violins, cello, and piano, is prompted by Ingmar Bergman's 1963 film of the same title. Like Bergman's film, the new work explores themes of existential questioning and spiritual doubt in the face of a fraught sociopolitical climate. The instrumental medium of piano quartet, but with violin in place of viola, lends itself to melodic immediacy and lush textures as much as to sonic austerity; the substitution of a second violin for the conventional viola sacrifices the middle register for high and low frequencies, leaving a void at the center of the ensemble's spectrum-a textural consideration salient to the work's expressive intentions.

In addition to these intentions, Winter Light is conceived as an homage to each of the individual musicians for whom it is written, and whom the composer has held in the highest artistic and personal esteem for many years."

Mainstage #2: Quartet in Spotlight: Castalian Quartet

Friday, November 12, 2021 at 8pm & 10pm at 415 Westlake in Seattle

Saturday, November 13, 2021 at 5:30pm & 7:30pm at The Lutheran Church of The Good Shepherd in Olympia (1601 North Street SE)

Tickets and Information: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/season/the-castalian-string-quartet

Mozart: String Quartet No. 23 in F Major, K. 590 "Prussian"

Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 6 in f minor, Op. 80

The Castalian Quartet

Sini Simonen, violin; Daniel Roberts, violin; Ruth Gibson, viola; Christopher Graves, cello

For this season's Quartet-in-Spotlight, Emerald City Music introduces the London-based Castalian String Quartet. The Castalian Quartet makes their Seattle debut on the ECM stage with a program of Mozart's beloved Prussian Quartet, and the fiery Opus 80 string quartet by Felix Mendelssohn.

Deemed "A feisty group, with a real personality and strong interpretative ideas" by The Guardian, the Castalian Quartet has distinguished itself as one of the most dynamic, sophisticated young string quartets performing today. Recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society's 2019 Young Artists Award, the Quartet also received the prestigious inaugural Merito String Quartet Award and Valentin Erben Prize in 2018, Third Prize at the 2016 Banff Quartet Competition, and First Prize at the 2015 Lyon Chamber Music Competition. Their name is derived from the Castalian Spring in the ancient city of Delphi.

Mainstage #3: Seven Pillars

Friday, December 3, 2021 at 8pm & 10:30pm at 415 Westlake in Seattle

Saturday, December 4, 2021 at 5pm & 7:30pm at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia (512 Washington Street SE)

Tickets and Information: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/season/seven-pillars

Andy Akiho: Seven Pillars (2020) World Premiere

Sandbox Percussion

Jonathan Allen; Victor Caccese; Ian Rosenbaum; Terry Sweeney

Michael Joseph McQuilken, stage and lighting designer

Returning to the Emerald City Music stage, Sandbox Percussion gives the world premiere performance of Seven Pillars by award-winning composer, Andy Akiho. This evening-length work consists of eleven movements-seven quartets and one solo for each member of Sandbox. This performance features original staging and lighting design by Michael Joseph McQuilken that seamlessly integrates with the music. Don't miss your opportunity to experience this extremely unique performance!

Of the piece, Akiho says, "Seven Pillars is an evening-length work for Sandbox Percussion in 11 movements. I've never taken on a project this ambitious - it's nearly 80 minutes of music - but I was inspired by the collaborative relationship I have with Sandbox. We're all close friends, we enjoy making music together, and there is freedom to experiment in that type of environment. The instrumentation includes traditional instruments such as vibraphone, glockenspiel, and marimba, with some found percussion sounds like glass bottles and metal pipes. Creatively, I wanted to limit the instrumentation in order to encourage the opportunity to find unique timbres and playing techniques on each instrument. When the pandemic postponed our original in-person world premiere, we spent the year investing even more time and effort into creating and recording this piece - and I can't wait to bring the world premiere live performance to Emerald City Music!"

ECM Fundraiser

Thursday, September 30, 2021 at 415 Westlake

6pm Happy Hour | 7pm Performance & Dinner

Tickets and Information: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/season/fundraiser

Emerald City Music returns live for its sixth season and hosts a Fundraiser titled, "Welcome Back. Welcome Home." With the exciting news of making 415 Westlake- the Seattle venue for ECM- their permanent home, Emerald City Music plans for more music, conversations, and opportunities to engage with the community through this season. Evening will feature a performance by Artistic Director, Kristin Lee, along with others, Play-Along for community members with ECM artists, chances to win great prizes, and much more.

Java Concerts

Wine Down Mondays - In-Person (Ticketed), Live Streamed Online (Free), and available on Emerald TV (with Subscription)

What started during the pandemic to stay connected and "hang out" with the ECM community on Monday nights on Zoom is continuing this season both virtually and in person. Wine Down Mondays are casual and intimate gatherings where you can hear artists talk about their journey with their instrument or simply hear performances whilst getting the chance to ask questions and chat with the artists.

Happens at 7pm on Zoom and at 415 Westlake on Monday, October 25, 2021; Monday, November 29, 2021; Monday, December 20, 2021. In-person Wine Down Mondays will be limited to 20 people capacity with purchased tickets and virtual access will be free admission with registration.

Listen & Chat with Jones - In Person Only (Free)

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a chance to discuss a piece of music with fellow music lovers? Listen and Chat with Jones is like a "Book Club" for music! Join ECM's new managing director, Andrew Jones, with a designated piece of music for each month and discuss the piece with no judgement, no boundaries, and by simply sharing your thoughts while making new friends who also love music.

Happens at 7pm at 415 Westlake on Monday, November 1, 2021 and Monday, December 6, 2021. Free admission with registration.

Tickets and Information for all Java Concerts: www.emeraldcitymusic.org/season

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