Jennifer Koh Featured in Fortas Chamber Music Concerts, Fall & Winter Programming

The 2023–2024 season of Fortas Chamber Music Concerts is set to continue with late fall and winter programming including two performances by Artistic Director Jennifer Koh and two concerts by esteemed ensembles. Programs will feature Koh with Jaime Laredo and members of the Juilliard Orchestra (December 1); the Takács Quartet (January 25); Gateway Chamber Players (February 13); and Koh with Missy Mazzoli (March 1).

On December 1, Koh makes her performance debut with the series since beginning her position at the Kennedy Center, performing with her friend and mentor, Jaime Laredo, and with members of the Juilliard Orchestra. Bringing their Two x Four program of double violin concertos back to Fortas for the first time in 10 years, Koh and Laredo will highlight the importance of artistic mentorship in chamber music through their collaboration with the Juilliard Orchestra. The program includes pieces by J.S. Bach, Philip Glass, David Ludwig, Anna Clyne, and Mozart.

“Two x Four felt very fitting as my first concert following the announcement of my appointment as Artistic Director,” said Koh. “I was fortunate enough to have performed with Yossi [Kalichstein] before, and now I will be rejoining one of his trio members, Jaime Laredo. Jaime happens to also be my violin teacher and longtime mentor! You see a trend of transformation and a passing of the torch. In music, you'll hear how playing traditional pieces transforms from one generation to the next. Jaime and I will be performing alongside students of Juilliard, so you'll get to hear three generations of musicians! In this concert, we'll be embracing Yossi's generation, showing what his generation has given to mine, and hoping that we pass along something special to the next.”

Celebrated ensemble Takács Quartet brings a program of classics to the Terrace Theater on January 25, the first Fortas performance of the new year. The program features Haydn's “Sunrise” quartet, Bartók's String Quartet No. 3, and Schubert's String Quartet No. 15.

The Gateways Chamber Players, comprised of musicians from the country's leading orchestras and ensembles and all members of the Gateways Music Festival, performs two iconic works on February 13: Stravinsky's The Soldier's Tale Suite and Marsalis' A Fiddler's Tale. Joined by conductor Damien Sneed and guest artist and narrator Phylicia Rashad, Gateways Chamber Players offers a compelling comparison of a classic tale told from the perspective of two different generations.

Highlighting again the importance of collegiality in chamber music, Jennifer Koh brings Fortas to the Club at Studio K in The REACH at the Kennedy Center on March 1 with composer and pianist Missy Mazzoli. Koh and Mazzoli, performing violin and piano respectively, will present a repertoire of Mazzoli's compositions.

“Missy Mizzoli and I have been working together for over 10 years now,” said Koh. “This program is about respect, love, and admiration between two artists and celebrating that longtime friendship and musical collaboration.”

About Fortas Chamber Music Concerts
The 2023–2024 season marks the 42nd season of the Kennedy Center's chamber music series, established in the 1981–1982 season by Marta Istomin, who, at the time, was the Kennedy Center's Artistic Director. The Fortas Chamber Music Concerts, established as part of the Terrace Concerts during the 1983–1984 season, began a vibrant new life in the 1999–2000 season when—in addition to the generous contributions of loyal supporters of the Fortas Fund—income from a major gift to the Fortas Fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas, became available to support the artistic programming. Fortas Chamber Music Concerts is named for the former Supreme Court Justice, who was instrumental in the creation of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and later, the Terrace Theater. The Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees established the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund in 1982 for the support of concerts in the Terrace Theater, and for the further development of the musical programs he envisioned. Major support for Fortas Chamber Music Concerts continues to be provided by this fund.

Fortas Chamber Music Concerts is under the artistic direction of violinist Jennifer Koh, who was appointed to the position in December 2022. Koh follows the late Joseph “Yossi” Kalichstein, who served as the Kennedy Center's Artistic Advisor for Chamber Music and Artistic Director of the Fortas Chamber Music Concerts from 1997–2022.

Through its history the series has featured frequent appearances by artists such as the Guarneri, Emerson, Juilliard, Takács, Dover, and Alban Berg Quartets; early music ensembles Anonymous 4, Trio Medieval, and the Waverly Consort; performances by Eugene Istomin, Emanuel Ax, Edgar Meyer, Susan Graham, Isaac Stern, and Yo-Yo Ma; as well as many other distinguished artists and ensembles that actively perform and commission new works.

Tickets ($25–$55) are available at the Kennedy Center Box Office, online at kennedy-center.org, and via phone through Instant Charge, (202) 467-4700; toll-free at (800) 444-1324. For all other ticket-related customer service inquires, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.

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