Lee’s 19th Presidential Concert Series promises a variety of new and returning performers, including pianists, violinists, an a capella group and an orchestra. These world-class performances will begin with pianist Jon Nakamatsu on Oct. 17, and end with the Chattanooga Chamber Orchestra on Feb. 28, 2011.

One of the most sought-after pianists of his generation, Jon Nakamatsu will perform on Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. A grand prize winner of the prestigious Van Cliburn competition, he is a frequent concerto soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and solo recitalist throughout the United States, Europe and Japan. In 1998, he performed Rhapsody in Blue at the White House, hosted by President Clinton.

Highlights of Nakamatsu’s current season include return engagements with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Annapolis, Bozeman and Greenwich symphony orchestras, Lexington and Reno philharmonics and Santa Fe Pro Musica, as well as performances with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic and the orchestras of Cape Cod, Fremont, La Crosse, Lincoln and Norwalk.

Combining the sounds of the violin, viola and cello, the Borromeo String Quartet will perform on Nov. 17, 2010. Considered "Simply the best there is" by the Boston Globe, the critically acclaimed Quartet is one of the most sought after string quartets in the world. Audiences and critics alike champion their revealing explorations of Beethoven, Bartok, Schoenberg, Shostakovich, and Golijov.

They perform at the world’s most illustrious concert halls and music festivals, and continue long-standing residencies at the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum, the Tenri Cultural Institute, Dai-Ichi Semei Hall in Tokyo, and the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music, where it has been the official Quartet-in-Residence for 17 years.

Pianist and Lee University Associate Professor of Music Gloria Chien will also perform with the Borromeo Quartet. Ms. Chien made her orchestral debut at the age of 16 and has since then become an accomplished piano soloist receiving many awards and collaborating with the Jupiter and Formosa String Quartets, Ani and Ida Kafavian and many more.

The Fry Street Quartet will perform on Feb. 1, 2011. Hailed as “a triumph of ensemble playing” by The New York Times, the Fry Street Quartet has perfected a “blend of technical precision and scorching spontaneity” (Strad). Since securing the Millennium Grand Prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in 2000, it has reached audiences from Carnegie Hall to Sarajevo and Jerusalem.

Fry Street Quartet began its international career in 2002 as cultural ambassadors to the Balkan States, sponsored by Carnegie Hall and the U.S. Department of State. Subsequent international appearances have included the ProQuartet Academy at Pont-Royal, France, the Prague Chamber Festival and Trutnov Autumn Festival in the Czech Republic and Kulturvereinigung Oberschützen in Austria.

Ning An, accomplished pianist and Lee University music professor, will also perform with the Fry Street Quartet. An has appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic, the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra and many more. He has been invited to perform at several music festivals and is the recipient of top prizes from associations world-wide.

International a cappella phenomenon Swingle Singers will return to Lee on Feb. 7, 2011, following a sold-out performance in the Presidential Concert Series in 2003. For over four decades, the unmistakable sound of "Swingle singing" has defined the art form: virtuosic vocal agility and blend demonstrated by their signature close-microphone technique, combined with high-level entertainment that has thrilled audiences around the globe.

Their repertoire encompasses classical, jazz, Latin, pop and rock, all accompanied by their own vocal rhythm section. The Swingle Singers have performed all across the UK, America, Asia, and virtually every country in Europe, have released over 50 recordings, and have won five Grammy Awards.

On February 28, 2011, the Chattanooga Chamber Orchestra, with conductor Robert Bernhardt, will perform at Lee. Mr. Bernhardt is the second music director in the history of the combined Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, and is currently in his 16th season with the company.

He has been a frequent guest conductor with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops, and more.

Violinist Shannon Thomas will be at Lee University on March 29, 2011. An active performer, Thomas has appeared around the United States as a chamber musician, soloist, and in recital. She has been a soloist with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra, Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, Chattanooga Youth Symphony Orchestra, Vanderbilt University Orchestra, and Sewanee Festival Orchestra.

While at the Sarasota Music Festival, she was selected to perform Brahms’ G Major Sonata for Piano and Violin for the highly esteemed Ida Haendel. Thomas is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Tickets will be available at the Lee University box office in the Dixon Center or by phone, 614-8343, one week prior to each concert, between 3-6 p.m.

For more information about the performers or the concerts, please call the School of Music at 614-8240.