String Theory At The Hunter To Welcome Percussion Trio

String Theory, in partnership with Lee University and the Hunter Museum of American Art, will continue its sixth season with the percussion trio consisting of Ayano Kataoka, Ian Rosenbaum, and Christopher Froh. This concert, which will take place on Thursday, March 19, at 6:30 p.m., marks the Chattanooga debut for all three artists and will be the first String Theory concert to feature a percussion trio. 

String Theory, founded in 2009 by pianist and Artistic Director Gloria Chien, brings acclaimed chamber musicians from around the world to perform in the intimate setting of the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga. 

"Musical Dialogues" will take place at 6 p.m. from the concert stage and will feature an in-depth conversation, led by Maestro Bob Bernhardt, with the evening’s performers on their lives, inspirations, and the masterpieces being performed at the concert. 

The trio’s program has been described as “exhilarating…both sonically and visually captivating.” Performed works will include Zivkovic’s Meccanico, Lansky’s Laughing Matter, DeMey’s Musique de Tables, Cage’s In a Landscape, Takemitsu’s Rain Tree, Nancarrow’s Piece for Tape, and Reich’s Drumming. 

Review for the performers: 

Ms. Kataoka was the first percussionist to be chosen for CMS Two and has collaborated with many of the world’s most respected artists, including Emanuel Ax, Jaime Laredo, Ani Kavafian, David Shifrin, Jeremy Denk, and Yo-Yo Ma. She is known for her brilliant and dynamic technique, as well as the unique elegance and artistry she brings to her performances. Ms. Kataoka gave a world premiere of Bruce Adolphe’s Self Comes to Mind with cellist Yo-Yo Ma at the American Museum of Natural History. She also presented a solo recital at Tokyo Opera City Recital Hall which was broadcast on NHK, the national public station of Japan. 

Other recent appearances as a percussion soloist include a performance of Steven Mackey’s Micro-Concerto for Percussion Solo and Chamber Ensemble at Alice Tully Hall and collaborations with Portland-based dance company BodyVox at Chamber Music Northwest. Ms. Kataoka's performances can be heard on Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos, New World, and Albany recording labels. She is a faculty member of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  

Mr. Rosenbaum recently joined the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s CMS Two program as only the second percussionist they have selected in their history. He made his Kennedy Center debut in 2009 and later that year garnered a special prize created for him at the Salzburg International Marimba Competition. 

Highlights of Mr. Rosenbaum’s 2013-2014 season included a tour of Southern California performing Christopher Cerrone’s Memory Palace, a recital at the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., and a solo performance on the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s New Music in the Kaplan Penthouse series. 

Continuing his passionate advocacy for contemporary music, this season Mr. Rosenbaum will premiere new works for percussion by Andy Akiho, David Crowell, Tawnie Olson and Paola Prestini. Rosenbaum is a member of Sandbox Percussion, Le Train Bleu, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Novus NY and Time Travelers. He has recorded for the Bridge, Innova and Naxos labels and is on the faculty of the Dwight School in Manhattan. 

Mr. Froh is a member of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Empyrean Ensemble, Rootstock Percussion, and San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, and has premiered over 100 chamber and solo works by composers from 15 countries. He has recorded with the San Francisco Symphony on SFS Media; as a soloist on Albany, Innova, and Equilibrium labels; and as a chamber musician on Bridge Records and Music@Menlo LIVE. 

Mr. Froh’s performances include the San Francisco Symphony at Carnegie Hall, Gamelan Sekar Jaya at the Stern Grove Festival, and session recording at Skywalker Ranch for a video game about monkeys and pirates. As a soloist, he has appeared at festivals and recitals across Japan, China, Turkey, Europe, and the United States, including featured performances at the Beijing Modern Festival, Nuovi Spazi Musicali, and Music@Menlo. He studied at the University of Michigan’s Eastman School of Music and at Toho Gakuen Conservatory. Currently Mr. Froh teaches percussion and chamber music at University of California-Davis and California State University-Sacramento.  

Individual concert tickets are $25 for Hunter members, $35 for non-members, $10 for students with a valid student ID and $25 for groups of 20 or more people. 

For more information on String Theory at the Hunter or to purchase tickets, call 267-0968 or visit www.stringtheorymusic.org.