Rembrandt Chamber Musicians – Virtually Yours in 2020-21

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Tradition, Celebration, and New Beginnings!

Rembrandt Chamber Musicians (RCM), Chicago’s premiere ensemble focusing on classical chamber music and adventurous new works, announces its 2020-2021 season, Tradition, Celebration, and New Beginnings. From virtual performances that chamber music fans can enjoy from the comfort of their homes to live concerts in spring 2021, RCM will present musical favorites throughout the year.

The season opener, Our House to Your Home, celebrates the origins of chamber music as intimate concerts in the home, as a collaboration among friends. On Sunday, October 25 at 3:00 p.m., Rembrandt revives this intimate music making with another in its series of online concerts.

Our House to Your Home will be hosted by Steve Robinson, former general manager of Chicago’s WFMT-FM classical radio station, who will share favorite works by C.P.E Bach, Benjamin Britten, Mozart and others in what is sure to be a memorable evening.

RCM’s annual tradition, its Holiday Baroque concert will once again usher in the holiday season.

This year, however, RCM will present this celebration virtually, on Sunday, Dec. 6, at 3:00 p.m.

This year’s concert includes music by J.S. Bach and other Baroque masters, with RCM musicians and popular guest artists, including Josefien Stoppelenburg, soprano, and Stephen Alltop, harpsichord, joining the ensemble.

In Artful & Heartfelt, another virtual concert to be held on Sunday, Feb. 7, at 3:00 p.m, RCM revisits past live performances of new works that the ensemble has commissioned in recent years. Along with interviews featuring the composers, the program includes performances of Jim Stephenson’s Artfelt, the Quartet for Piano and Strings by Sebastian Huydts, Howard Levy’s Harmonia Mundi, and Peter Labella’s arrangement of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite. As the buds unfurl and the weather begins to warm next spring, a breath of French style comes to RCM, which will present a Mozart masterwork complemented by works by French masters Maurice Duruflé and Ernst Chausson, whose compositions embody Gallic style and flair. This concert, Celebrate Spring, is planned to be performed live at Nichols Concert Hall in Evanston on Sun., April 18, at 7:30 p.m. RCM’s 31st season closes in May with another live concert—the world premiere of its newest commissioned work, Chiaroscuro, by renowned Evanston-based composer Stacy Garrop, alongside classic masterworks by Mozart and Brahms. Garrop’s new work showcases the strengths of each individual RCM member. From familiar melodies to a newly composed classic, this evening will be a celebratory ending to a once-in-a-lifetime season. Join RCM for New Directions, live at Nichols Concert Hall in Evanston on Sun., May 23, at 7:30 p.m.

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Rembrandt Chamber Musicians-

Founded in 1990, Rembrandt Chamber Musicians is a Chicago-based ensemble featuring principal members of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Rembrandt perpetuates classical chamber music as an accessible, engaging, and deeply personal living art form by presenting world-class performances of well-known masterworks and hidden gems from the Baroque period to the present; collaborating with renowned guest artists; commissioning living composers to create new musical works; and supporting young musicians through an annual high school chamber music competition and educational outreach initiatives. For more information, visit Rembrandt Chamber Musicians

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Rembrandt Chamber Musicians 2020-2021 Calendar Listings

Our House to Your Home: Fan Favorites & Unexpected Delights

Sun. Oct. 25 | 3:00 p.m. | Virtual

Rembrandt Chamber Musicians perform their favorite pieces from their homes, in the final installment of Our House to Your Home hosted by Steve Robinson.

Holiday Baroque 2020

Sun., Dec. 6 | 3:00 p.m. | Virtual

Embrace your holiday spirit when your favorite musical tradition returns to warm your season with selections from Bach and other baroque favorites.

Artful & Heartfelt

Sun., Feb. 7 | 3:00 p.m. | Virtual

Enjoy revisiting previously recorded performances featuring works by and interviews with RCM collaborating composers Jim Stephenson, Sebastian Huydts, Howard Levy, and Peter Labella.

Stephenson: Artfelt

Huydts: Quartet for Piano and Strings

Levy: Harmonia Mundi

Stravinsky (arr. Labella): Pulcinella Suite

Celebrate Spring

Sun., April 18 | 7:30 pm | Live/Virtual

Nichols Concert Hall, Music Institute of Chicago

1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston

Welcome the return of spring and of live performances with joyful chamber repertoire by Duruflé, Mozart, and Chausson.

Duruflé: Prélude, Récitatif, and Variations for flute, viola, and piano, op. 3

Mozart: Quintet in C Minor, KV 388 for oboe, violin, 2 violas, and cello

Chausson: Piano Quartet, op. 30

New Directions

Sun., May 23 | 7:30 pm | Live/Virtual

Nichols Concert Hall, Music Institute of Chicago

1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston

Celebrate an ebullient season finale featuring Mozart, Brahms, and the rescheduled world premiere of Stacy Garrop’s Chiaroscuro.

Mozart: Quartet in C Major, K.Anh.171/285b for flute and strings

Mozart: Divertimento in D Major, K.251 for oboe, 2 horns, and string quartet

Brahms: String Quintet No. 1 in F Major, op. 88

Stacy Garrop: Chiaroscuro

Subscriptions to RCM’s 2020-2021 season begin at $114 for the five-concert subscription, if purchased before Oct. 11. Regular season subscriptions are $121, and general admission tickets are $19/virtual, $29/virtual Holiday Baroque, and $38/Live. Tickets may be purchased online or by phone at 872-395-1754.

Photos: Courtesy of Rembrandt Chamber Musicians

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