ORCMA concert features Cumberland Piano Trio, Japanese pianist

The ORCMA Chamber Music Series continues with a concert by the very popular “home team”—The Cumberland Piano Trio—on Saturday, Feb. 8, in Oak Ridge. The Cumberland is an outgrowth of Oak Ridge’s own “Isotone” group, which has since blossomed into a regional music attraction.

This concert will feature the world-renowned pianist Emi Kagawa. A native of Osaka, Japan, Kagawa has been active as both a soloist and a chamber musician, a press release said. She has performed extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Italy, and Japan.

The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Pollard Auditorium, which is at 210 Badger Ave. in Oak Ridge.

A past winner of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition at the Juilliard School, Kagawa won first prize at the Nancy Clark International Piano Competition. She has performed at the Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, and Steinway Hall, the release said.

Resident members of the Cumberland are Susan Eddlemon on violin, Dan Allcott on cello, and Scott Eddlemon on percussion.

The innovative part of the program will include a selection from “Nivea Hair Care Piano Trio” by Jacob Ter Veldhuis, and “Six Pieces of a Reverberant Cosmo,” a commissioned work by Janet Danielson. Danielson is one of the premier women composers in Canada, and this piece is based on one of her husband Dennis’ books on cosmology. Dennis will be narrating portions of the book for each movement.

The more traditional offerings will include “Oblivion,” by Astor Piazzola, and Beethoven’s “Archduke Piano Trio in B-flat Major.”

The concert’s primary sponsorship is from the John Million endowment. ORCMA’s Music Director Dan Allcott has said of this significant bequest: ““This generous gift is helping to perpetuate our efforts to meet our goal of providing beautiful live music, from classical to modern, to our subscribers and others in the Oak Ridge area. John Million believed in that goal, and his legacy helps us to further it.”

Other sponsors of the concert are Pulcir Inc. and the Tennessee Arts Commission.

Single (reserved seating) tickets are $25 ($12 for students). For additional ticket information, call the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association office at (865) 483-5569 or visit www.orcma.org. This concert’s program notes, written by Becky Ball, are also on the ORCMA website.