Saturday concert features Suchon Wind Quintet, pianist Otaki

The Oak Ridge Civic Music Association’s Chamber Series continues Saturday with the initial U.S. appearance of one of the Slovak Republic’s premier chamber groups, the Suchon Wind Quintet, and pianist Michiko Otaki. The concert will be at 7:30 pm Saturday, February 21, in the ORAU Pollard Auditorium.

The group’s namesake, Eugen Suchoň, is one of the major classical composers of the 20th century, and his work made a significant contribution to the crystallization of Slovak national music. The Quintet had taken part in numerous European and international music festivals.

Quintet members are Jan Figura (flute), Jozef Kovacik (oboe), Bibiana Bienkova (clarinet), Ida Chovanoba (bassoon), and Jozef Sokol (French horn).

Otaki has performed and recorded with such renowned international ensembles as the Graffe String Quartet, Kodaly Quartet, and the Jose White Quartet, and in major venues including Washington’s National Gallery, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Cleveland’s Museum of Art, and the Chamber Music Hall of the Warsaw Philharmonic.

Otaki has appeared twice before in the ORCMA Chamber Series. Born in Japan, she studied at the San Francisco Conservatory and Manhattan School of Music, and received her performing doctorate from the University of Miami. She is director of keyboard studies at Clayton State University near Atlanta, where she performs often at Spivey Hall.

On the ORCMA program for Saturday are J.C. Bach’s “Wind Quintet in B-flat,” Haydn’s “Divertimento No. 1 in B-flat,” and the “Quintet for Piano and Winds” in E-flat major, K. 452, by Mozart. Following intermission are the “Serenade for Wind Quintet, Opus 5,” by Eugen Suchon and the “Sextet for Piano and Winds in C major, Opus 100,” by Francis Poulenc.

The concert is sponsored in part by a grant from the Slovak Sinfonietta. ORCMA is also grateful to the Korsmeyer Endowment for support of this concert. The endowment in honor of Lynn and Richard Korsmeyer was established in 1995 by their children Carolyn and Richard, and provides generous sponsorship of an ORCMA Chamber Series performance each season. This performance is also sponsored in part by funding from the Tennessee Arts Commission and The National Endowment for the Arts.

Single tickets for this concert (reserved seating) are $25 ($12 for students).

For more ticket information on this and other ORCMA concerts or series, call the ORCMA office at (865) 483-5569, or visit the ORCMA website at www.orcma.org.