VSO, Turner Center for the Arts Present Friday at Eight

The Azalea String Quartet and Piano will perform during the inauguaral Friday at Eight Chamber Music Series event from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17, at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts. Pictured, from left to right, are Lauren Hodges on viola, Kristen Pfeifer Yu on violin, Hue Jang on piano, Steve Taylor on cello, and Nina Lutz on violin.

~2014-2015 is the Year of the Arts at Valdosta State University~

VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Symphony Orchestra (VSO) and Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts will kick off their inaugural Friday at Eight Chamber Music Series with a performance by the Azalea String Quartet and Piano from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 17.

“This is a new collaboration …,” said Dr. Doug Farwell, VSO executive director, head of the Valdosta State University Department of Music, and professor of trombone.

The Friday at Eight Chamber Music Series concert will be held at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts, which is located at 527 N. Patterson St. Admission is free of charge and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided; beer and wine will be available.

Additional Friday at Eight Chamber Music Series events have been planned and will be announced throughout the 2014-2015 performance season.

Cheryl Oliver, Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts executive director, said the Friday at Eight Chamber Music Series serves as part of the VSO’s exciting, year-long 25^th anniversary celebration and provides an intimate, relaxing, beautiful setting for select orchestra players to share their talents with the community.

During the inaugural Friday at Eight Chamber Music Series event, the Azalea String Quartet, featuring Nina Lutz and Kristen Pfeifer Yu on violin, Steve Taylor on cello, and Lauren Hodges on viola, will join pianist Hue Jang for a memorable performance of Johannes Brahms’s Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34. The music composition was completed during the summer of 1864, published the following year, and dedicated to Princess Maria Anna Friederike of Prussia.

“It’s very exciting,” said Lutz, referring to the Brahms piano quintet. “This piece of music is considered by many, and certainly by me, to be the greatest piano quintet ever written.”

Lutz, Yu, Taylor, and Hodges are principal members of the VSO, as well as part of the Department of Music faculty at VSU. Jang is a new visiting assistant professor of piano at the university.

“We are hoping — especially with this first concert — to attract people who may not ordinarily think they would be comfortable at a chamber music concert in the [big] auditorium [at VSU],” shared Oliver.  

“[Also] it is always our hope to attract the young professional because it is so critical to get this next generation involved in the arts if the arts are going to survive.”

Call (229) 247-2787 for more information about the Friday at Eight Chamber Music Series.

On the Web:

http://www.valdostasymphony.org

http://turnercenter.org

http://www.valdosta.edu/colleges/arts/music/

Performer Bios:

http://www.valdosta.edu/colleges/arts/music/bios/nina-lutz.php

http://www.valdosta.edu/colleges/arts/music/bios/kristen-pfeifer-yu.php

http://www.valdosta.edu/colleges/arts/music/bios/steven-taylor.php

http://www.valdosta.edu/colleges/arts/music/bios/lauren-burns.php

http://www.valdosta.edu/colleges/arts/music/bios/hue-jeong-jang.php

Valdosta State University’s 2013-2019 Strategic Plan represents a renewal of energy and commitment to the foundational principles for comprehensive institutions.

Implementation of the plan’s five goals, along with their accompanying objectives and strategies, supports VSU’s institutional mission and the University System of Georgia’s mission for comprehensive universities. 

The Friday at Eight Chamber Music Series meets the following goals: 

Goal 1: Recruit, retain, and graduate a quality, diverse student population and prepare students for roles as leaders in a global society.

Goal 3: Promote student, employee, alumni, retiree, and community engagement in our mission.

Goal 4: Foster an environment of creativity and scholarship.

Goal 5: Develop and enhance Valdosta State’s human and physical resources.

Visit http://www.valdosta.edu/administration/planning/strategic-plan.php to learn more.