MEDIA RELEASE July 18, 2005 For immediate release Editorial Contact: Kate Scorza Ingram [email protected] (for editorial purposes only)

Chestnut Hill Concerts presents Harumi Rhodes, Ronald Thomas, and Rieko Aizawa

At 8 p.m. Friday, August 19, 2005, Chestnut Hill Concerts, Ronald Thomas, Artistic Director, presents Beethoven’s Piano Sonata # 4 in E-Flat major, Op.7; Martinu’s Duo # 2 for Violin and Cello; and Schubert’s Piano Trio No.1 in B-flat major, Op. 99. The performers will be: Harumi Rhodes, violin; Ronald Thomas, cello; Rieko Aizawa, piano. The concert will be held at the First Congregational Church of Madison (26 Meetinghouse Lane, Madison, CT). Single tickets are $25, $20 and $15, $8 students (Kids Come Free!). Pre-concert picnic suppers prepared by Anna’s (New Haven) are available for $17 each. For information, call (203) 245-5736 or www.chestnuthillconcerts.org. Chestnut Hill Concerts receives financial support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, Evergreen Woods, Stop & Shop, and Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Pianist RIEKO AIZAWA is known for her rare combination of technical mastery and musical sensitivity, earning the admiration of musicians and critics alike. While in her teens, Rieko performed at the opening concerts of Tokyo's Casals Hall, followed by her U.S. debut in concerts at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Concerto highlights include the San Francisco Symphony under Schneider, the New Japan Philharmonic with Seiji Ozawa, the English Chamber Orchestra with Heinz Holliger, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra with Hugh Wolff, the St. Louis Symphony with David Loebel, and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. Recitals have included Seattle's Meany Hall, Houston’s Da Camera Society, Premiere Performances in St. Louis, the Caramoor Festival and the Chamber Music Society. Her 02-03 season includes her debuts on Ravinia’s Rising Stars and the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival’s series. Rieko has collaborated with the Guarneri Quartet, the Shanghai Quartet, the Orion Quartet, and numerous Musicians from Marlboro touring chamber ensembles. In 1996 Rieko received her Masters degree from Juilliard while studying with Peter Serkin, and is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she studied with Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Seymour Lipkin and Peter Serkin, and was awarded the prestigious Rachmaninoff Prize.

HARUMI RHODES, violin, became a member of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center II in 2005. She has been a participant of the Marlboro Music Festival, and toured with "Musicians from Marlboro," giving concerts at 's Metropolitan Museum of Art, Washington D.C.'s Freer Gallery, Philadelphia's Convention Center, and 's Gardner Museum. Ms. Rhodes has performed on numerous occasions with the Boston Chamber Music Society, Seattle Chamber Music Society, Minnesota Chamber Music Society, Mainly Mozart Festival, and Bargemusic. As a guest artist, she has performed with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Borromeo String Quartet, Walden Chamber Players, and the North Country Chamber Players. She recently led the first recording of Milton Babbitt's Sixth String Quartet on the Tzadik Composer Series Label and performed with the Saito Kinen Festival in Japan with Seiji Ozawa conducting. Ms. Rhodes received her Master of Music degree from New England Conservatory as a student of Donald Weilerstein, and her Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School as a student of Earl Carlyss, Ronald Copes, and Shirley Givens.

Cellist RONALD THOMAS has been Artistic Director of Chestnut Hill Concerts since 1989. Mr. Thomas sustains one of the most active and varied careers in today's music world as performer, teacher, and artistic administrator. His solo appearances with orchestra include the Philadelphia Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Handel & Haydn and Pro Arte Chamber Orchestras of Boston, and the Blossom Festival Orchestra. In great demand as a chamber music collaborator, Ronald Thomas is also the co-founder and artistic director of the Boston Chamber Music Society with whom he appears regularly and has produced a number of highly acclaimed recordings. Mr. Thomas is a member of the Players in Residence committee and the Board of Overseers at Bargemusic in New York City. Ronald Thomas is former member of the faculties at M.I.T., , the Boston Conservatory and, most recently, the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore where he spent nine years before resigning in 1997 in order to spend more time with his family and the cello. Prior to winning the Young Concert Artists auditions at the age of 19, Mr. Thomas attended the New England Conservatory and the Curtis Institute. His principal teachers were , , and for early studies, Mary Canberg.

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August 19, 2005 at 8 p.m., at the First Congregational Church of Madison (26 Meetinghouse Lane, Madison, CT): Chestnut Hill Concerts presents Beethoven’s Piano Sonata # 4 in E-Flat major, Op.7; Martinu’s Duo # 2 for Violin and Cello; and Schubert’s Piano Trio No.1 in B-flat major, Op. 99. Harumi Rhodes, violin; Ronald Thomas, cello; Rieko Aizawa, piano. Tickets $25, 20, 15, $8 students (Kids Come Free!) Pre-concert picnic suppers $17 each. To order, call (203) 245-5736. www.chestnuthillconcerts.org.

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