Detroit festival celebrates chamber music

6/14/2018

The Thalea Quartet will peform a free community concert at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The group presents a ticketed performance Thursday at the Kirk in the Hills in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

In its 25th year, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival again takes up its two-week residency in the Detroit area featuring nightly offerings of professional level chamber music.

This week’s concerts begin with Thalea String Quartet performing Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, Haydn’s Quartet op. 76, no. 5 and Ravel’s Piano Trio in A minor at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Kirk in the Hills, 1340 West Long Lake Rd., Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Tickets are $12 to $42.

Things continue with the world premier of William Banfield’s The Bigger Blues at 8 p.m. Friday at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History, 315 E. Warren Ave., Detroit. Tickets are $12 to $35.

Detroit native musicians team up for Mozart, Schubert, and Brahms at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Seligman Performing Arts Center 22305 13 Mile Rd., Beverly Hills, Mich. Tickets are $12 to $72.

The Detroit Institute of Arts offers two free community concerts. An all-Beethoven lineup begins at 1 p.m. Sunday followed by the Phoenix Ensemble from Ann Arbor with the Thalea Quartet for Haydn and Mendelssohn at 3 p.m. Sunday. The DIA is at 5200 Woodward Ave., Detroit.

Little Orchestras of the Mind performs quartets by Arensky and Debussy plus the Brahms Piano Quintet 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Temple Beth El, 7400 Telegraph Rd., Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Tickets are $12 to $42.

The Aya Trio performs music by Beethoven, Bernstein, Britten, and Brahms 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. Hugo of the Hills, 2215 Opdyke Rd., Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Tickets are $12 to $42.

At 7 p.m. Wednesday, the Thalea Quartet performs Bach and Schubert at the Capitol Theatre, 121 University Ave., Windsor, Ont.

Full information on festival performances, as well as ancillary events and tickets, is available at 248-559-2097 or greatlakeschambermusic.org.

■ The Toledo Jazz Orchestra closes its season with a Black & White Transportation Bistro Series Concert titled “Perfect Pitch,” featuring 6th Edition, a vocal jazz ensemble. The concert begins at 6 p.m. Thursday at Registry Bistro, 144 N. Superior St. For tickets and more information, visit toledojazz.org.

■ Forté Musical School hosts its summer student showcase with an all-day recital of different concerts by the school’s students every hour from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at Harvest Lane Alliance Church, 5132 Harvest Lane. The event is free.

■ Whateverandeveramen Vocal Ensemble presents Songs of Fatherhood: A Father’s Day Concert featuring Sylvania composer Kevin Foster’s A Father, and a cycle by David V. Montoya, Songs of Fatherhood, commissioned by the ensemble in 2014. The event begins at 3 p.m. Sunday at Trinity Episcopal Church, 316 Adams St. Tickets are $10 at songsoffatherhood.brownpapertickets.com.

■ The Maumee Community Band performs a free Music by the River Concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday on the lawn of the Maumee Library, 501 River Rd., Maumee.

■ The Concert Series in Walbridge Park offers the Bradberries performing classic rock in a free concert from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the park’s bandstand, 2761 Broadway. June 21’s performer will be Barile & May (folk rock).

■ The free Toledo Lucas County Public Library Brown Bag Summer Concert Series continues with Glass City Steel performing Caribbean and steel drum music from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. Wednesday on the north lawn of the Main Library of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library, 325 N. Michigan St. June 27’s performer will be the Maumee Community Band.

■ The free Wednesday at Woodland June Concert Series continues with Abbigale Rose performing at noon Wednesday at shelter area of Woodland Park, 429 E. Boundary St. Perrysburg. More information is available at infor@mainart-ery.com. June 27’s performer will be Kyle White.

■ The free Music at the Market Concert Series in conjunction with the Perrysburg Farmers’ Market features the Madison Avenue Band performing rock, R&B, and disco at 7 p.m. Thursday on the Commodore Schoolyard lawn, 140 E. Indiana Ave., Perrysburg. June 21’s performer will be the New Fashioned.

■ The Grand Rapids Historical Society opens its free “Rhythm on the River Arts Series” with DC Taylor, an all-acoustic duo performing cover music, at 7 p.m. Sunday in Wright Pavilion, on the towpath between the canal and the Maumee River, in Grand Rapids, Ohio.

■ The Defiance Jazz Festival “Take Me to the Rivers” features headliner Adrian Crutchfield, the last saxophonist to record and perform with Prince. Other performers include: Planet D Nonet, Anna Givens and the Atlas Jazz, and All that Jazz. Gates open at 5 p.m. Saturday, with music beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Kingsbury Park, 118 Auglaize St., Defiance. Admission is $5 for adults and free for children and students.

■ In a mini-fest offshoot concert of the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, the Shouse Ensemble and the Omer Quartet perform Mozart, Zoltan Kodaly, and John Corigliano at 8 p.m. Friday at the Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. Fourth Ave., Ann Arbor. For tickets and more information, call 734-769-2999 or visit kerrytownconcerthouse.com.

■ Sights and Sounds on Thursday Nights continues Thursday across downtown Chelsea, Mich. Slated performers are: Annie and Rod Capps (Americana/folk), Linen Ray (indie/folk/rock), Chey Halliwell (folk/rock/blues), Dorkestra (trans-genre American dork), Fangs and Twang (monster country), and Red Herring (classic rock/blues). Music runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Family activities and food are also available. For more information, call 734-355-1323 or visit chelseafestivals.com.

Send news of classical music and dance events at least two weeks in advance to classics@theblade.com.