All about Gershwin- Sophia and Friends
Jun
20
5:00 PM17:00

All about Gershwin- Sophia and Friends

Pianist Sophia Zhou returns to Stissing Center for an evening devoted to the timeless music of George Gershwin—works that effortlessly bridge classical tradition, jazz, and popular song. Gershwin’s music remains endlessly appealing for its lyricism, energy, and unmistakable sense of joy, inviting listeners in no matter the era. Zhou brings both technical brilliance and a natural ease to this repertoire, shaping each piece with clarity and feeling. A New York–based performer who has appeared at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw, Zhou is also the Artistic Director of the Millbrook Music Salon and formerly served as Director of Chamber Music at Stissing Center. Her deep connection to this community makes this concert both a homecoming and a celebration of music that continues to resonate across generations.

In Banning Hall

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Contemporary Series- Greenroom Ensemble
May
2
7:00 PM19:00

Contemporary Series- Greenroom Ensemble

Performers: 

Violin: Nathan Meltzer (Winner of  Concert Artist Guild, 2022 Sibelius  Violin Competition, Founder and  Director of Green Room Ensemble) 

Violin: Ariel Horowitz ( 2020 Concert Artist Guild Ambassador Prize) 

Viola: James Kang (Juilliard Kovner Fellow, American Viola Society Solo Competition winner, Abeo Quartet) 

Cello: Sterling Elliott (2021 Avery Fisher Award, BBC Next Generation Artist) 

Piano: Sophia Zhou (V BPA International Piano Award, Artistic Director of Millbrook Music Salon) 

Program: 

This dynamite program traces a wide arc of chamber music, beginning with the wit, clarity, and conversational elegance of Joseph Haydn’s Piano Trio in E major, Hob. XV:28, and moving through a series of bold, contemporary works that reimagine how sound, rhythm, and ensemble interaction can unfold. Misato Mochizuki’s Brains explores motion and transformation through quick shifts in texture and rhythm, while Caroline Shaw’s Limestone and Felt plays with contrast—hard and soft, resonant and muted—inviting close listening and intimacy. Julius Eastman’s Joy Boy brings an urgent, driving intensity built on repetition and momentum, challenging performers and listeners alike to stay fully present. After intermission, Andy Akiho’s The Prospects of a Misplaced Year closes the evening with propulsive rhythms and reflective moments, capturing a sense of uncertainty, resilience, and forward motion. Together, these works reveal chamber music as a living, evolving conversation—one that honors tradition while embracing experimentation and new voices. 

– Haydn: Piano Trio in E Major, Hob. XV: 28

– Misato Mochizuki: Brains (2016/17) 

– Caroline Shaw: Limestone and Felt (2012) 

–intermission– 

– Andy Akiho: The prospects of a misplaced year

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Fleeting Inventions
Jun
6
10:30 AM10:30

Fleeting Inventions

Chamber Music at Stissing Center
Graeme Steele Johnson, clarinet; Kristin Lee & Rachell Ellen Wong, violins; Tanner Menees, viola; Jia Kim, cello; Sophia (Shuhui) Zhou, piano

PROGRAM

Alan Shulman Rendezvous with Benny (1946)

Marc Mellits Discrete Structures for Clarinet & String Quartet (2024)

Sergei Prokofiev Overture on Hebrew Themes for Clarinet, Two Violins, Viola, Cello and 

Piano, Op. 38 (1919)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Quintet in A Major for Basset Clarinet, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, K. 581

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Music Middays
May
6
12:00 PM12:00

Music Middays

Praised for his “intense concentration,…clarity, and ferocity,”(Classical Scene) tenor Daniel McGrew is a versatile performer of a broad range of repertoire, but at the heart of Daniel’s musical passion is the performance of song. Together with the dynamic pianist Sophia Zhou the duo will offer beloved classics by Beethoven and Debussy, as well as an intriguing cycle by American composer Louise Talma on poetry of Wallace Stevens.

PROGRAM
Beethoven — An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98
Debussy — Ariettes oubliées, L63
Louise Talma — Infanta Marina

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Cello Americana!
May
4
4:00 PM16:00

Cello Americana!

Star cellist Sterling Elliott and pianist/director Sophia Zhou celebrates the opening of 2025 Chamber Music season with a program by all-American composers from Amy Beach (1869) to Kevin Day (b. 1996).

Program:

Amy Beach:

  • 4 Sketches, op. 15: Dreaming

  • Romance for Violin and Piano, Op. 23

Kevin Day:

  • Cello sonata (2019)

William Grant Still:

  • “Mother and Child”

George Walker:

  • Cello Sonata

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Opus Illuminate
Oct
13
7:00 PM19:00

Opus Illuminate

Chamber Music works by Justinian Tamusuza, Gabriella Smith, Ernest Bloch and Danny Elfman

Violin and Founder: Nathan Meltzer

Violin: Geneva Lewis

Viola: Jordan Bak

Cello: Jonathan Swensen

Piano: Sophia (Shuhui) Zhou

Opus Illuminate was founded by American violinist Nathan Meltzer (2023 Concert Artist Guild winner) and violist Devin Moore ( Isidore Quartet), with the mission to expand and enrich the classical music industry by performing works by composers of historically underrepresented communities and heritages.

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Musicians from the New York Philharmonic
Aug
30
4:00 PM16:00

Musicians from the New York Philharmonic

Chamber Music with Corelli Trio from New York Philharmonic

Violin: Quan Ge

Viola: Cong Wu (Assistant Principal Viola, The Norma and Lloyd Chazen Chair)

Cello: Nathan Vickery

Piano: Sophia Zhou

Program:

Jean Françaix: String Trio in C Major - 13'

Krzysztof Penderecki: Trio for Violin, Viola and Cello - 15'

Gabriel Fauré: Piano Quartet No.1 in C Minor, Op. 15 - 30'

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"Of Mere Being"- Token Creek Chamber Music Festival
Mar
30
4:00 PM16:00

"Of Mere Being"- Token Creek Chamber Music Festival

  • Token Creek Chamber Music Festival (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Distinguished Madisonian Dennis Maki will be honored with a concert offering the world premiere of two new song cycles by John Harbison in a vocal recital by two of today’s most exciting young artists. Tenor Daniel McGrew, will be joined by his recital colleague Sophia Zhou.

Program

Of Mere Being (2022) World Premiere- John Harbison (poems of Wallace Stevens)

Liederkreis, Op. 24 (1840)- Robert Schumann

The Seal Man (1922)- Rebecca Clarke

Songs of Separation (2023) World Premiere- John Harbison (poems of Akhmatova, Lowell, Sarton)

Selected Songs- Benjamin Britten

Of Mere Being (2022) [reprise]John Harbison

Daniel McGrew, tenor

Sophia Zhou, piano

Rose Mary Harbison, violin

More info: https://tokencreekfestival.org/of-mere-being/

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Winsor Music Cynthia Livingston Memorial Concert and Benefit
Mar
17
7:00 PM19:00

Winsor Music Cynthia Livingston Memorial Concert and Benefit

  • Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

PROGRAM

Johann Sebastian Bach: Gamba Sonata in D Major BWV 1028, arr. Stoltzman

Johann Sebastian Bach: Trio Sonata No. 5 in C Major, BWV 529

Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Sonata in C minor, BWV 1017

John Harbison: “Cynthia” (world premiere)

Franz Schubert: From the Piano Quintet in A major D.667, "Trout,”

Robert Schumann: In der Nacht from Spanisches Liederspiel Op. 71

PERFORMERS

Simone Dinnerstein, piano

Peggy Pearson, oboe

Rane Moore, clarinet

Gabriela Díaz, violin

Alison Edwards, viola

Rafael Popper-Keizer, cello

Jennifer Hersch, bass

Sophia (Shuhui) Zhou, piano

Kendra Colton, soprano

Daniel McGrew, tenor

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Jorinde Voigt: Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata op. 10 no. 2
Sep
17
4:00 PM16:00

Jorinde Voigt: Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata op. 10 no. 2

Homage concert to the visual art project “Jorinde Voigt: Ludwig van Beethoven Sonatas 1–32”

Guest Cello: Edward Luengo

Program:

Mozart- Piano Sonata No. 12 in F major, K. 332

Beethoven- Piano Sonata no.6 in F major, op. 10 no.2

Andrea Casarrubios- “Seven” for solo cello                                                              Beethoven- Sonata for Piano and Cello No. 3 in A major, Op. 69      

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Solo Recital
May
6
4:00 PM16:00

Solo Recital

Solo Piano Recital

Presented by Susan Bang Family Circle

Program:

Mozart- Piano Sonata in F major K.332

Scriabin- Prelude and Nocturne for the Left Hand, op. 9

John Field- Nocturne no. 5 in B-flat major

R. Schumann- Carnival op. 9

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