Meridian String Quartet January 20, 2008 Metropolis Quartet February 10, 2008 Linda Marianiello, Baroque & Traditional Flute with David Schrader, Harpsichord March 9, 2008 $36 for three concerts, $15 for single tickets if available (Available single tickets go on sale after January 1) All Chamber Series concerts begin at 2:30 p.m. in the 2nd Floor Art Gallery

Meridian String Quartet (January 20, 2008)

Cornelius Chiu joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in March of 1996. He was born to Chinese parents in Ithaca, New York. Both music lovers, they started him on the violin when he was six. His older brother Frederic studied the piano and is now a successful concert pianist and recording artist in Paris. Cornelius grew up in Indianapolis and continued his education on full scholarship at the Indiana University School of Music. There he studied with Josef Gingold, Franco Gulli, and Yuval Yaron, earning both bachelor's and master's of music degrees with high distinction. He has worked with many well-known artists including Josef Silverstein, Janos Starker, and Menahem Pressler, and received special recognition from Isaac Stern following a performance for him.

Violinist Injoo Choi is currently a first violinist for the Grant Park Music Festival Symphony Orchestra, and performs and tours frequently with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She has won numerous competitions including the Korean Times National Music Competition, Society of American Musicians, the Baltimore Music Club Competition, and the National Federation of Music Club Young Artist Audition. She was also a finalist of the Julius Stulberg Competition.

Ann Montzka-Smelser studied violin and viola with the late Pierre Menard of the Vermeer Quartet at Northern Illinois University. In between receiving her Bachelors in Music Education and Masters in Performance and Pedagogy, Ann studied with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki at the Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto, Japan. In college, Ann was first-prize winner in the Blanch Ellis Concerto Competition. She received the Byron Hester Outstanding Teacher Award in June 2003. Ann has toured extensively with the Ruggieri String Quartet under Columbia Artist Management. She has held principal positions in the Rockford, Fox Valley and Illinois Valley Symphonies and is currently the concertmaster of the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra and principal violist in Camerata Chicago.

Mr. Smelser has been a member of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra Cello section for fourteen years and has been an active substitute with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 10 years. A native of Arizona, Linc Smelser began his cello studies at the age of 10. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Cello Performance from the University of Arizona and received his Master's Degree and Performer's Certificate in Cello Performance and Pedagogy at Northern Illinois University having studied with renowned cellist and pedagogue Raya Garbousova. Advanced study included work with cellists Marc Johnson, Heinrich Schiff, the Vermeer Quartet, and pianists Richard Faith and Jerome Lowenthal. Mr. Smelser has twice appeared in recital on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts Series in Chicago, which is broadcast live on over 44 stations across the United States.

Metropolis Quartet (February 10, 2008)
"Highly energetic," "musically exciting," and "a performance filled with fun" are just a few of the comments heard from audience members after an evening with the Metropolis Quartet. Deb Stevenson (oboe / english horn), Thomas Yang (violin), Jeri-Lou Zike (violin / viola), and Steven Houser (cello) met in 1994 as freelance musicians in Chicago. Whether performing baroque masterpieces or contemporary works, the versatile musicians of Metropolis continue to redefine chamber music for a new age. Metropolis performs the major oboe quartet repertoire written by composers such as Mozart, J.C. Bach and Benjamin Britten. They also seek out lesser-known works by composers of all periods, and take familiar melodies and perform their own arrangements. Each performance is a sparkling mix of wonderful compositions, memorable melodies and fun conversation between the musicians and audience members.

Linda Marianiello, Baroque & Traditional Flute with David Schrader, Harpsichord (March 9, 2008)
Flutist Linda Marianiello has worked in many areas of flute playing as soloist, recording artist, chamber musician, principal and assistant principal flutist of symphony and opera orchestras, and as a member of several orchestras for Broadway musicals. Her interest in 18th-century music also led her to study and perform extensively on baroque flutes. She has been a guest artist at major European festivals and on concert series throughout the United States. The National Flute Association has featured her in recitals, master classes, and discussion panels at their New York, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, and Minneapolis conventions. Her solo CD’s include, “Music for Flute and Piano,” on the Helicon label; “Dialogues: American Music for Flute and Organ,” on the MSR label; and a Baroque Sampler for Swineshead Productions in Berkeley, CA. A fourth CD is planned for 2007.

Equally at home in front of a harpsichord, organ, piano, or fortepiano, David Schrader is "truly an extraordinary musician ... (who) brings not only the unfailing right technical approach to each of these different instruments, but always an imaginative, fascinating musicality to all of them" (Norman Pelligrini, WFMT, Chicago). A performer of wide ranging interests and accomplishments, Mr. Schrader has been invited to perform as a featured artists at the American Guild of Organists’ national convention on three occasions, with the symphony orchestras of Dallas, Colorado and San Francisco. Mr. Schrader has appeared as a soloist numerous times with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Sir Georg Solti, Daniel Barenboim, and Pierre Boulez. He has also appeared with the Grant Park Symphony under Carlos Kalmar, and with many other orchestras throughout the United States and Canada.

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