The Danbury Concert Association prides itself on presenting top international musicians in virtuoso performances at truly affordable prices. And it's been doing so for over 60 years. On Sunday afternoon, September 15th, at 3:00pm, the DCA opens its 2019/2020 season with the launch of an exciting new collaboration.
Praised by critics for his passionate expression and dazzling technique, pianist Andrew Armstrong returns to the DCA stage, joined by budding superstar, violinist Tessa Lark, and cellist extraordinaire, Raman Ramakrishnan, to perform a collaborative program that's just the curtain-raiser for another year of superb classical music presentations by one of Danbury's finest veteran cultural organizations. The concert will be presented at Veronica Hagman Concert Hall in southwest Connecticut’s premier performing arts facility, the state-of-the-art Visual and Performing Arts Center (VPAC) on Western Connecticut State University's Westside Campus in Danbury, CT (43 Lake Avenue Extension).
Delighting audiences across Asia, Europe, Latin America, Canada, and the United States, including performances at many of the world’s great halls, pianist Andrew Armstrong has been praised by critics for his passionate expression and dazzling technique. He has performed with such conductors as Peter Oundjian, Itzhak Perlman, Günther Herbig, Stefan Sanderling, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, and has appeared in solo recitals in chamber music concerts with the Elias, Alexander, American, and Manhattan String Quartets, and also as a member of the Caramoor Virtuosi, Boston Chamber Music Society, Seattle Chamber Music Society, and the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players. Beginning in 2018, Andrew became Artistic Director of the Chamber Music on Main series at the Columbia Museum of Art in South Carolina. That same year, he also was appointed Director of the Green Lake Festival of Music’s Chamber Music Camp in Ripon, Wisconsin.
Violinist Tessa Lark, recipient of a 2018 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and a 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Silver Medalist in the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, and winner of the 2012 Naumburg International Violin Competition, is one of the most captivating artistic voices of our time. A budding superstar in the classical realm, she is also a highly acclaimed fiddler in the tradition of her native Kentucky. Since making her concerto debut with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra at sixteen, Ms. Lark has appeared with dozens of orchestras, festivals, and recital venues including Carnegie Hall, Ravinia, San Francisco Performances, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and Marlboro Music. Ms. Lark is a graduate of New England Conservatory with an Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School. She plays a ca. 1600 G.P. Maggini violin on loan from an anonymous donor through the Stradivari Society of Chicago.
The Danbury Concert Association season also includes: Sunday, October 20th at 3:00pm, Cecile Licad, piano; Sunday, March 29th, 2020, at 3:00pm, Camarata RCO; and Sunday, May 17th, 2020, at 3:00pm, Borealis Wind Quintet.
Single performance tickets are $25 per adult and may be reserved within two weeks of performance by calling the WCSU box office at (203) 837-8732 or by going to wcsupac.eventbrite.com Availability may be limited. Through a grant from the Danbury Cultural Commission, those 18 and under may attend for free, although advance reservations through Eventbrite are required. For more information about the Danbury Concert Association, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, go to danburyconcert.org There, you can also get directions and contribute to the support of the Danbury Concert Association. You may also call (203) 748-2177. (Artists and dates subject to change.)