Rapidly gaining international acclaim for her brilliant cello-playing, Sophie Shao has been described as a musician with a superior sense of style, great finesse and emotion. On Sunday, Jan. 17 at 3 p.m., Shao brings her brilliance to Memorial Chapel, where she’ll perform with fellow string-instrumentalists Pamela Frank, Arnaud Sussmann, Mark Holloway and Lily Francis.
Together, the musicians will present string quintets by Mendelssohn, Mozart and Brahms.
Winner of a top prize in the 2001 Rostropovich Competition and a laureate of the 2002 XII Tchaikovsky Competition, Shao has wowed audiences since she was a child. At age 11, she made her first appearance with the Houston Symphony, and at just 19, she received the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant.
Shao has also played with orchestras and symphonies throughout the United States, Europe and Asia, performing at venues like 92nd Street Y in New York City, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh and Ford Centre in Toronto.
At native of Houston, Texas, Shao graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, after which she went on to receive degrees in religious studies and music from Yale University.
Violinist Pamela Frank was born in New York City and is on the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory and the Curtis Institute. When she’s not teaching, Frank performs with major American orchestras or independently as a soloist. In 1999, she won the coveted Avery Fisher Prize.
Fellow violinist Arnaud Sussmann has performed as a soloist throughout the United States, Europe, Central America and Asia. The 2009 winner of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, he also clinched first prizes at the Andrea Postacchini Competition and the Vatelot/Rampal Competition.
Violist Mark Holloway, like Shao, is a Curtis Institute graduate. A sought-after chamber musician, he has performed all over the world and frequently plays as a substitute with the New York Philharmonic and Orpheus Chamber Orchestras. This is his first season as a member of the prestigious Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two.
Lily Francis is the violist of the Vertigo String Quartet, which recorded the soundscape for Michael Hollinger’s acclaimed play “Opus.” A member of Chamber Music Society Two, the residency program for distinguished young artists, Francis recently won a top prize in the 2009 ARD Music Competition in Munich. She is also a Curtis Institute graduate.
The concert is free to members of the Union community. General admission tickets cost $25, though area students may attend for $10. For a complete Series schedule, click here.