Nexus Chamber Music Chicago To Perform Chamber Concerts At New State-Of-The-Art Loop Venue, Guarneri Hall 

Guarneri Hall, a recently established, state-of-the-art, intimate music venue located in the loop, is pleased to announce the second annual NEXUS Chamber Music Chicago Festival, three concerts at the hall on Aug. 28, Aug. 30, and Sept. 4, and one in the Chicago College of the Performing Arts' Ganz Hall on Sept. 8. NEXUS is a collective of highly acclaimed young musicians committed to stimulating interest in chamber music in new audiences through immersive performances, utilizing social media to promote music, and showcasing emerging talent. In a combined effort to increase access to classical music, concerts at Guarneri Hall will be live-streamed on the Guarneri Hall website, https://guarnerihall.org, at no charge. Guarneri Hall is located at 11 East Adams, 3rd floor, and Ganz Hall is located at 430 S. Michigan Ave.

Founded by cellist Alexander Hersh and violinist Brian Hong, both still in their twenties, NEXUS aims to eliminate the traditional formality of classical music performances that can create a barrier between the audience and performer. Their aspiration is to actively redefine the stereotypical classical music concertgoing experience with their youthful and passionate energy, presenting first-class musical events in conventional and unconventional venues throughout the country and abroad, as well as streamed online.

The Chicago series will consist of four thematically-programmed concerts featuring a range of works from renowned classics to rarely performed pieces, performed by a talented group of 10 award-winning musicians from around the globe. Two gifted young violinists studying at the Chicago College of Performing Arts have been invited to perform with their musical role models.

First opened in 2018, Guarneri Hall was created as a unique Chicago venue specifically designed for chamber music performances. The 60-seat hall, located at 11 East Adams, 3rd floor, creates a perfect setting for live concerts, optimal for small ensembles, with an acoustically engineered space designed by Threshold Acoustics to enhance the sound of chamber ensembles, creating a one-of-a-kind listening experience for the audience.

The full series schedule is as follows:

• Call of the Birds, August 28 at 6:30 p.m., Guarneri Hall

o Haydn: String Quartet Op. 33 No. 3 "The Bird" o Takemitsu: "A Bird Came Down Walking" for Viola and Piano

o Fauré: Romance for Cello and Piano Messiaen: Theme and Variations for Violin

and Piano o Schumann: Piano Quintet

• Signs, Games and Messages, August 30 at 6:30 p.m., Guarneri Hall

o Dvorak: Miniatures for Two Violins and Viola o Kurtag: Signs, Games, and Messages" for String Trio o Prokofiev: Sonata for 2 Violins o Brahms: G minor Piano Quartet

• Folk Songs in Counterpoint, September 4 at 6:30 p.m., Guarneri Hall

o Barrière: Sonata No. 10 in G Major for Two Celli o Danish Folk Songs for String Quartet o Florence Price: Five Folk Songs in Counterpoint o Arensky: String Quartet for Violin, Viola, and Two Celli

• Nocturnal Awakenings, September 6 at 6:30 p.m., Ganz Hall

o Boccherini: String Quintet in C Major "Night Music of the Streets of Madrid" o Webern: Langsamer satz for String Quartet o Schnittke: A Paganini for Solo Violin o Schubert: String Quintet in C Major, D. 956

Tickets are available for purchase here at $40 per person and $10 for students for the first three concerts of the series (Aug. 28, Aug. 30, Sept. 4), while admission to the fourth (Sept. 6) is free.

Learn more about the participating musicians here.

About Alexander Hersh NEXUS co-founder and talented cellist Alexander Hersh has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting and versatile talents of his generation. In June, by competitive audition, Alexander was named a Young Artist of the National Federation of Music Clubs. Hersh was named a winner of Astral Artists 2019 National Auditions, and will join the prestigious Astral Artists Roster next fall. Alexander was a winner of the New York International Artists Association Competition (2017), Schadt String Competition (2016), Hellam Young Artists Competition (2015), and the Luminarts Classical Music Fellowship (2016). Recent and upcoming concerto engagements include the Houston Symphony, Boston Pops, Allentown Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, Rockford Symphony, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra, Jefferson Symphony orchestra, and the Dupage Symphony Orchestra. Recital and chamber music engagements, past and present, include Carnegie Weill Hall, Kennedy Center, Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Caramoor, Music@Menlo, Perlman Music Program, Lucerne Festival Academy, I-M-S Prussia Cove, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, Tri-County Concerts, Amsterdam Cello Biennale, Kneisel Hall, and Domaine Forget.

About Brian Hong With a growing reputation for passionate and powerful performances, Korean-American violinist Brian Hong is forging a career as a soloist and chamber musician. Known for his commanding stage presence, palette of sonic colors, and honest interpretations, Mr. Hong has performed with such orchestras as the Springfield Symphony and the Juilliard Orchestra. A dedicated chamber musician, Mr. Hong's festival credits include Yellow Barn, the Taos School of Music, Kneisel Hall, the Perlman Music Program, and Marlboro Music, as well as NEXUS Chamber Music Chicago, of which he is co-Artistic Director.

A native of Fairfax Station, VA, Mr. Hong is currently enrolled in Juilliard's Artist Diploma program under the guidance of Laurie Smukler and Donald Weilerstein. Mr. Hong also serves as a Fellow with Carnegie Hall's Ensemble Connect from 2018-2020, performing in a variety of venues in NYC and abroad as well as maintaining a two-year teaching partnership with Celia Cruz High School of Music in the Bronx.

About NEXUS Chamber Music Chicago NEXUS Chamber Music is a collective of International Artists committed to stimulating interest in chamber music. The unique programming combines access to on-demand content and live performances in both conventional and unconventional venues to deliver classical music that meets the demands of the 21st century listener. With a goal to make classical music accessible and relevant to new audiences, NEXUS brings today's best performers together with fresh, diverse audiences, in unique, personalized modern venues. Learn more about NEXUS and the performing musicians here.

About Guarneri Hall Established in October 2018, the new Guarneri Hall is a Chicago based not-for-profit organization committed to fostering interest and accessibility to classical music across demographic boundaries through a range of local, national, and international programs. The state-of-the-Art Hall operates as a performance venue and recording studio located in the heart of the Chicago Loop and runs guarnerihall.org, a website offering streamed and archived musical events as well as resources for performers music educators and music enthusiasts.

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