DACAMERA Presents Folk Inspirations: Avi Avital And Bridget Kibbey At The Menil

DACAMERA continues its 2019-2020 series of intimate concerts at the Menil Collection with Folk Inspirations, two performances by mandolinist Avi Avital and harpist Bridget Kibbey on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, at 7:30 p.m. and Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, at 7:30 p.m.

The world's only mandolin virtuoso and the first solo mandolinist to ever be nominated for a Grammy Award, Avital is a driving force behind the reinvigoration of the instrument's repertory. Known for his charismatic live performances, Avital began learning the mandolin at the age of 8, before graduating from the Jerusalem Music Academy and the Conservatorio Cesare Pollini in Padua, Italy. In 2007, he was the first mandolinist to win the first place Doris and Mori Arkin Award at Israel's prestigious Aviv Competitions. Avital's performances and recordings have explored genres from classical to traditional to jazz, most recently on the 2017 album Avital Meets Avital, a collaboration with oud bassist Omer Avital.

An artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Kibbey is a recipient of both the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Salon de Virtuosi SONY Recording Grant, and has won the Premiere Prix at the Journées de les Harpes Competition in Arles, France. An in- demand soloist and chamber musician who is widely regarded as one of today's top harpists, Kibbey has quickly gained a reputation for her diverse, energetic programming that spans the baroque, French Masterworks and rhythmic migration in South America.

In Avital's return to and Kibbey's debut on the DACAMERA stage, the duo will combine their stringed instruments to bring life to a program ranging from Bach, CPE Bach and Tchaikovsky to folk tunes from Spain and the Middle East, all in new arrangements. The program, which will be repeated on both evenings, will feature Johann Sebastian Bach's Flute Sonata in E-Flat Major, BMV 1031; Manuel De Falla's Siete canciones populares españolas; Marc Lavry's Three Jewish Dances, Op. 192; Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach's Violin Sonata in G Minor, H. 542.5; selections from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Seasons, Op. 37a; and Joaquín Rodrigo's Cuatro madrigals amatorios.

DACAMERA's chamber music series continues with Pianist Richard Goode on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, and Davóne Tines with Adam Nielson on Tuesday, April 7, 2020.

Tickets for Folk Inspirations: Avi Avital and Bridget Kibbey are $60 and are available by contacting DACAMERA, 1402 Sul Ross, at 713-524-5050 or online at www.dacamera.com. Tickets for students and senior citizens are always half-price. $5 student rush tickets are available 30 minutes before the concert begins.