[Ritz
Chamber Players]
January 15, 2012 at 2:00
p.m.
Biographies of Performers
The
Ritz Chamber Players are hailed by The Baltimore Sun as “one
of the most interesting and dynamic ensembles to emerge in recent
years.” Boasting some of the world’s preeminent musicians
spanning the African diaspora, it brings a fresh, new energy to the
classical music genre. Its members perform with prestigious
organizations such as the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony,
Chicago Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra and the
London Symphony. Founded in 2002 by clarinetist and Artistic Director
Terrance Patterson, the Ritz Chamber Players present a landmark
subscription series at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts
in Jacksonville, Fla., which combines exceptional artistry on stage
with inspiring educational programs in schools and throughout the
community. Through their concert series in Jacksonville and
performances across the United States, the Ritz Chamber Players
continue to build the participation of multicultural audiences that
reflect our diverse society. Called “a remarkable ensemble,” the
group’s flexible make-up allows for many astonishing combinations
of virtuoso players, leading to “riveting” performances of the
standard classical music repertoire. The Ritz Chamber Players are
also unique in their dedication to showcase the works of
African-American composers with exceedingly artistic and informed
interpretations. The Ritz Chamber Players made their
highly-successful debut concert at New York’s Weill Recital Hall in
Carnegie Hall to a standing room only crowd, with critics proclaiming
the group’s performance “extraordinary” and “vital and
fresh.” Most recently, the ensemble’s performances have been
enthusiastically received in Miami, Atlanta, Baltimore, Los Angeles,
Raleigh, the British Virgin Islands, Chicago and Seattle, and in
several New York venues, including Rockefeller University and Lincoln
Center. The Ritz Chamber Players, one of the country’s most
significant chamber ensembles, celebrated its international radio
début on the BBC World Service and WYNC New York with a concert
broadcast to more than 40 countries, and its first national
television appearance on the 37th Annual NAACP Image Awards. The Ritz
Chamber Players have been guests of the highly-praised programs –
National Public Radio and the Tavis Smiley Show. They
are regular guests of the Madison and Amelia Island Chamber Music
Festivals.
Terrance
Patterson – Founder and Artistic Director
A
Jacksonville, Fla. native, Terrance Patterson has performed in Paris,
London, Milan, Brussels, Belgrade, Munich, Amsterdam, Moscow,
Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Miami, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New
York. He plays with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, the Sphinx
Symphony of Detroit and the Nashville, Florida West Coast,
Huntsville, Festival and Las Vegas Symphonies. He attended the
Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University where he studied
with clarinetist Lorin Kitt, principal clarinetist of the National
Symphony Orchestra.
Kelly
Hall-Tompkins – Violin
Hall-Tompkins
was winner of a 2003 Naumburg International Violin Competition
Honorarium Prize, as well as a Concert Artists Guild Career Grant in
1996, leading to numerous solo recitals in New York and the
surrounding area. Hall-Tompkins has been a soloist with the Dallas,
Greenville and Monmouth Symphonies; the Philharmonic of Uruguay; the
Gateways Festival Orchestra; and the Festival of the Atlantic
Orchestra. Hall-Tompkins’ distinguished orchestral career has
included extensive touring in the United States and internationally
with the renowned Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and performances with
the New York Philharmonic. In 1999, she won auditions held by the New
Jersey Symphony Orchestra and was subsequently appointed to the
orchestra’s first violin section. She earned a master’s degree
from the Manhattan School of Music under the mentorship of Glenn
Dicterow, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, and her
bachelor’s degree from the Eastman School of Music under the
mentorship of Charles Castleman.
Amadi
Hummings – Viola
Amadi
Hummings has performed in every major U.S. city. In recent seasons,
Hummings has been a guest of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln
Center in New York, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He
has also performed in Israel, Canada, South America, Central America,
India, Japan and throughout the Caribbean. He has collaborated with
such artists as Awadagin Pratt, Mitsuko Uchida, Andras Schiff, Nobuko
Imai, David Soyer and Felix Galimir, and has performed at festivals
including Marlboro, Spoleto, Sarasota, Tanglewood, Aspen, Norfolk and
the Prussia Cove Festival in England. From 1994-2000, Hummings was on
the faculty of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., where he
taught violin and viola, and conducted the Old Dominion University
Chamber Orchestra. He studied with Sally Peck and Marcus Thompson.
Hummings was also awarded the performer’s certificate from Indiana
University, where he served as an associate instructor and studied
with Atar Arad.
Kenneth
Law – Cello
Kenneth
Law is assistant professor of violoncello at the Petrie School of
Music of Converse College. In addition to his participation in the
Converse Trio, he is a member of the Jacksonville-based Ritz Chamber
Players, and principal cellist of the Spartanburg Philharmonic
Orchestra. He is a past president of the South Carolina Chapter of
the American String Teachers Association, and is a founding member of
the Harlaxton International Chamber Music Festival in England. Law
has appeared as a soloist and recitalist throughout the southeast.
Chamber music performances include appearances at the German Embassy
in Washington, D.C., the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater and Alice
Tully Hall in New York City. Law has also performed in England,
France, Scotland, Panama and the Czech Republic as a member of the
Converse Trio. He has collaborated with such artists as Earl Carlyss
(Juilliard String Quartet), Michael Tree (Guarneri Quartet), Ying
String Quartet, Norman Carroll (concertmaster emeritus, Philadelphia
Orchestra) and the late Samuel Baron, and has recorded orchestral and
chamber music for the New Albion and Telarc labels. Law received
undergraduate and graduate degrees in performance from the Eastman
School of Music and Cleveland Institute of Music, and a graduate
performance diploma from the Peabody Conservatory. He also served as
a chamber music fellow at the Juilliard School.
Terrence
Wilson – Piano
Since
his professional debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra, American
pianist Terrence Wilson has established a reputation as one of
today’s most gifted young instrumentalists. He has already appeared
with many other prestigious ensembles including the Houston Symphony,
under Christoph Eschenbach; the Atlanta Symphony, under Yoel Levi;
the Cincinnati Symphony, under Robert Spano; the Orchestre de Chambre
de Lausanne, under Jesus Lopez-Cobos; the Detroit Symphony, under
Neeme Järvi; the St Louis and Colorado Symphonies, under Marin
Alsop; the Minnesota Orchestra; and the Baltimore, Dallas,
Indianapolis, San Francisco and Columbus Symphonies. He has also made
highly-acclaimed recital debuts in New York, at the 92nd Street Y; in
Washington, at the Kennedy Centre; and in Paris, at the Louvre. In
1998, Wilson was awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant and in May
2001, he graduated from the Juilliard School, where he received the
prestigious Sony ES Award for Musical Excellence and most recently
the William Petschek Award.
Robert
Sims – Baritone
Robert
Sims, Gold Medal winner of the American Traditions Competition, has
been hailed by critics for his rich tone, energetic performances and
convincing stage presence. Sims has been highly praised for his
moving interpretations of African American spirituals, and has given
numerous recitals of them throughout the United States, Europe and
Asia. He recently made his recital debut at Carnegie Hall, and has
performed in concert at the Lincoln Center in New York, the
Smithsonian Institution, the Los Angeles African American Museum,
Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, the Chicago Historical Society, the
Latour de France International Music Festival in France and the
celebrated American Church in Paris. Under the auspices of the
Community Concerts and Live On Stage Series, Sims performed more than
150 recitals throughout the U.S. Sims has appeared with many
orchestras in this country, and toured Japan with the Pacific Music
Festival Orchestra, where he was featured in a nationally televised
performance of Bernstein’s Opening Prayer. He has appeared with
Mercedes Ellington and David Baker in Duke Ellington’s My People,
The Sacred Concerts and has shared the stage with the legendary
ODETTA in a duo concert of spirituals and blues. Sims is an alumnus
of Oberlin Conservatory, SUNY Binghamton, Northwestern University and
Music Academy of the West. For more information, visit
www.RobertSims.com
[Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson (1932-2004) is profiled at
AfriClassical.com,
which
features a comprehensive Works List by Prof. Dominique-René de
Lerma, http://www.CasaMusicaledeLerma.com]
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