Art of Élan 2015-2016 Season Features The San Diego Museum of Art, Lux Art Institute, The Glashaus, A Reason To Survive & the San Diego Symphony

Demarre McGill & Kate Hatmaker

About Art of Élan

For the past 8 years, Art of Élan has been pioneering unique events and bringing the excitement of classical music to diverse audiences. Created by violinist Kate Hatmaker and flutist Demarre McGill, Art of Élan continually expands the scope of classical music in San Diego through its innovative, one-hour programming in unique performance venues. Its partnerships with The San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park, Lux Art Institute in Encinitas, The Glashaus in Barrio Logan, and A Reason To Survive (ARTS) in National City have led to multiple commissions, world premieres, exciting cross-disciplinary productions and enthusiastic, sold-out audiences. By drawing inspiration from the word élan, which represents momentum, vigor and spirit, and providing an opportunity to connect directly with concertgoers, Art of Élan continues to engage and energize audiences in new ways.

www.artofelan.org

Happy September! We hope you've had  an enjoyable, art-filled summer.  We're thrilled to announce an exciting  lineup of concerts for the upcoming  2015-2016 season, in collaboration with  many of San Diego's most esteemed  cultural institutions: The San Diego  Museum of Art, Lux Art Institute, The  Glashaus, A Reason To Survive  (ARTS) and, for the very first time,  the San Diego Symphony.    For this 9th season of concerts, which we're calling "CROSSING THE DIVIDE," our commitment to pioneering unique chamber music events and bringing the excitement of classical music to diverse audiences is expanding to also include a ground-breaking partnership with New York-based New Amsterdam Records/New Amsterdam Presents.  We're excited about engaging in this bi-coastal relationship with our friends at New Amsterdam Records/New Amsterdam Presents, who share our artistic vision of supporting new music by highly skilled composers and performers who do not adhere to  traditional genre boundaries. They, like us, value artistic quality and emotional directness over adherence to current stylistic trends. The record label has been called "the focal point of the post-classical scene" by Time Out New York and "emblematic of an emerging generation" by The New York Times. The partnership speaks to our ongoing commitment to supporting emerging artists and composers like Judd Greenstein, Caroline Shaw, Nico Muhly and Anna Clyne and will help foster expanded commissioning projects, create greater exposure for our recently established "Ensemble-in- Residence" program and provide increased performance opportunities for NewAm artists. In programming the 2015-2016 "CROSSING THE DIVIDE"  season, we looked to unite our increasingly segregated beliefs, actions and influences through an exploration of our shared humanity and the discovery of a common language for the 21st century. While our nation can feel increasingly polarized these days, we believe common ground still exists--and music is a powerful  way to be reminded of that. The exciting season includes a return of SACRA/PROFANA and the world premiere of Lei Liang's string quartet for Art of Élan's ensemble-in-residence, the Formosa Quartet, for which funding was  provided by the Library of Congress' Koussevitzky Foundation and Chamber Music America. In addition to our regular concert series at The San Diego Museum of Art and Lux Art Institute, the season has been expanded to include two additional special events that shine a spotlight on New Amsterdam composers and ensembles. A return of CROSSFIRE @ The Glashaus and a first-ever collaboration with the San Diego Symphony round out a season that truly crosses divides to embrace new music, new venues and new partners.  Read on to learn more about the  specific events we've curated for you and we'll look forward to seeing you at a concert soon!   Warmly,   Kate & Demarre

2015-2016 SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART CONCERT SERIES OUTLIERS Tuesday, Oct. 6th Hibben Gallery, 7pm Art of Élan's 9th season begins with a provocative program of works by female composers, including dramatic and colorful compositions by Israeli composer Shulamit Ran, whose "East Wind" for solo flute references both the tragic and epic nature of human experience, as well as Anna Clyne and Sarah Kirkland Snider (both affiliated with New Amsterdam Records), and the rarely performed String Quartet No. 2 by Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina, which promises to take audiences on a kaleidoscopic journey through uncharted territory. CONCENTRIC CIRCLES Tuesday, January 12th Hibben Gallery, 7pm The idea of concentric circles serves as a reminder that there is always common ground to be found, even among the most disparate elements. This program features San Diego's inventive choral ensemble SACRA/PROFANA with "Effortlessly Love Flows" (from Aaron Jay Kernis' "Ecstatic Meditations"), as well as "Honest Music" by Nico Muhly (New Amsterdam Records), a haunting contemplation on the world's "makeshift nature...the sad beauty of things coming together and things falling apart." The concert ends with Arvo Pärt's "Tabula Rasa," a minimalist exploration of man's inherent need for peace and introspection.   SONG RECOLLECTIONS Tuesday, March 29th Hibben Gallery, 7pm This deeply affecting program is inspired by various memories and folk songs, featuring Art of Élan's "ensemble-in-residence" the Formosa Quartet in the world premiere of Lei Liang's "Song Recollections" string quartet, commissioned by Art of Élan with funding from both the Koussevitzky Foundation and Chamber Music America. BY & BY Tuesday, May 17th Hibben Gallery, 7pm The final concert of the series contemplates the possibility of a common language for the 21st century, uniting works by today's most exciting composers with more established repertoire, including the San Diego premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw's "By & By" for voice and string quartet. Tickets for The San Diego Museum of Art series are available in advance at the Museum, or by clicking here: To purchase by phone, call the Museum box office at 619.232.7931. Ask for the series subscription discount! Or download our FREE app (available from the App Store) to get the latest concert info, buy tickets online, listen to past shows, and learn what the hype is all about.