'Marcus Thompson making his Ritz Chamber Players Debut!' at Finale Concert Wednesday, 7:30 PM, June 8, 2011

[Marcus Thompson]

It is a very special guest who makes his debut with the Ritz Chamber Players at the group's Season Finale on Wednesday, June 8. A staggering 17 CDs grace the Recordings page of his website. They include 2 orchestral discs conducted by the legendary Paul Freeman. Among his chamber music discs are 2 with the Seattle Chamber Music Society, 4 with the Amsterdam Chamber Music Society and 5 with the Boston Chamber Music Society.

Marcus Thompson Bio
"Marcus Thompson is a distinguished performer both on viola and viola d'amore. A multi-faceted artist, he is equally esteemed as recitalist, orchestral soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and educator.

"Born in New York's South Bronx, he began violin studies at the age of six in a private studio, and at fourteen attended The Juilliard School Pre-College where he studied with Louise Behrend. After completing seven years of viola and viola d'amore studies with Walter Trampler, he received his Bachelors and Master's degrees, and Juilliard's first doctorate in viola performance."

RitzChamberPlayers.org

Jacoby Symphony Hall

Finale Concert June 8, 2011

Times-Union Center

for the Performing Arts

Jacksonville, Florida

7:30 PM

Bruch 8 Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, Op. 83

Piazzolla “History of the Tango”

Beethoven String Trio in C Minor, Op. 9, No. 3

Brahms Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25

Terrance Patterson - Clarinet

Kelly Hall-Tompkins - Violin

Marcus Thompson - Viola

Tahira Whittington - Cello

Terrence Wilson - Piano

Ann Hobson Pilot - Harp

Myrtle Hart Society: Cellist Tahira Whittington in "Ain't I a Woman"

Rashida N. Black writes in the February 2008 issue of the Myrtle Hart Society eNewsletter:

You may remember Ms. Whittington as a founding member of the Young Eight and a Sphinx laureate, but this month, she's showcasing an original production. The Core Ensemble, a group comprised of piano, percussion, cello and actress (!!) will perform "Ain't I a Woman," a chamber music theater production featuring the lives of four significant African-American women in US history: Sojourner Truth, Zora Neale Hurston, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Clementine Hunter. This multimedia group presents all music by African American composers, including Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, Diane Monroe and others. This is a must see. I'll be there!

Tuesday, February 5 at 7:30 PM , Harper College, Performing Arts Center, 1200 Algonquin Road, Palatine, IL and Wednesday, February 6, 7:00 PM hosted by Rock Valley College, County of Winnebago Memorial Hall, 211 N. Main Street, Rockford, IL.