PRINCETON UNIVERSITY CONCERTS
ANNOUNCES 2019-20 “BEYOND THE MUSIC” PROGRAMMING
Princeton University Concerts (“PUC”) has much in store for the 2019-20 season. In addition to a robust lineup of the world’s greatest chamber musicians performing in innovative concert formats, PUC also offers supplemental programs—many of which are free—designed to bring audiences closer to the season’s music and musicians. These non-concert events, all of which fall under PUC’s “Beyond the Music” programming umbrella, include Live Music Meditations, the annual Late Night Chamber Jam, an At the Movies series at the Princeton Garden Theatre and the Princeton Public Library, and half-hour Warm Ups prior to performances on the Concert Classics series.
LIVE MUSIC MEDITATIONS
- Brad Mehldau, Piano | Tuesday, October 22, 2019, 12:30PM
- Stefan Jackiw, Violin & Jeremy Denk, Piano | Thursday, November 7, 2019, 12:30PM
- Jean-Guihen Queyras, Cello | Thursday, February 6, 2020, 12:30PM
- Dover String Quartet | Thursday, April 16, 2020, 12:30PM
Free, non-ticketed. Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall. Meditation instruction begins at noon.
The Live Music Meditation series, a partnership between PUC and the Princeton University Office of Religious Life, offers the opportunity to immerse in world-class music with the focus and mindfulness that meditation allows. Participants engage in a meditation guided by Associate Dean Matthew Weiner before hearing a half hour of music performed by musicians on PUC’s series. A conversation about the experience among audience members and musicians follows. One of PUC’s most popular offerings, the Live Music Meditation experience has been acclaimed for allowing “listening to turn into a state of pure receptivity: beginner’s ear.” (The New York Times)
ANNUAL LATE NIGHT CHAMBER JAM
with the Calidore String Quartet | Thursday, February 20, 2020, 10PM
Free, registration will open January 2020. Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall
Amateur string players of all levels and ages are invited to join the Calidore Quartet on the stage immediately following their performance on PUC’s Concert Classics series to sight read with them. Now in its ninth annual reincarnation, the Chamber Jam is a unique opportunity for musicians of all abilities to play alongside professionals. “Think of it like Roger Federer calling down a few fans from the stands at the U.S. Open to play doubles.” (The Princeton Packet) This year’s Chamber Jam will focus on the string quartet and will be led by the inaugural winners of the M-Prize, the world’s largest chamber-music prize. Past Chamber Jams have included the Chicago Symphony Winds, the East Coast Chamber Orchestra, the Escher String Quartet, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, the Takács String Quartet, the Tenebrae Choir, and members of the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel.
AT THE MOVIES
- Princeton Garden Theatre: Martha Graham: Dance on Film | Wednesday, October 2, 2019 7:30PM. Introduction by Professor Simon Morrison. Tickets available at the Princeton Garden Theatre.
- Princeton Public Library: Beethoven Lives Upstairs (film screening for kids) | Saturday, February 1, 2020 3PM. Free, non-ticketed.
- Princeton Garden Theatre: Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times | Monday, February 10, 2020 7:30PM. Tickets available at the Princeton Garden Theatre.
These three films, presented in partnership with the Princeton Garden Theatre and the Princeton Public Library, all relate to the programs and artists on PUC’s concert season. Martha Graham: Dance on Film includes footage of the choreographer’s original ballet Appalachian Spring, for which Aaron Copland wrote the music. The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will perform this music during PUC’s season-opening concert on Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 8PM. The family movie Beethoven Lives Upstairs will be screened in tribute to composer Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th anniversary of birth—a theme prevalent throughout PUC’s 2019—2020 season. And Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero will engage in a post-screening conversation about Chaplin’s Modern Times before she improvises a film score to Chaplin’s The Immigrant as part of her concert program on the Performances Up Close series on Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 6PM.
WARM UPS
Ticket-holders to performances on PUC’s Concert Classics series can arrive an hour prior to the concert to hear program-illuminating talks by renowned scholars and inspiring performances by talented students from the University community and beyond.
MORE INFORMATION
Further details about all of these programs is available online at princetonuniversityconcerts.org.
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