Enjoy Great Music at the Ironwood Theatre Thursday Evening

IRONWOOD, MI - Tuesday, June 29, 2010 - The Pine Valley Music Festival's Resident Chamber Musicians (RCMs) will present an evening of exciting chamber music on Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 7:30 PM at the Historic Ironwood Theatre, 109 East Aurora Street, Downtown Ironwood, Michigan.

"Duo Piacevole," a violin/cello duo and the "Belden Piano Quartet" will tour from Ironwood in the west to Munising in the east.

Fangye Sun, violinist, and Daniel Tressel, cellist formed Duo Piacevole in 2008 after meeting at Michigan State University, where they are both currently Doctoral candidates. A native of China, Fangye was previously appointed to a violin faculty position at Xi'an Conservatory of Music, and is currently a teaching assistant of Walter Verdehr and violin faculty at MSU Community Music School. Prizewinner of numerous competitions, Fangye holds leadership positions in several orchestras, and has performed in Japan, Canada, USA and throughout China. Daniel, a Doctoral candidate in music composition, balances his life between composing music and performing as a cellist. In addition to performing in numerous orchestras, Daniel was recently commissioned to write an orchestral work for the Mason Symphony, and his compositions have been performed in Michigan, Illinois and Nevada.

Since its inception, Duo Piacevole has worked with Walter Verdehr, Yuri Gandelsman and Diane Monroe. Continuing to explore the string duo repertoire, Duo Piacevole has actively performed in concerts and other engagements throughout the mid-Michigan area.

The Belden Piano Quartet is a newly formed group based in Los Angeles. Three of its members-Antoine, Crosby and Yi-first met and began playing chamber music in Chicago, where they attended DePaul University's School of Music on Belden Avenue (from which the piano quartet derives its name). During their time in Chicago, Antoine, Crosby, and Yi were among the founding members of an informal chamber music society, the mission of which was to provide for participating musicians an outlet through which to create the highest possible level of artistic expression in a freer and more spontaneous setting than is typically available to the classical musician of today. The intention of the group from the outset was to return to the intimacy of the environment from whence chamber music evolved-smaller gatherings in smaller venues-thereby taking it off of the removed and too often impersonal pedestal of the stage and allowing it once again to exist as a live and interactive encounter for both performers and music lovers. This society has since evolved into a group called Anaphora, which continues to perform actively in Chicago.

Antoine, Crosby and Yi parted ways in 2007 when they left Chicago, but were reunited in 2009 in Los Angeles where the three now reside. They have joined forces with violinist Matthew Detrick, and are proud to announce the birth of the Belden Quartet.

The general admission cost for the performance is $12, and the child/student admission is $10.

More info can be found on the Theatre's newly updated website at: http://www.ironwoodtheatre.net/show_schedule.html

For more info on Pine Mountain Music Festival: http://pmmf.org/