GREENEVILLE – Tusculum University is hosting Des Amis Chamber Ensemble, a group of distinguished musicians, for an evening performance that will include music from Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven.
The charming event, called “Chamber Music with Some Friends,” will be held Thursday, March 21, at 7 p.m. in the Annie Hogan Byrd Auditorium. To provide a more intimate atmosphere for the performance, audience members will be able to sit on stage in addition to the regular auditorium seats.
Playing will be a three-member ensemble – Eugene Jones on the clarinet, Sean Hawthorne on the cello and Wayne Johnson on the piano. They will be playing the following:
- “Suite No. 1 in G major for solo cello” by Bach
- “A sonata for clarinet and piano” by Bill Douglas
- “Romance opus 24 No. 9” by Jean Sibelius
- “Liebestraum” by Franz Liszt
- “Trio in Bb major opus 11” by Beethoven
Jones earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in clarinet performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He has been a member of the San Antonio Symphony and the Maine Opera Association. He was principal clarinetist with the Portland, Maine, Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and has appeared in chamber music performances with the Boston Pro Arte Quartet, the Portland String Quartet, the New England Piano Quartet and the Haydn Festival Orchestra.
Hawthorne has earned international acclaim for his achievements as a chamber musician, orchestral musician, soloist and educator. In 2018, he was appointed assistant professor of cello at East Tennessee State University. He received his doctor of musical arts from Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, after earning a bachelor’s degree from The Julliard School in New York City and a master’s degree from the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague. He has performed with the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada, the Royal Philharmonic in London and the Residentie Orkest in The Hague.
Johnson has performed as piano soloist, accompanist and chamber musician throughout the United States and has also played in Canada, Europe and Latin America. He was a professor of piano and music history and served as chair of keyboard studies at Seattle Pacific University from 1977-2014. He is a recording artist on the Crystal and Victoriana labels. Johnson received his master’s and his doctor of musical arts degrees in piano performance from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.
“We are thrilled to offer this enchanting evening of chamber music for our guests and contribute to Tusculum’s reputation as a first-class location for the arts,” Jones said. “This event is an excellent way to watch the individual artists shine with their musical abilities while also seeing us perform seamlessly as a team. We encourage everyone to join us.”
Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors 60 and older and $5 for children 12 and younger. Reservations can be made by calling 423-798-1620 or emailing Jennifer Hollowell with Tusculum Arts Outreach at jhollowell@tusculum.edu. Payment is by cash and check.