Chesapeake Chamber Music February 5th Concert Features Three Extraordinary Young Musicians
Three extraordinary young classical musicians will perform at Easton’s Ebenezer Theater on February 5th at 2 p.m. Violinist Randall Goosby, violist Natalie Loughran, and pianist Zhu Wang will present a concert of varied works, ranging from Mozart’s iconic Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola to Florence Price’s recently-rediscovered two Fantasies for violin and piano. Chesapeake Chamber Music patrons will remember that Randall and Zhu inaugurated Chesapeake Music’s Rising Stars concert series just as they were beginning their rapid ascent to international acclaim.
New to Chesapeake Music audiences is violist Natalie Loughran. In 2021, she won first prize at the prestigious Primrose International Viola Competition, and she has performed extensively with the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra and toured internationally with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, directed by Ivan Fischer. In a 2021 interview, Natalie recounted her musical collaboration with Randall Goosby, “I’m inspired by him every day! He’s doing amazing things and has an important voice right now. We have been rehearsing Sinfonia Concertante together – hopefully, we will play it somewhere someday!”
That day will be February 5th at the Ebenezer Theater in Easton, where Natalie will also perform Schumann’s Fantasiestücke with Zhu Wang.
Randall Goosby, protégé of Itzhak Perlman and Catherine Cho, Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival artistic director, is now an international star and has debuted with the world’s most important orchestras. This past summer, he gave a sensational performance of Florence Price’s two violin concertos with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In 2020, Decca Classics signed Randall and sponsored his and Zhu Wang’s debut album, Roots, which features music by African American composers. Reflecting on the album, Randall stated, “For me, music has always been a way to inspire others. It’s part of my quest as an artist to amplify Black voices in classical music, bringing heightened recognition to this incredible music.”
And when the upcoming live concert engagement in Easton was finalized, Randall exclaimed, “It was such a joy to present a virtual Rising Stars program for Chesapeake Music last season, especially given that we were all isolated due to COVID. Now that we’ve all adjusted to our new normal, Zhu and I are thrilled to perform ‘live – in person,’ this time joined by the incredible violist Natalie Loughran. We hope you’ll join us on Sunday, February 5th at the Ebenezer Theater in Easton, as we bring a dynamic and varied program to our friends at Chesapeake Music!“
The third performer in this concert’s ensemble, pianist Zhu Wang, is a post-baccalaureate Artist Diploma student of Robert McDonald at the Curtis Institute of Music. He won first prize at the 2020 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York. The New York Times praised Zhu as “a superb pianist” and “a thoughtful, sensitive performer,” and other reviewers have praised his “technical mastery and deep sense of lyricism.” Zhu has performed in partnership with Randall since 2019, and, as a duo, they have been acclaimed for the sensitivity and intensity of their musicianship. Zhu will begin the February 5th concert with Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme by Corelli.
Tickets for this concert can be purchased at chesapeakemusic.org.