In honor of Czech Heritage Month, we continue our exploration of the captivating chamber music of Czech composer Antonín Dvorák, headlined by his swashbuckling, folk-inspired String Sextet. Featuring the Apollo Chamber Players with special guests Lauren Spaulding, viola, and Norman Fischer, Professor of Cello at The Shepherd School of Music, Rice University.
Performance is Thursday, October 26, 7:00 p.m. at Czech Center Museum Houston. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required due to limited seating. Complimentary valet parking is available on-site.
Czech Center Museum Houston would like to thank Diana Austin, Rev. Paul Chovanec, Adelma Graham, Sharon Schweitzer J.D., Valerie Sheppard, and William and Marie Vavrik for generously supporting our Czech Heritage Month programs.
meet the artists
APOLLO CHAMBER PLAYERS: Anabel Ramirez Detrick & Matthew J. Detrick, violins, Aria Cheregosha, viola; Matthew Dudzik, cello
Houston-based APOLLO CHAMBER PLAYERS “performs with rhythmic flair and virtuosity” (The Strad) and “recasts music for a diverse and multi-ethnic generation” (Strings Magazine) through globally-inspired programming and multicultural new music commissions. Recipient of Chamber Music America’s prestigious Residency Partnership award, the ensemble has performed for sold-out audiences at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center and is featured frequently on American Public Media’s nationally syndicated program Performance Today.
NORMAN FISCHER has concertized on five continents and in 49 of the 50 United States. He was cellist with the Concord String Quartet through its 16-year career and winner of the Naumburg Chamber Music Award, two Grammy nominations and an Emmy. Mr. Fischer is currently Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Cello and Director of Chamber Music at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston.
LAUREN SPAULDING, under the alias of @MonochromeViola, has established herself as a rising genre-defying soloist and chamber musician through her “anonymous practice blog” on Instagram. Spaulding, a Texas native, studied under the tutelage of Professor Peter Slowik at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Roger Tapping of the Juilliard String Quartet. Her dedication to social advocacy earned her the privilege of performing at the White House in 2012. As a "Champion of Change," she was recognized by President Obama for her contributions in using music as a catalyst for positive social transformation.