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Chamber Music Society of Detroit expands season By Nicole Stafford, staff writer In its 62nd season, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit is more popular than ever. Subscriptions to the annual concert series have sold out in recent years, so the non-profit organization has decided to expand its offerings. An additional three-concert series has been added to the regular season, a nine-concert series that opens Saturday with performances by the Shanghai String Quartet and Guarneri String Quartet at the Seligman Performing Arts Center at Detroit Country Day School in Beverly Hills. "Our purpose is to satisfy public demand. We're happy that we're so successful, and we really don't want to turn people away," said Lois Beznos, Chamber Music Society of Detroit's president. "Whether chamber music in and of itself is becoming popular, I don't know. But what we've discovered is that many people are thrilled to come to concerts at the level at which we present them right in their own neighborhood." All concerts take place in the intimate 724-seat Seligman Performing Arts Center in the heart of Oakland County, yet the series boasts a lineup of prominent and nationally known artists. Several educational lectures led by the evening's featured artist precede the concerts. "When these artists perform in cities like New York, you don't have the opportunity to see them do a pre-concert lecture. What the people are getting here is really quite extraordinary, and the people are aware of it. That's why we're sold out," Beznos said. Special reception events and the Society Cafe where patrons can gather for refreshments before concerts and during intermission add to the sense of community that permeates the setting, said Beznos. "And it's a very friendly audience. It readily welcomes new people, and we have lots of social and reception events." In assembling each season's program, Beznos takes into account audience feedback, while striving to present a mix of popular performers and new ensembles - always with an eye toward a diverse program in terms of works presented and instrumentation. Several new performers are scheduled this year, including pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard (Oct. 15), The English Concert with violinist and leader Andrew Manze (Nov. 12) and cellist Matt Haimovitz, who will perform Bach's complete unaccompanied cello suites (Feb. 11). "We like to expose our audiences to new opportunities," said Beznos. "The audience has come to trust us. They know it's going to be an excellent concert, even if they haven't heard of the artist." |
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