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Faculty Select Series presents Ronen Chamber Ensemble Thursday
The Indianapolis-based Ronen Chamber Ensemble will come to DePauw University Thursday, Nov. 20 as part of the Faculty Select Concert series at 7:30 p.m. in the Green Center's Thompson Recital Hall.
Since the ensemble's inception in 1983, Ronen has been co-directed by Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's principal clarinetist David Bellman and ISO cellist Ingrid Fischer-Bellman.
Other musicians of ensemble are also drawn primarily from the ranks of the ISO -- including Charles Morey, the newest member of orchestra's violin section; Ju-Fnag Liu, ISO's principal bassist; and Jack Brennan, the principal timpanist with the ISO.
Pianist Gregory Martin, whose performances many will remember from his years on the DePauw School of Music faculty, joined the ensemble in 2014 as a Ronen co-director and collaborative artist. Joining him on the opening piece of Thursday's program -- Handel's Sonata for Two Cellos and Piano -- will be none other than colleague, DePauw faculty member and local cellist Eric Edberg.
Designed to showcase the ensemble's talents in a wide array of music for winds and strings, Ronen's repertoire ranges from Morton Gould's "Benny's Gig," (originally composed for the "king of swing" clarinetist Benny Goodman), to Brahms's classic "Clarinet Trio in A Minor."
New music is always a staple of Ronen concerts, with more than 20 works having been commissioned and premiered by the ensemble during its 30 seasons. Of particular interest to area audiences will be DePauw music professor James A. Beckel's composition Dialogues for Clarinet, Violin, Piano, Bass and Percussion, commissioned by the group in 2012 for a winner of the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis.
"Ronen is a great ensemble, and it is an honor to have my piece performed by them," says Beckel, whose works will also be presented on two upcoming concerts by the DePauw Band (3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23) and the DePauw Orchestra (7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24), creating a kind of impromptu Jim Beckel Festival this week at the School of Music.
Following Thursday's performance, there will be a post-concert presentation in which members of Ronen, joined by Beckel, will discuss aspects of operating a chamber ensemble, including marketing, fundraising, grant writing, as well as commissioning and
premiering new works.
General admission tickets to the Faculty Select series are $5. Tickets for seniors, children and all students are free thanks to season sponsors Judson and Joyce Green.
To obtain tickets, visit www.depauw.edu/music/tickets, stop by or call the GCPA box office at 658-4827.