Atlanta Chamber Players tunes up for 50-year milestone season

Adds violinist Helen Hwaya Kim, “I have to echo Cathy. As time goes on in life, I treasure these concerts even more. I treasure the rehearsals. I simply love the ability to share time with even strangers in a room. That’s the beauty of live music — you can practice all you want by yourself, but then they become part of life and become meaningful when you can share them with people.”

Credit: Photo by Jordan Owen

Credit: Photo by Jordan Owen

That vision of making chamber music accessible to the people at large and extricating it from the lofty confines of conservatories and academia was at the heart of founder Paula Peace’s vision.

Peace discovered her love of chamber music as an undergraduate piano major at Florida State University. Starting a chamber music group of her own became her life’s dream, a desire that only intensified when she transferred to the State University of New York at Stony Brook and began playing in more chamber ensembles. Post graduation, Peace returned to her hometown of Atlanta to launch Atlanta Chamber Players with two State University of New York colleagues, flutist Melanie Cramer and clarinetist Robert Brown, in 1976.

Credit: Photo by Nick Arroyo

Credit: Photo by Nick Arroyo

Atlanta Chamber Players quickly began expanding its instrumental horizons, adding horns, percussion and other instruments as needed, tapping Atlanta Symphony Orchestra members.

“We were a mixed ensemble,” explains Peace. “We thought it would be more fun for us and more fun for the audience if we weren’t just a string quartet.”

The expansive repertoire included baroque trio sonatas as well as works from the classical and romantic eras.

The group also showed an early appetite for 20th century classical works, something that would go on to become part of Atlanta Chamber Players’ ethos. “It was in our blood,” says Peace. “We always envisioned that the Atlanta Chamber Players would bring a lot of new listening experiences to Atlanta audiences.”

That initial Atlanta Chamber Players lineup gave its first performance in October 1976 at Agnes Scott College, where the group had been brought on as the ensemble in residence. The evening included Mozart’s G minor piano quartet as well as George Crumb’s “Voice of the Whale,” a work for electric flute, electric cello and amplified piano meant to simulate the sound of whale songs.

Credit: Photo courtesy of Paula Peace

Credit: Photo courtesy of Paula Peace

“That’s typical, bona fide ACP,” says Peace of Atlanta Chamber Players’ decision to pair the time-honored works of Mozart with Crumb’s experimental modernism.

Active members Lynn and Kim echoed that commitment to new music. emphasizing that accessibility is paramount for Atlanta Chamber Players’ commissions.

“Always someone with an original voice,” says artistic director Elizabeth Pridgen, concurring that it can be difficult for audiences to confront the abstract experimentation that permeates much of contemporary classical. “We want it to be something that is relatively accessible. I don’t want to suggest that we want it to be dumbed down, but something that has the opportunity to be played again and really stick in the repertoire.”

Kim is quick to echo that sentiment. “I like to listen for music that makes one feel something. Melody or not, if there is intent — if a composer is really skilled at what they do — that element should come through. Is there something this music brings that can be shared with an audience?”

Adds Lynn, “Does it speak to the heart?” She points out that the ensemble does grow weary of uninspired works that have them sustaining long sequences of whole notes or, as they put it, “holding footballs,” a reference to the shape of whole notes on the staff.

The breadth and width of Atlanta Chamber Players’ vision eventually outgrew what Agnes Scott could accommodate, and it partnered with Emory University, Kennesaw State University and Georgia State University for extended residencies. The group’s presence grew by leaps and bounds in the years following its inception, and soon the Atlanta Chamber Players was playing throughout the city.

That wide reach included schools, prisons and public squares, all in the service of honoring Peace’s vision for a chamber ensemble that brought the music to the people. One of the unique cornerstones of that initiative became the group’s “soiree” series: concerts performed in beautiful homes. The relaxed setting proved popular for its intimacy and immediacy.

Overall, “our numbers were doubling each year,” recalls Peace. National and international performances became commonplace by the early 1980s, and Atlanta Chamber Players’ unofficial slogan became “have chamber music, will travel.”

After 38 years as Atlanta Chamber Players artistic director, Peace stepped down, and Pridgen took over in 2014. Having spent four decades balancing performance with administrative duties, Peace was thrilled with the move. “I could not be more proud to have Liz be my successor with my life’s work. She’s brilliant.”

Pridgen says, “Paula was kind of a one-woman show for a really long time.” Pridgen credits Atlanta Chamber Players’ newly expanded board of directors for a smooth transition. “When I came in, they had a plan for how to handle succession. It (otherwise could have been) a golden opportunity for things to fall apart.” To that end, Pridgen adopted the role of artistic director while business interests were handled by the organization’s executive director, an office now held by Melissa Klein.

Atlanta Chamber Players has been a labor of love for all involved throughout its five decades. At times, the love has been strained by the labor, but never to the breaking point. As Peace puts it: “Life was complicated. But the music was always so gratifying.”

MUSIC PREVIEW

Atlanta Chamber Players 50th anniversary schedule

Tickets available starting Sept. 1. atlantachamberplayers.com.

Credit: ArtsATL

Credit: ArtsATL

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