Sunday, January 30, 2:30 p.m., St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 411 W. 11th St., Michigan City, IN

The Michigan City Chamber Music Festival is proud to announce another LIVE, FREE concert!  On January 30, 2:30 p.m., cst, at St. Mary’s church in Michigan City, we will present a program of the masters; J.S. Bach’s “Chaccone” for solo violin, Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Sonata for French horn & piano, and Johannes Brahms’ great “Trio for violin, French horn, & piano.”  We are happy to welcome back Nic Orbovich, violin; Robert Auler, piano, and Anna Mayne, French horn.  A “Meet the Artists” reception will immediately follow the concert at the St. Mary’s Artists Studios next door!  See www.MCCMF.org or MC Chamber Fest on Facebook for more information.

The New York Times commends Robert Auler’s playing for its “extraordinary rhythmic clarity and expression.” American Record Guide cites his “elegant tone and uncanny sense of voicing.” The Charlotte Observer writes that Auler handles “technical and virtuosic concerns with aplomb.” Auler’s playing has also been described as “beautiful” (Fanfare), “superb,” (Ann Arbor News) “stunning” (LaPorte Herald-Argus) “first-rate” (Cincinnati News-Record), “truly electrifying” (Champaign-Urbana News- Gazette) and “a knockout.” (Syracuse Post-Standard.)

Auler has won first prize in national and international piano competitions, including the Society of American Musicians and the Stravinsky Awards.  Auler has performed on six continents, including performances throughout the United States, Canada, Argentina, Venezuela, Germany, Austria, Holland, France, Denmark, the Czech Republic, China, South Africa and New Zealand. Notable venues include Carnegie Hall, Teatro Colon, and Shanghai Symphony Hall.

Auler has performed in notable summer music festivals including the Aspen Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, the Monadanock Festival, the Michigan City Chamber Music Festival, the Saugatuck Chamber Music Festival, Nantucket Musical Arts Society, and Festival A Tiempo Caracas (Venezuela).

He has collaborated with composers such as Steve Reich, Aaron Jay Kernis, Carter Pann, and George Tsontakis, and with world-class ensembles such as the Ying Quartet, MIRO Quartet and Sybarite5.

Auler is also the founder and executive director of Laveck Concerts, a recital series that brings world-class classical music to an underserved portion of upstate New York.

Auler records for Albany Records, performs frequently with Society for New Music, and Syracuse Symphoria, and serves as Professor of Piano at the State University of New York (Oswego). He and wife Tara have a 4-year old daughter, Katie, and a 1-year old daughter, Caroline.

Originally from El Paso, Texas, hornist Anna Mayne, joined the Northeastern Illinois University faculty in January of 2012. She is amember of the South Bend and Illinois Symphonies, and actively freelances throughout the tri-state area. Ms. Mayne has played with the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra; the Milwaukee Symphony; the Green Bay Symphony; the Northwest Indiana Symphony; the New Philharmonic Orchestra; Chicago Sinfonietta; Mannheim Steamroller; the Marin Symphony; the El Paso Symphony; El Paso Opera; the Southwest Symphony (NM); Chicago Arts Orchestra; and the Oistrach Orchestra.

An avid chamber musician, she has been a member of the CINCO Brass Quintet since 1998. As a member of CINCO, Ms. Mayne was a semi-finalist at the Carmel, Coleman, and Fischoff National Chamber Music Competitions. In 2003, CINCO was the first ensemble to be invited to take part in the Chicago Chamber Musicians (CCM) Professional Development Program which partnered CINCO with members of CCM on several subscription concerts and live radio broadcasts on WFMT (98.7). CINCO has performed all over Chicago, most notably at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, the Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier, the Rush Hour Concert Series at St. James Cathedral, and the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Ms. Mayne’s principal teachers include William Barnewitz, Dale Clevenger, Robert Ward, and Gail Williams. She received fellowships to attend the Colorado College Summer Chamber Music Festival; the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival; and the Aspen Music Festival.

Her playing has been critically acclaimed, and she can be heard on several recording labels, including the Arsis label and most notably on Albany Records with the Houston Grand Opera and the New Black Music Repertory Ensemble. In addition to her busy performance schedule, she maintains private horn studios throughout the Chicagoland area.

As a performer, Nic Orbovich has been honored widely.  In 1987, he was awarded the Bronze Medal at Her Royal Majesty’s International Festival Competition in Aberdeen, Scotland (UK).  Orbovich was also a semi-finalist at the 1995 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition as a member of the Amherst String Quartet.  In 2001, he was featured as a soloist on the Grammy Award nominated release, “The Hot Springs Music Festival:  Louis Moreau Gottschalk” (Naxos).  That same year, Nic was a prominent figure in the Emmy Award winning documentary, “The Sound of Dreams.”  In 2008, Nic was concertmaster on a “Top Ten of the Year” selection of Gramophone Magazine, “Rudolf Haken; Concertos” (Naxos).  He has soloed with numerous orchestras around the country, having performed concertos and brilliante works by Wieniawski, Vieuxtemps, Sarasate, J.S. Bach, Beethoven, and Vivaldi

He enjoys a reputation as an outstanding recording artist in many genres.  Besides the aforementioned Grammy nominee and Gramophone magazine award winner, Nic appears in “The Hot Springs Music Festival; Creole Romantic Composers” (2001-Naxos), “Music of Jerome Moross” (2002-Naxos), “Music of Jerome Starer” (1997-Albany), and appears on an album of jazz violinist Diane Delin.

As an orchestral performer, his work is prolific.  Nic has been concertmaster of the South Bend Symphony, the Hot Springs Festival Orchestra, the Southwest Michigan Symphony, the LaPorte Symphony, the Lake Shore Symphony and many others.  In this role, he has performed on stage with some of the most acclaimed names in classical music.  Some of those names include; Itzhak Perlman, Yo Yo Ma, Gidon Kremer, Joshua Bell, Andre Watts, Hilary Hahn, Lang Lang, Garrick Ohlson, Shlomo Mintz, Daniel Barenboim, Lorin Maazel, Leonard Slatkin, and Sir Georg Solti.  Currently, he holds the Principal Second Violin chair with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra (SBSO), where he is also a member of the SBSO String Quartet and String Quintet, performing over 20 concerts a year with those chamber ensembles.

Nic’s favorite form of musical expression is through chamber music.

 His involvement with existing ensembles and musicians is prodigious.  He has coached with Rostislav Dubinsky (Borodin String Quartet), Alexander Schneider (Budapest Quartet), and Alan Grishman (Mendelssohn String Quartet).  Orbovich has performed chamber music with Rachel Barton Pine, Christopher O’Reilly, Nathan Gunn, Nancy Ambrose King, members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, and the Pittsburgh Symphony.  His performances of chamber music have been featured on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today.”

He is the co-founder (with wife Sunny) of the Michigan City Chamber Music Festival, which performs every August here at 1st Presbyterian (MCCMF), and performs as violinist in their annual concerts.  Through his leadership and dedication, the MCCMF is quickly becoming recognized as one of the country’s best chamber music festivals.   In 2013, he was the guest speaker at the Indiana Suzuki Teachers Conference, where he delivered an address on the importance of teaching chamber music to young musicians.

Orbovich is equally dedicated to music education.  He has been on the faculties of Valparaiso University, Andrews University, Bethel College, Illinois Valley Community College, the Hot Spring Music Festival, and the Donald A. Dake Chamber Music Academy.  Currently, Nic has a thriving private violin/viola studio in Michigan City, IN.  In 2005, his private studio produced the 1st, 3rd, and 5th prize winners at the Indiana All-State String Competition; the first studio to achieve such a feat!  As a member of the South Bend Symphony String Quartet and Quintet, he performs 25 interactive and educational concerts for school children each year.  During the aforementioned Michigan City Chamber Music Festival, he facilitates daily presentations for elementary-aged students at the local public library during the week-long event.  He also has taken the “Every Child Can”  pre-Suzuki school training, which specializes in early childhood musical development.

Future projects include his first solo recording, “Americana”, with production starting later this year.

Nic has garnered much attention in the “pop” genre as well.  He has performed on stage with such popular artists as Rod Stewart, Amy Grant, Michael Bolton, Clay Aiken, Mannheim Steamroller, Arturo Sandoval, Tony Bennett, the Duke Ellington Big Band, Frank Sinatra Jr., Bobby Vinton, the Moody Blues, Yanni, Roger Daltry, Kansas, Melissa Manchester, Ben E. King, Tito Puente Jr., Ben Vereen, the Platters, the Ink Spots, and Barbara Mandrell, just to name a few.

The MCCMF is especially excited to open this new partnership at a new location for a performance. Saint Mary’s Catholic Church is in Michigan City, IN!  After the performance, we will return to our tradition of “Meet the Artists” receptions!  The reception will take place right next door to the church in the Saint Mary’s Artist Studios.  Light refreshments will be available, and besides having the opportunity to meet our musicians, the many fine artists will have their studios open for public view!  Many wonderful works of art will be available for display and sale.  The Saint Mary’s resale shop and Food Pantry will also be open for this collaborative event.

For more information, see www.mccmf.org, at Facebook, MC Chamber Fest, or (219) 561-1939.

MCCMF – Michigan City Chamber Music Festival is committed equally to quality and education; the Festival provides classes for students and informal demonstrations for parents and their children.   In achieving these goals, the MCCMF seeks to enhance the reputation of Michigan City and the surrounding areas as a center of cultural activity.