Charlottesville has impressive music credentials. Huge international acts squeeze themselves into our little town so often that it’s easy to become a bit blasé about it. But the savvy chamber music connoisseur clears their calendar when the Tuesday Evening Concert Series kicks off in the fall. The series exists as one of the premier venues for chamber music worldwide, and its prodigious age hasn’t slowed it down a bit.
The classical series got its start in 1948, wisely housing itself in UVA’s Old Cabell Hall. Internationally lauded as one of the genre’s finest performance spaces for its acoustics and intimacy, one could argue it as the source of the series’ power, but then one would be selling TECS too short: the artists come for the venue, but they stay for the management.
Karen Pellón, executive director since 1991, honors a history of devoted stewards and has built a legacy on developing the trust of classical patrons. Pellón, along with her team, vets each and every performer taking the stage, exacting a highly discriminating standard for every season and every individual performance. But more than keeping the seat warm, Pellón rises to the challenge of contextualizing the music for the newer generations, making experimental and progressive inroads into the predominately conservative art form. The new season begins on October 9 and a complete list of performances is available at tecs.org.
Tuesday 10/9 Cabell Hall Auditorium, University of Virginia 8pm