Cellist returns for Sunday concert series

Cape Girardeau's only classical chamber music series will return Sunday with a repeat performance from one of last season's most popular artists, Mira Frisch.

The Sundays at Three concert Sunday at Old St. Vincent's Church will be the first performance of 2007. The program will feature cellist Frisch, a faculty member at Truman State University, performing with Sundays at Three founder Brandon Christensen on violin, touring violinist Anna Cromwell and touring viola player Laura Reycraft. The centerpiece of the program will be the well-known "American" Quartet by Antonin Dvorak, complemented by Frisch and Cromwell performing a set of duos for cello and violin.

Frisch tours extensively across the United States and has overseas performances booked in the coming year, Christensen said.

Christensen said a performance last season featuring Frisch drew in a large crowd, which he expects again. Over the past few weeks the performers have been meeting for rehearsals in St. Louis and in Kirksville, where they will play at Truman State Friday night.

"She's a fantastic cellist," Christensen said of Frisch. "She's young and energetic, and she brings a lot of energy to the performance."

The intimate nature of the chamber music series will give the audience a chance to feel that energy up close, he said.

"You feel a much more personal connection with the performers," Christensen said. Bringing that intimate atmosphere was Christensen's goal when he started Sundays at Three, which is now in its fourth season.

At the time Cape Girardeau had no classical chamber music series and Southeast Missouri State University faculty member Christensen, a chamber music fan himself, wanted to fill that void.

"There wasn't anything here, and this is sort of the focus of my performing career, chamber music," Christensen said. Anyone who wanted to hear live chamber music had to drive hours to get it, he said.

Since then attendance has grown, and Christensen said the series now claims "a small but mighty core audience" of anywhere from 75 to more than 120 at each show. Christensen has built the series by combining performances from university faculty and students and touring performers like Frisch, who Christensen said is one of the most well-known cellists in the Midwest.

Dr. Gary Miller, director of the university's School of Visual and Performing Arts, has nothing but praise for the event, which isn't an official university offering.

"What is very interesting, as I look across the concert-going group for that series, sure you see some of the people you see at the symphony series, but it seems to bring out a different clientele," said Miller, who is also a fan of Sundays at Three. "It's fulfilling a need for a particular part of our listening audience in the Southeast Missouri area."

Miller added that people from all around the region, not just the immediate Cape Girardeau area, make the trip to watch Sundays at Three faithfully.

The university also benefits from the series, as students and faculty get exposure to the touring artists and a chance to perform in the chamber music setting for the public. Frisch will offer a public master class for music majors at 4 p.m. Monday at the university's Brandt Hall.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182