Department of Music

The McIntire Department of Music is pleased to present the 2017-2018 University of Virginia Chamber Music Series. This annual series, which presents innovative performances by the University of Virginia's world-class faculty and celebrated guest artists, is comprised of six professional performances for the University and the central Virginia community. These intimate concerts are programmed to offer both new and traditional works that will delight audiences of all musical tastes.

The series kicks off on Sunday, October 22 at 3:30 pm with Rachel Duncan performing a recital of chamber works featuring the trumpet. Joined by Shelby Sender on piano, Duncan will perform masterworks such as J.S. Bach’s Concerto in D Major, BWV 972 and Henri Tomasi’s Trumpet Concerto. Fellow music department faculty I-Jen Fang (percussion) and Daniel Sender (violin) will join Duncan to perform James Stephenson’s Vignettes for Trumpet and Percussion and Eric Ewazen’s Trio for Trumpet, Violin, and Piano.

Trumpeter Rachel Duncan, a native of Plymouth, Minnesota is currently on the faculty at the McIntire Department of Music at the University of Virginia as Lecturer in Trumpet where she also serves as the Principal Trumpet of the Charlottesville Symphony. Born into a musical family of prominent music educators, Rachel began playing trumpet at age 8. In pursuit of a career in music, Rachel was awarded a full tuition scholarship to study at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where she earned a bachelor’s of music degree under the tutelage of David Bilger. After studying at Curtis Rachel moved to Chicago to study under Barbara Butler, Charles Geyer and Christopher Martin at Northwestern University where she earned a master’s of music degree. After earning her degree at Northwestern, Rachel was awarded a position with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 2011-2013.

In 2011 Rachel performed and toured Scotland as guest principal trumpet with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and recorded two commercially released recordings for the Dutton Epoch Records label. She has performed as guest principal trumpet of the Charleston Symphony, the Peoria Symphony and the Dubuque Symphony and has performed with the trumpet sections of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Richmond Symphony, Illinois Symphony, Symphony in C, and The New World Symphony.

Devoted to chamber music as well, Rachel is a founding member of the brass ensemble New Chicago Brass. She has also had the privilege of performing alongside Yo-Yo Ma and members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s chamber music concert series, and been invited to perform with MusicNOW, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s new music ensemble.

Rachel has performed at numerous prestigious music festivals including The Pacific Music Festival in Japan, The Spoleto Music Festival in Charleston, The Aspen Music Festival and The National Repertoire Orchestra. In addition to ensemble playing, she has been recognized for her solo performances, receiving first prize at the Schubert Club Scholarship competition and the National Trumpet Competition. Rachel is married to jazz trumpeter/composer, Greg Duncan.

Described as an “intrepid percussionist” by Fanfare Magazine, I-Jen Fang has a career as a solo performer, chamber musician, orchestral player, and teacher.  She joined the faculty of the McIntire Department of Music at the University of Virginia in 2005 and as Principal Timpanist and Percussionist of the Charlottesville Symphony.

As a soloist, I-Jen has performed as a marimba soloist in Taiwan, U.S., Austria, France, Hungary, Romania, and South Africa.  She was also the featured marimba soloist with the Charlottesville Symphony in 2006 and 2010. As a chamber musician, I-Jen has performed or recorded with artists such as Keiko Abe, William Cahn, Christopher Deane, Mark Ford, Heini Kärkkäinen, Mike Mainieri, Jan Müller-Szeraws, Diane Pascal, Carsten Schmidt, Ed Smith, Michael Spiro, NanikWenton, Nyoman Wenton, Attacca Percussion Group, and DaCapo Chamber Players.  She has appeared in Heritage Theater Festival, Staunton Music Festival, University of Virginia Chamber Music Series, Percussive Arts Society International Convention and Regional PAS Day of Percussion.  

An advocate of New Music, I-Jen is currently the director of the UVA New Music Ensemble.  The ensemble has recently collaborated with composer/improviser George Lewis, and performed for composers such as Phillip Glass and Christian Wolff.  She has also commissioned and/or premiered works by Matthew Burtner, Ted Coffey, Kevin Davis, Christopher Deane, Erik DeLuca, Aurie Hsu, Sarah O’Halloran, Chris Peck, Judith Shatin, Brian Simalchik, Ed Smith, and D.J. Sparr.  

Born in Taipei, Taiwan, I-Jen began her musical education at age six taking piano. Taking up percussion at the age of nine, she came to the United States at age fifteen to pursue her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Percussion Performance at Carnegie Mellon University.  She received her Master of Music degree from Northwestern University and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Texas where she served as a teaching fellow.

Shelby Sender received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance at the University of Maryland in 2013.  She is active as both a solo and collaborative pianist.  In 2015, she performed at the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and in 2016 she gave a concert at the Hungarian Ambassador's Residence.  A faculty member of Crescendo, a classical music festival located in Tokaj, Hungary each summer, she is also a co-founder and the accompanist for Mosaic Children's Choir in Charlottesville.  In March 2012, she performed in Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall as a part of the Adamant School of Music's 70th Anniversary Concert.  Shelby was featured in a 2011 festival at Ithaca College commemorating the 200th anniversary of Franz Liszt's birth, and she recently gave world premieres of works by Walter Gieseking at the American Musicological Society's 2009 annual conference.  She was the concert accompanist for the Washington Youth Choir from 2008-2009, and has appeared on multiple occasions with the Annapolis Chamber Players.  Shelby can be heard on a Centaur recording of unpublished works by Walter Gieseking, playing both solo and chamber music.  

As an alternate for a Fulbright Grant to Hungary, she studied during the 2010/2011 academic year under Kálmán Dráfi at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest.  In Hungary, she gave performances in Bartók Hall at the Institute for Musicology, and the Régi Zeneakadémia at the Franz Liszt Memorial House and Museum.  In 2011, she was invited to perform at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt and the Universität der Kunste and as a part of the European Fulbright Conference.

Shelby received her Master of Music degree from the University of Maryland and her Bachelor of Music degree from Ithaca College.  Until recently, she was the coordinator for the class piano program at the University of Maryland, where she also taught class piano and gave private lessons to piano minors.  She currently maintains a private studio in Central Virginia.  Recent teachers include Bradford Gowen, Read Gainsford, and Jennifer Hayghe.

Daniel Sender enjoys a diverse musical career and has appeared in concerts throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and China.  A frequent guest soloist and principal artist with chamber and symphony orchestras throughout the region, Dr. Sender currently serves as concertmaster of the Charlottesville Symphony, Charlottesville Opera and the Virginia Consort.

Dr. Sender was a Fulbright Scholar in Budapest and attended the Franz Liszt Academy of Music as a student of Vilmos Szabadi.  He was formerly the first violinist of the Adelphi String Quartet, which held a fellowship residency at the University of Maryland, and was for four years the violinist of the Annapolis Chamber Players.  Dr. Sender has recorded for Centaur, Sono Luminus, Bifrost and other independent labels.

As a chamber musician, Dr. Sender has had the pleasure of performing with members of the Audubon Quartet, Axelrod and Left Bank quartets and spent two years working intensively under the mentorship of the Guarneri Quartet. Chamber concerts have taken him to venues around the world including the Kennedy Center, Hungarian Embassy, Bartók Hall of the Erdödy Palace (Budapest), Smithsonian Museum of American History, Universität der Kunste (Berlin) and the Museum of Fine Arts (Montreal).

A native of Philadelphia, Dr. Sender attended Ithaca College, the University of Maryland, the Liszt Academy (Budapest) and the Institute for European Studies (Vienna).  His primary teachers include Vilmos Szabadi, Arnold Steinhardt, David Salness, René Staar, and Gerald Fischbach. He is on the performance faculty of the University of Virginia’s McIntire Department of Music and also holds a faculty position at Interlochen’s Adult Chamber Music Camp.

Tickets for all concerts are $15 general admission, $13 for UVA Faculty and Staff, $8 for students, and are free for UVA students who reserve in advance and for those under 18.  Tickets can be purchased by calling the Arts Box Office at 434.924.3376, or by visiting artsboxoffice.virginia.edu. 

For additional information, please visit http://music.virginia.edu/uvacms.

All programs are subject to change.