Tickets
Free UVA Student Tickets
$15 General / $13 UVA Faculty & Staff / $5 Students / Free for UVA Students who reserve in advance / Free for students under 18.
The UVA Chamber Music Series continues its 2024–2025 season with the fourth Faculty Recital on Sunday, February 16, 2025, at 3:30 PM in Old Cabell Hall, located at the University of Virginia.
This extraordinary recital will feature violist Ayn Balija alongside pianist Shelby Sender in a program inspired by the intimacy and richness of family and folk traditions. Through the works of Bariş Kerem Bahar, Johannes Brahms, Reena Esmail, and Amanda Harberg, the performers will bring to life the musical memories and stories that connect us across cultures and generations.
The audience will be transported into vivid sonic worlds: experiencing the vibrant flavors of the Black Sea region, drifting to sleep with a grandmother’s lullaby, catching fireflies on a summer night, and falling in love with the lush, evocative sounds of the viola.
Don’t miss this enchanting afternoon of music that celebrates the beauty of shared history, culture, and storytelling through sound.
PROGRAM
TOMRİS and The Black Sea for solo viola, Op. 1
Bariş Kerem Bahar (b. 1984)
Philadelphia Suite
Amanda Harberg (b. 1973)
Jhula Juhle for viola and piano
Reena Esmail (b. 1983)
Sonata for Viola and Piano in E-flat Major, Op. 120, No. 2
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
*Subject to change
Ayn Balija
Associate Professor of Viola at the University of Virginia, Ayn Balija leads a musically rich life through performance and instruction. Maintaining a studio and coaching chamber music, she serves as the Principal Violist of the Charlottesville Symphony at the University of the Virginia and violist of the Rivanna String Quartet.
As a professional violist, Dr. Balija performs solo, chamber, and orchestral works around the country. She soloed with the Charlottesville Symphony and Faculty Orchestra of the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts. While a member of the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, she performed Classical and commissioned works, recording two CDs under the Summit label. She regularly performs with the Richmond Symphony, Williamsburg Symphony, and Roanoke Symphony and add collaborates for chamber music with the Tennessee Governors School for the Arts and Yachats Music Festival. Dr. Balija was invited to tour with the Pittsburgh Symphony on their East Coast Tour including a performance at Carnegie Hall. As a supporter and performer of new music, she was part of a consortium for Fernghetti, by Libby Larsen, commissioned and premiered Jorge Variego’s Enviaolo for viola and piano as well as performed and recorded numerous orchestral premieres.
Further information, including all featured artists, will be available on January 12th, 2025.
The UVA Chamber Music Series, presenting innovative performances by the University of Virginia's world-class performance 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 the novice as well as the well-tempered critic. The UVA Chamber Music Series is directed by Jiyeon Choi.
To see all concerts in the series, please visit https://music.virginia.edu/uvacms.
Tickets are $15 General / $13 UVA Faculty & Staff / $5 Students / Free for UVA Students who reserve in advance / Free for students under 18. Tickets are available at the UVA Arts Box Office by calling 434.924.3376, or by visiting artsboxoffice.virginia.edu. Individual tickets will also be available at the door one hour prior to the concert. UVA students need to reserve their tickets 24 hours in advance at the UVA Arts Box Office student ticket portal.
Old Cabell Hall is located on the south end of UVA’s historic lawn, directly opposite the Rotunda (map). Parking is available in the central grounds parking garage on Emmet Street, in the C1 parking lot off McCormick Rd, and in the parking lots at the UVA Corner. Handicap parking is available in the small parking lot adjacent to Bryan Hall.
All programs are subject to change.
For more information, please call the Department of Music at 434.924.3052 or e-mail music@virginia.edu.