melange \may-LAHNZH\, noun:
A mixture; a medley.
Etymology:
In Modern French, mélange is a masculine noun referring to a mixture or blend—especially of chemicals and such potables as wine and coffee; melange is also a loanword in Modern English with the same meaning. Mélange is the modern form of the Old French noun meslance, which comes from the infinitive mêler, meaning "to mix."Melange is a new chamber ensemble in Chicago, formed by violist Sharon Chung and violinist Adam Liebert.
We came to play with each other in the fall of 2004 through mutual friends. And well, recently, we needed a change and thus, Melange was born.
Our debut as an ensemble will occur Tuesday night, February 27, 2007 at 8 pm at Julius Meinl Coffeehouse at the corner of Addison and Southport in Chicago, mere blocks away from Wrigley Field.
And in true meaning of the word "melange", we will present a string quartet potpourri, featuring the talents of Erica Dicker on violin and Alexa Muhly on cello. Music by Schubert, Puccini, Haydn, Borodin, Dvorak, and more will be performed. Admission is free, just have a seat, order some coffee or dessert and enjoy!
Meanwhile, you can catch Sharon and friends playing at Julius Meinl on January 19th and 27th from 8-11 pm.
And now, for some more information about us:
Violist Sharon Chung enjoys an active life as a chamber and orchestral musician. She has been co-principal viola of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, assistant principal viola of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and spent two summers with the National Repertory Orchestra, as principal violist and a featured soloist in Richard Strauss’ Don Quixote. Sharon currently performs with the New Millenium Orchestra. Sharon is on the faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago, where she teaches Suzuki violin and viola and Musikgarten. She also coordinates and coaches for the chamber music program at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. As a chamber musician, she has performed in master classes for members of the Alban Berg, Cleveland, Tokyo, and Pacifica String Quartets. Sharon graduated magna cum laude from Illinois Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Music degree in performance. She also holds a Masters of Music degree from Northwestern University, where she studied with Roland Vamos. Sharon, like many Chicagoans, has a deep obsession with the Cubs and perpetually believes they just might have a chance this year. You may also find her lurking in Andersonville drinking good Belgian beer, or at home deciphering the mysteries of "Lost."
Violinist Adam Liebert divides his time between Michigan and Illinois. He has been a member of the Grand Rapids Symphony since 1999 and freelances in the Chicagoland area. After earning his Bachelor of Music from Western Michigan University, He spent two years in Karlsruhe, Germany studying with Ulf Hoelscher and Helena Bondarenko. Adam toured the Far East and Eastern Europe with the Philharmonie der Nationen and participated in several CD productions for the Heidelberger Symphoniker. He has attended the Encore and Bravo summer festivals as well as the Festival of Art and Music of Londrina, Brazil and the National Orchestral Institute in Maryland. Adam is a founding member of the Fulton Chamber Ensemble in Michigan. His teachers include Renata Knific, Paul Kantor, Almita Vamos and most recently Shmuel Ashkenasi. Aside from violin, he enjoys computing, TV watching, biking, playing the movie trivia game “Scene It” and is the proud owner of no pets.
