St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble to perform Schubert's 'cello' quintet

Acclaimed worldwide for its mastery of a diverse repertoire from Baroque to the contemporary, the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble will return to Cornell with a program that includes the beloved Quintet in C Major for two violins, viola and two cellos by Schubert on Tuesday, March 12, at 8 p.m. in Statler Auditorium.

"Music lovers are in general accord that Schubert's cello quintet is the greatest work in the chamber music repertoire," writes Melvin Berger in Guide to Chamber Music. As a part of an ongoing program and educational collaboration with Cornell, this will be St. Luke's third appearance on the Cornell Concert Series, featuring Ravel's Chansons madécasses sung by Kurt Ollmann and Introductions, Theme and Variations (on "Trockne Blumen" from Die schöne Müllerin) by Schubert.

Tickets for the concert -- from $8-$20 for adults and $8-$12 for students of any age attending any institution -- are on sale at the ticket center at Clinton House (116 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca; Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m., closed 2-3 p.m. on Saturday; call 273-4497 or 1-800-284-8422) and at the Willard Straight Hall ticket office (weekdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday, noon-5 p.m.). Tickets also are available from the Cornell Concert Series web site at www.arts.cornell.edu/ccs. Student Rush tickets for $5 will be on sale Saturday, March 9, and Monday, March 11.

The St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, New York's pre-eminent chamber group, consists of 21 virtuoso artists who perform nationally and internationally. The ensemble members form the artistic nucleus of the larger Orchestra of St. Luke's and are engaged in all of the activities of the orchestra.

These include an annual series at Carnegie Hall, a summer residency at the Caramoor International Music Festival, the St. Luke's Arts Education programs, as well as residencies, recordings, touring and special projects.

The St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble presents three series annually in New York. Standard chamber repertoire is offered on the "Signature Series," which is presented in partnership with Carnegie Hall at Weill Recital Hall, as well as being presented by the Brooklyn Museum of Art. "Second Helpings," a series of new music hosted by St. Luke's composer-in-residence Joan Tower, highlights repertoire bridging the late 20th and early 21st centuries and is performed within the galleries of Dia Center for the Arts in Chelsea. During the "Masters of the Baroque" festival each spring, ensemble members perform music of the 17th and 18th centuries at Congregation Emanu-El. A new series of Bach cantatas, called "Cantatas in Context," was introduced in 2001.