The recent state of the Louisville Orchestra may have created a dark cloud over the classical arts in Louisville, but concert goers can still support classical music in other ways. There are still many other wonderful music opportunities in the community for classical music goers to enjoy.
Those listeners who enjoy baroque music will find Louisville’s Period Instrument Ensemble, Bourbon Baroque, to have an excellent selection of concerts to attend. Bourbon Baroque specializes in music from the 17th and 18th century and performs in a variety of different venues and settings including orchestral, choral/operatic, and chamber.
Louisville has an abundant chamber music scene. The University of Louisville offers a concert series through their Chamber Music Society. All performances are held on Sundays at 3pm in Comstock Hall at the University of Louisville School of Music. Pricing for these concerts are as follows: regular season tickets are $90, season tickets for students are $15, single tickets for non-subscribers are $25, and single tickets for college students are $5.
The Kentucky Center Chamber Players also performs chamber music of varying styles, genres, and instrumentation regularly in Comstock Hall at the University of Louisville, Stem Concert Hall at Indiana University Southeast, and at other less formal venues in the area. KCCP does not have a 2011-2012 concert series (will resume 2012-2013), but you can look forward to their upcoming CD of new music for mixed chamber ensemble called “Four on the Floor” sometime this fall.
For a more laid back and free chamber music experience, Classical Revolution Louisville offers a jam session for local, classical musicians in a chamber music environment. The goal of Classical Revolution is to make live chamber music open and accessible to the community in a fun environment.
There are also the larger, better known resident arts organizations, the Kentucky Opera and Louisville Ballet, which you may still enjoy. The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts will also be bringing in the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields with Joshua Bell on April 18, 2012 in Whitney Hall.
While the Louisville Orchestra may not be available to feed your classical music appetite at this time, hopefully in the near future we will see the Louisville Orchestra rejoin the music community. Until then, there are many other opportunities for you to keep supporting classical music.
Photo: Courtesy Dr. Joanna Goldstein
