Enchanted Music Series at the Stone Chalet.

We invite you to enjoy an evening with world class musicians up and close with an intimate and immersive experience within the walls of Ann Arbor’s historic and enchanting Stone Chalet mansion. Guests will have the opportunity to ask questions about the artists’ musical careers and aspirations as well as enjoy light refreshments. VIP tickets will be invited to mingle with the artist after the performance in the formal dining room over cake and coffee or tea.

On Saturday, February 4th cellist Sophie Shao, winner of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and top prizes at the Rostropovich and Tchaikovsky competitions will be joined by piano star Amy I-Lin Cheng on an impressive brand new German Schimmel K219 Konzert Series Grand Piano. Shao plays on a cello made by Honore Derazey from 1855 once owned by Pablo Casals.

Cheng has appeared on concert stages in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Taiwan, Brazil, Canada, France, and Israel. She has been described by the New York Concert Review as a pianist whose “control of the keyboard is complete, technique easy and relaxed, with a wide range of touch.”  Late pianist Claude Frank described her as “a brilliant, sensitive, imaginative and most beguiling pianist.” Amy’s performances have been heard on WGBH, KCSC, WHYY, La Radio Suisse Romande-Espace 2, WFMT, and NPR . 

Shao is a versatile and passionate artist whose performances the New York Times has described as “eloquent, powerful,” “beautifully phrased and interestingly textured,” the LA Times noted as “impressive” and the Washington Post called “deeply satisfying.”  Shao is playing an Hieronymus Amati cello c.1700 on a generous loan.

The program will open with one of the most charming Mozart sonatas for solo piano, followed by three short pieces for cello and piano by the most important female composer/teacher of the 20th century in France, Nadia Boulanger. The first half will close with Le Grand Tango by Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla, bringing the tango flair to the program. After the intermission, Sophie and Amy will perform the iconic Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata, one of the most significant and timeless works for this genre from the early 20th century.

Doors open at 7pm, show begins at 7:30pm. The program will open with one of the most charming Viennese sonatas by Mozart for solo piano, followed by the exquisite Three Pieces for Cello and Piano by the most influential female composer and teacher of the 20th century in France, Nadia Boulanger. The first half will close with Le Grand Tango by Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla, bringing the tango flair to the program. After the intermission,  will perform the iconic Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata. One of the most significant and timeless works for this genre from the early 20th century.

This new Enchanted Music Series at the Stone Chalet aims to bring inspiration, harmony and human connection to the patrons and artists through an intimate and virtuosic musical experience.

Artists' Bios:

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Cellist Sophie Shao, winner of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant and top prizes at the Rostropovich and Tchaikovsky competitions, is a versatile and passionate artist whose performances the New York Times has noted as “eloquent, powerful” and the Washington Post called “deeply satisfying.”

Shao has appeared as soloist to critical acclaim throughout the United States: the Smith Center in Las Vegas, Lied Center in Lincoln, Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa, California, the Palladium in Carmel, Indiana, and the Bard Music Festival. She has premiered Howard Shore’s cello concerto “Mythic Gardens” with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra, the UK premiere with Keith Lockhart and the BBC Concert Orchestra, and European premiere with Ludwig Wicki and the 21st Century Orchestra at the KKL in Lucerne. Other past concerto performances include Haydn and Elgar Concerti with Lockhart and the BBC Concert Orchestra, Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with Hans Graf and the Houston Symphony, and the premiere of Richard Wilson’s “The Cello Has Many Secrets” with the American Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Shao has given recitals in Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Middlebury College, Phillips Collection, Walter Reade Theater and Rose Studio in Lincoln Center, the complete Bach Suites at Union College and in New York City. Her dedication to music of our time leads her to promote the music of Adolphus Hailstork, Tan Dun, Shih-Hui Chen, Lera Auerbach, Reena Esmail, Thomas Ades, and she performs with her “Sophie Shao and Friends” chamber groups which have toured from Brattleboro, VT to Sedona, AZ, while other exciting collaborations include Tan Dun’s Ghost Opera with Cho-Liang Lin, performances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Chamber Music Northwest, Festival Napa Valley, Festival Mosaic, among many other presenters across the country. She has been a frequent guest at many leading festivals around the country including Caramoor, Chamber Music Northwest, Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, Music from Angel Fire, the Bard Festival, and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and was a member of Chamber Music Society Two/Bowers Program, a young artist residency of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Ms. Shao’s recordings include the Complete Bach Suites, Andre Previn’s Reflections for Cello and English Horn and Orchestra on EMI Classics, Richard Wilson’s Diablerie and Brash Attacks and Barbara White’s My Barn Having Burned to the Ground, I Can Now See the Moon on Albany Records, Howard Shore’s original score for the movie The Betrayal on Howe Records, Marlboro Music Festival’s 50th Anniversary on Bridge Records, and Howard Shore’s “Mythic Gardens” on Sony Classical.

A native of Houston, Texas, Ms. Shao began playing the cello at age six, and was a student of Shirley Trepel, the former principal cellist of the Houston Symphony. At age thirteen she enrolled at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, studying cello with David Soyer and chamber music with Felix Galimir. After graduating from the Curtis Institute, she continued her cello studies with Aldo Parisot at Yale University, receiving a B.A. in Religious Studies from Yale College and an M.M. from the Yale School of Music, where she was enrolled as a Paul and Daisy SorosFellow. She is on the faculty of University of Connecticut and plays on a cello made by Honore Derazey from 1855 once owned by Pablo Casals.

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Pianist Amy I-Lin Cheng is an assistant professor of music at the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre & Dance. She has presented recitals at venues such as the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Merkin Concert Hall in New York City, Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, and National Concert Hall in Taipei, as well as on concert series across the United States. Amy made her Boston concerto debut at the age of 17 in Jordan Hall under the direction of Benjamin Zander. Since then, she has appeared as a concerto soloist with the ‘Musica Viva’ Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Taichung Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Pines in Texas, University Symphony Orchestra (University of Michigan), and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, among others. In 2015, she gave the North American premiere of the Kaprálová Piano Concerto at the Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor as part of the week-long Kaprálová Festival, hosted by the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance.  In Summer 2017, she gave the US premiere of Improvisation on Misirlou, a single-movement piano concerto by Israeli-American composer Daniel Rein, with the Sewanee Symphony Orchestra during the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. In 2019, she gave the world premiere of the Double Concerto for YangQin and Piano by Taiwanese composer Chun-Da Huang, collaborating with the National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan (NCO), at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her recording of the Kaprálová piano concert was released in Summer 2021 on Naxos, with outstanding reviews. Her recent video recordings include solo piano works by French composer Fernande Decruck, released on the Éditions Billaudot’s youtube channel in fall 2022.

A dedicated chamber musician, Amy enjoys collaborating with others from a very young age. Amy is the co-Artistic Director of the Brightmusic Society of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, a non-profit organization commissioning and presenting chamber music concerts since 2003. Formed in 1999, Duo Clarion (with clarinetist Chad Burrow) has performed in venues such as Zankel Hall in Carnegie Hall and National Concert Hall in Taipei, as well as venues across the US and Asia. Duo Clarion has released recordings through CDBaby, Albany, and WeiStudio. Duo Clarion’s recording of music by Brahms and Schumann received an outstanding review in the ICA publication. Violinist Sean Yung-Hsiang Wang joined the duo to form Trio Solari in 2006. Trio Solari released its debut CD through Centaur Record in 2016. Trio Solari has commissioned and performed trios by Edward Knight and Joseph Tyldesley. Amy has toured as a guest pianist with the American Chamber Players, and America’s Dream Chamber Artists, and performs frequently on the Detroit Chamber Wind and Strings concert series and Michigan Chamber Players Series at the University of Michigan. Amy has been part of many commissioning and premiering initiatives and has recorded chamber music works by composers such as Edward Knight, Laura Schwendinger, Stephen Rush, and Adolphus Hailstork on Centaur, Albany, and the Block M Record. Most recently she gave the world premiere of The Plus One (2022) for Two Pianos by Jorge Variego with pianist Stephen Beck at the 2022 Sewanee Summer Music Festival.

A highly sought-after collaborator, Amy has performed with artists such as Wenzel Fuchs, Sophie Shao, David Buck, David Halen, Yoonshin Song, David Shifrin, and Misha Quint, and has been Pianist in Residence for International Double Reed Society Convention in 2010 and 2011, as well as International Woodwind Festival in 2012, 2001, and 2002. Other festival chamber music appearances include the Maui Classical Music Festival, Interharmony International Music Festival in Germany, Sewanee Summer Music Festival since 2014, Brightmusic Chamber Music Festival since 2012, Quartz Mountain Music Festival, Taos School of Music, LaJolla SummerFest, OKMozart International Music Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and Jerusalem Chamber Music Encounter.

Amy enjoys a career in teaching and has given piano and chamber music masterclasses across the USA, Brazil, Taiwan, and Germany for both college and pre-college students. Her university students have been awarded top prizes in MTNA competitions (Chamber Music), solo and concerto competitions, scholarships to graduate programs, and summer festival programs, and many of her former students hold college appointments in the US and abroad. Committed to piano education of the younger generation, Amy devotes her time to instructing young pianists. She has worked with young pianists and youth chamber music groups in summer festivals, at the Franklin School for the Performing Arts Massachusetts, and at the Community Music School of Ann Arbor. Currently, she maintains a small studio of private students in Ann Arbor.

A graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music (BM), Yale University School of Music (MM and Artist Diploma), and the New England Conservatory (DMA), Amy holds degrees in Piano Performance. Her principal teachers were Claude Frank, Wha-Kyung Byun, Rolf-Peter Wille, and Yi-Hsien Chang. She studied chamber music with Robert McDonald, Peter Frankl, Michael Friedmann, and Boris Berman. Prior to moving to Ann Arbor, Amy was the Head of the Piano Area at Oklahoma City University Wanda L. Bass School (06-09), and the Assistant Professor of Piano at Oklahoma State University (02-06). After serving as a collaborative pianist for the School of Music, Theatre & Dance at the University of Michigan for two seasons, Amy joined the Piano Department faculty in 2012 as a Lecturer in Piano where she teaches studio piano and coaches chamber music. Since fall 2022, she continues her college teaching career as an Assistant Professor of Music – Piano and Piano Chamber Music Coordinator. In the summer, Amy is on faculty at the Sewanee Music Center. Amy lives in Ann Arbor with her husband Chad Burrow, two children, and a family dog.