Lyrica Chamber Music opens season with new co-artistic director

As Lyrica Chamber Music approaches a new season, it also begins a new era. Cellist Ani Kalayjian joins the Lyrica team as co-artistic director along with current artistic director, pianist David Kaplan.

She and Kaplan will be working to enlarge the scope of Lyrica Chamber Music as well as enrich the concert experience for its audiences. Like Kaplan, Kalayjian will also be a Lyrica musician; she will perform at the final concert of the 2018-19 season on April 28 with the Tesla Quartet.

The new season begins Sunday, Oct. 7, at 5 p.m., with an outdoor concert at Greenwood Gardens, a formal Italianate garden in Millburn, 274 Old Short Hills Road. Performing will be Decoda, a regular partner of Lyrica’s, in a program of music for wind and strings. Tickets are $50. (If weather is inclement, the concert will be moved to the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township.)

Decoda concerts epitomize Kalayjian’s ideals for chamber music.

“For me, chamber music has this level of intimacy that is so special with a few players on stage,” Kalayjian says. “It's like sitting down with a few friends telling stories and hearing a conversation, a dialogue, sometimes delightful, sometimes tense, gorgeous or exciting.”

Although she has not played with Lyrica before, she is well aware of its reputation.

“It is amazing to have such a high level of artists in the Chatham community and I can't wait to get started in co-artistic directing with my wonderful colleague, David Kaplan,” Kalayjian says. “I really look forward to taking what already exists and growing it to another level with audience and community engagement, new concepts of programming, and fund-raising to ensure the success and future of our series.”

With Kalyajian’s impetus, Lyrica is looking to raise its profile on social media.

“By recording the concerts with high-quality video and audio, we can start to reach the community via social media and create even more interest to attend our concerts,” she says. “I also believe in connecting with young artists and featuring them in some way that will help create a bridge to the next generation and perhaps inspire them as well.”

Kalayjian also brings something special to the Lyrica environment — a dynamic world view. Her career as a musician and educator has taken her to Japan, Canada and the Middle East, as well as throughout Europe and the United States. She has performed in Syrian refugee camps and orphanages.

“Playing in such areas has led me to the thinking that music is truly a means of connecting, expressing and telling a story on a deep, humane level that can be a source of healing as well. No matter what the race or country, I feel music is a way for people to come together and for a brief moment in time, share an experience of a magnificent work and be taken to another place.

“Music can be played just about anywhere — in an alleyway, hospital or concert hall. It moved me deeply to see so many children gather around in silence as we played music from around the world; the moment was one which I will never forget.”

Kalayjian has been on stage at numerous renowned concert halls, including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. She has made music at chamber music festivals ranging from California to England to France.

Kalayjian’s competition successes include winning the Grand Prize at the International Chamber Music Competition of New England, first prize in the Anglo-Czechoslovak Trust competition in England as a soloist where she was also granted the Bohuslav Martinu Foundation Prize, and a top prize at the J.C. Arriaga chamber music competition.

Kaplan is familiar with Kalayjian’s strengths as a musician, having performed with her frequently over the last several years.

“Ani is a first of all a formidable cellist,” Kaplan says. “Ani knows how to construct a program, and she has a fantastic network of fine musicians in New York and beyond, so I know she will create vibrant concerts for Lyrica.

“What I also am excited about is that Ani is based in New Jersey. It’s so valuable that she is a member of the broader community, and one of her goals is to enhance and build upon the grassroots aspect of Lyrica’s identity.”

The new season emphasizes Lyrica’s focus on imaginative concerts and young talent. Alumni of the Perlman Music Program will play piano quartets Dec. 2 at 3 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township. Kaplan and pianist/composer Timo Andres will play a two-piano arrangement of Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” on March 3 in Chatham, and the season will conclude on April 28 with Kalayjian and the Tesla Quartet.

“Lyrica remains committed to supporting young artists, diverse programs and engaging experiences for the audience,” Kaplan says. “Our artists this season truly reflect this, with a stellar line-up of rising stars in their twenties and early thirties. They present programs of stylistic breadth, from Beethoven to Gesualdo to Stravinsky, and will do so in a way that communicates directly and openly with the public.”

For more information about Lyrica Chamber Music, visit Lyrica’s new website, www.lyricachambermusic.org, or call 973-309-1668.