Lyrica Chamber Music presents graduates from the Perlman Program

The Perlman Music Program is famous for training, nurturing and furthering the careers of young string players. When three alumni of the program come together, as they will in the second Lyrica Chamber Music concert of the season, excellence and artistic creativity is guaranteed.

Violinist Rachel Lee Priday, violist William Frampton and cellist Jia Kim will be joined by pianist and Lyrica co-artistic director David Kaplan for a program of piano quartets at 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 2, at the Presbyterian Church of Chatham Township, 240 Southern Blvd.

The four musicians will explore a variety of emotions in the Beethoven Piano Quartet in E flat, Op. 16, the Piano Quartet No. 1 in c minor by Gabriel Faure, and the Serenade in C major by Ernst von Dohnanyi.

For Jia Kim, the concert is an opportunity to reconnect with familiar colleagues.

“I’ve met all of them at different points of my life, but all through the Perlman Music Program community,” Kim said. “It is truly a beautiful group of musicians that the Perlmans have selected — one that shows true support and brings lifelong friendships. Making music with them is just a natural extension of that.”

The Perlman Music Program was created by Toby Perlman, wife of renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman. It afforded Kim the opportunity to perform with Perlman, including touring with him to Israel, Toronto, Mexico City, Virginia Beach, Miami and New York City.

She has played with many leading musicians, among who are Kim Kashkashian, Robert Spano and John Williams. She has also joined forces with leading chamber ensembles, including the Juilliard String Quartet, the Cleveland Quartet, the Takacs Quartet and the Orion String Quartet.

“Every single experience with every great musician has given me priceless takeaways and learning experiences, as well as enlightening moments of precious musical ideas and inspirations to last me a lifetime,” Kim said. “I treasure each of them, and I wouldn't be the same artist I am today as I approach this great literature had it not been for them and those experiences.

“I consider myself to be tremendously lucky, and my attitude towards each performance is one that is eager to learn and absorb all that is around me. I believe that is the key to continuous growth, and continued inspiration.”

Kim says Beethoven is her favorite composer, so it is appropriate that he appears on the Dec. 2 program. Kim is working on a Beethoven recording project that will focus on a particular period of the titanic composer’s life.

“This piece is early Beethoven,” Kim said. “I believe this piece still captures much of his youthful qualities — joyful innocence, brilliance, much charm — all things we love about him!”

From the youthfulness of Beethoven, the musicians will transition to the unabashed romanticism of Dohnanyi’s Serenade, which is for strings only.

“I would say if you like romantic music, and particularly the music of Brahms, you are in for a treat,” Kim said. “Brahms supported young Dohnanyi, and Dohnanyi’s music is definitely influenced by Johannes. From the very opening of the piece, we hear much of Hungarian folk music and its unique flavors.”

Romance, however, does not always run true. It went off course for a youthful Faure, something that can be heard in his first piano quartet.

“It was written after his heartbreaking separation from a long-time lover whom he was engaged to,” Kim said. “There was much emotional turmoil when this piece was written — hence the c minor reveals much of the agony and pain Faure was going through at this time.”

Sharing her emotional journey will be violist Frampton. He has been praised by critics for his “impressive” performances (The New York Times) and “a glowing amber tone” (The Boston Globe). Since his New York recital debut in 2009 at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, William has enjoyed a career of diverse performances around the world as a chamber musician, soloist, orchestral player and teacher.

Violinist Priday, acclaimed for her beauty of tone, riveting stage presence, and “irresistible panache” (Chicago Tribune), has appeared as soloist with major international orchestras, including the Chicago, St. Louis, Houston, Seattle and National Symphony Orchestras, the Boston Pops and the Berlin Staatskapelle. Critics have praised her “dazzling, forceful technique,” “rich, mellifluous sound,” and “silvery fluidity.” Combining a fierce intelligence with an imaginative curiosity, her wide-ranging repertoire and eclectic programming reflect a deep fascination with literary and cultural narratives. She is an artist who seeks contemporary resonances with the masterworks of the past.

Lyrica audiences are familiar with the exemplary playing of Kaplan. He has been called “excellent and adventurous” by the New York Times, and praised by the Boston Globe for “grace and fire” at the keyboard.

Tickets for the concert are $25-$30. For more information about Lyrica Chamber Music, visit www.lyricachambermusic.org or call 973-309-1668.