Amazonland Chamber Players

Alison Tatum, violin; Sarah Hansen, cello; Scott Griffin, piano

Program

Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20 by Pablo de Sarasate

Andante from Cello Sonata, Op. 19 by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Carol of the Bells by Mykola Lentovych, arr. Scott Griffen

-break-

Piano Trio No. 4, Op. 90 “Dumky” by Antonín Dvořák

About Amazonland Chamber Players

One evening in the fall of 2012, Alison walked up to Sarah in a classroom at DePaul University and said, “Hey, let’s be friends.” Sarah said “Um, ok,” and gave her a weird look. Five years later found the two trapped in Alison’s car for 19 hours, navigating a 400-mile traffic jam on the way home to Chicago from viewing the Great Solar Eclipse in the path of totality near the southern tip of Illinois. In between singing camp songs, listening to Mahler’s Second Symphony (twice), taking selfies, and drinking innumerable cups of coffee, the two decided to make their occasional performances as a string duo into a regular event, and the group Amazonland Chamber Players was born. They quickly reached out to other musician friends to join in the fun and gave their first official show as a string trio a few weeks later in their most frequent venue, Spiegelberg Landscape Design’s “Amazonland” garden.

Bios:

Violinist Alison Tatum is an active freelance performer and teaching artist in the Chicago area. An avid chamber musician, Alison is a founding member of Amazonland Chamber Players and the string quartet, Amethyst Ensemble. Alison can often be found in pit orchestras at various theatre establishments around Chicago. Alison began her musical studies at a young age in her native Kansas City, Missouri and is a graduate of DePaul University’s School of Music in Chicago and the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her teachers include Dr. Olga Dubossarskaya Kaler, Eva Szekely, and Dr. Tony Brandolino. Alison maintains an active private studio at several locations in Chicago.

Cellist Sarah Hansen began her musical education in her hometown of Cincinnati and has since studied and collaborated with leading musicians across the country. Sarah regularly performs as an orchestral, chamber, and solo musician. She is also on the music faculty at Bradley University, where she teaches cello and performs with the resident faculty chamber ensemble. Sarah is graduate of DePaul University’s School of Music in Chicago and The Hartt School of Music in Connecticut. Outside of performing and teaching, Sarah dabbles in running marathons, making artsy things and exploring Chicago’s many cafés, restaurants, and sidewalk libraries.

Scott Griffin, a native of Florida, has been playing the piano as long as anyone can remember. An active participant in piano festivals and recitals, he has received awards at the regional and national levels. After graduating from the Moody Bible Institute in piano performance, Scott became pianist for The Moody Church, where he also toured China, Norway, Sweden, Romania, Spain, France and Morocco. More recently, he has teamed-up with Alan Curtis Tripp to present duo piano concerts throughout the country, and is currently keyboardist for the Covenant Presbyterian Church of Chicago. At home in many musical styles, Scott loves to perform, arrange and improvise.