Trio Settecento to open Sheldon Friends of Chamber Music Season

            Trio Settecento will open the season for Sheldon Friends of Chamber Music with a lively entertainment on period instruments baroque violin, viola da gamba, and harpsichord that might have been performed at the court of Louis XIV.

            The concert is 8 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Sheldon Museum of Art, 12th and R streets on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus. The concert will include works of prominent of the 18th century French composers Lully, Couperin, Marais and Forqueray. An informative talk precedes the concert at 7:30. Tickets are $35 ($8 students) at the door. They can also be ordered at 402-435-8946 or www.sfcm.info. Season tickets are $130 ($30 students).

            Based in Highland, N.Y., Trio Settecento was formed after baroque violin specialist Rachel Barton Pine, John Mark Rozendaal and David Schrader came together in 1996 to record the complete violin sonatas of George Frederick Handel. They have since released several recording on Cedille Records to high critical acclaim. Imagination, vigor, technical polish and historic insight have made the trio's performances appealing to audiences.

            Pine will also appear the day before as soloist with Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra at the Lied Center for Performing Arts playing Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons." Sheldon Friends of Chamber Music and Lincoln's Symphony Orchestra are offering a combination price for the two concerts. The price is $40 or $30, depending seating ($13 for students). They may be ordered from the LSO box office at 402-476-2211. Subscribers to either series can also buy a single ticket to the other concert at a reduced price through LSO.

            The Sheldon Friends of Chamber Music season also includes the Enso String Quartet on Nov. 6; UNL's Moran Wind Quintet on Feb. 17; Cuarteto latinamericano on March 17; and the Jasper String Quartet with Lincoln native, oboist Robert Walters Jr., ending the season on April 29. The 2011-12 Sheldon Friends of Chamber Music season is made possible through support from the Nebraska Arts Council, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and the Lincoln Arts Council.

            Sheldon Museum of Art houses a permanent collection of more than 12,000 objects focusing principally on American art. It is open free to the public during regular hours: Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.; closed Monday. For information or to arrange a tour, call 402-472-4524. Additional information is also available on the Sheldon website, www.sheldon.unl.edu.