GREENVILLE, PA – Thiel College presents the Orion Ensemble in concert at the David Johnson Memorial Chapel on Thursday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

The Orion Ensemble, Chicago’s nationally recognized and critically acclaimed chamber music ensemble, is now in its 16th season of concerts showcasing the talents of its five musicians performing virtuosic masterpieces, new repertoire and hidden gems. Founded in 1992, the Orion Ensemble is composed of Kathryne Pirtle (clarinet), Forentina Ramniceanu (violin), Diana Schmuck (piano), Judy Stone (cello) and Jennifer Marlas (viola). The Chicago Tribune calls Orion “one of Chicago’s most vibrant, versatile and distinctive ensembles” and the Chicago Sun-Times says the group is “what chamber music should be all about: Individual virtuosity melded into a group personality.”

The group received a Chamber Music American/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming for its millennium celebration. Orion is currently the ensemble-in-residence at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. The Orion Ensemble is supported in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council and the MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture.

The Orion Ensemble is the third concert of Thiel’s Con Spirito Chamber Music Concert Series, which began in fall 2007. Con Spirito presents concerts each year, featuring top chamber music groups from across the country. The series was created in honor of the late daughter of Dr. Glen Johnson H’88, Thiel College Board of Trustees chairman emeritus, and his wife, LaVonne, both generous friends of the college. The home of the Con Spirito Chamber Music Concert Series is the David Johnson Memorial Chapel, dedicated in 2006 and named in honor of the Johnsons’ late son.

Thiel College, located in Greenville, Pa., is a liberal arts, sciences and professional studies college related to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

For more information about the concert, please contact the Thiel College Office of Special Events at 724-589-2240.

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