ATX Chamber and Jazz Music keeps blurring the line between concert and experience, pairing world-class artists with crafted culinary and cocktail moments. A Toast to Texas was another example of lyrical strings and piano from a powerhouse roster of musicians wafted through Assembly Hall as virtuoso violinists — Alexander Sitkovetsky, Geoffrey Herd (founder of ATX Chamber Music and Jazz), Milena Parajo van de Stadt on viola, Camden Shaw on cello, and Anna Petrova (co-Artistic Director of ATX) on piano enchanted a full-house dressed for the occasion.
This season, the audience appears to understand “cocktail attire” better than last. I noticed a man wearing a music-themed blazer with piano keys, another with disco-mirror like streakings on his black velvet jacket, and a woman wearing a silk and chiffon red evening gown, another with a leopard print, and other sparkling combinations.
The program kicked off with Franz Schubert’s Quartettsatz in C minor. D. 703. The violins sounded like sweet surrender in spring, or a stroll in the woods with a light breeze swaying fields of flowers. The soft cello together with the violin harmonics emulated phrases reminding me of the first few notes of Für Elise. Because that’s my namesake, I had a listening bias.
Next up was Brahms Piano Trio No. 3 in C minor. Op 101. Shaw’s announcement was an educational moment. Shaw explained to the audience, “Brahms was a perfectionist who burned what he didn’t approve of. He was a titan of composition, combining intellect and emotion; what remains is still monumental. So as we expect from the passionate and deliberately intense piano typical of Brahms, we heard softer interludes (those pastel colors Shaw spoke of), and, to my ears, waltzes, and lullabies floated in the air.
After the intermission The Art of Conversation by Karim Al-Zand in 7 discursus ending with Edward Elgar’s Piano Quintet in A minor. Op.84 to SRO applause and delight from the audience, a mixture of young and old. This is encouraging as younger people who may not have been exposed to both classical chamber or jazz in this context are beginning to embrace new forms of music.
Anna Petrova (piano)
A Bulgarian-born pianist whose playing is praised for “technical brilliance” and “complete emotional engagement,” Anna Petrova is also a builder of scenes: she serves as Co-Artistic Director of ATX Chamber Music & Jazz and is Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Louisville. Beyond the keyboard, Petrova co-directs outreach with Project: Music Heals Us, an initiative recognized at the United Nations for work with refugees, and performs widely with the Carr-Petrova Duo and the Iris Trio. Recent highlights include concerto dates with U.S. and European orchestras and recital appearances from Carnegie’s Weill to Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. ATX Chamber Music and Jazz
Alexander Sitkovetsky (violin)
A Menuhin School alum born into a storied musical family, Sitkovetsky is known both as a charismatic soloist and as a chamber musician with the acclaimed Sitkovetsky Trio. In 2023 he was named Artistic Director of the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra in Wrocław, Poland—a role that suits his growing reputation for leadership from the podium and the concertmaster’s chair. Expect silky tone, old-world elegance, and a director’s ear for narrative. SMU+1
Geoffrey Herd (violin)
Equally at home onstage and in the engine room of arts organizations, Herd is CEO and Co-Artistic Director of ATX and Assistant Professor of Violin at the University of Louisville. He’s the founder/director of New York’s Geneva Music Festival, which convenes top classical and jazz artists each season. As a performer, Herd’s collaborations have taken him to Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and beyond; as an impresario, he’s helping shape Austin’s most immersive chamber series. ATX Chamber Music and Jazz+1
Camden Shaw (cello)
A founding member of the Dover Quartet—hailed by BBC Music Magazine as “one of the greatest string quartets of the last 100 years”—Shaw brings the quartet’s burnished sound and rigorous ensemble discipline to everything he touches. He teaches chamber music at the Curtis Institute of Music and has developed widely used online pedagogy for cellists; his recent solo project, Darkness, Light, and the In-Between, debuted in Texas and explores the cello’s full emotional register. ATX Chamber Music and Jazz+1
Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt (viola)
The founding violist of the Dover Quartet (2008–2022), Pajaro-van de Stadt helped steer the ensemble to top prizes at Banff and Fischoff and to residencies at the Kennedy Center and Curtis. Winner of the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition, she now appears as a sought-after guest artist and educator, with recent affiliations including the Manhattan Chamber Players. Her sound—often described as remarkably “human” in timbre—anchors ensembles with warmth and agility. Curtis Institute of Music+1
ATX Chamber Music and Jazz extends their commitment to Title I schools through their program Everyone Deserves Art. They donate 10% of tickets to students and their chaperones. During the 2024-2025 season over 350 tickets were donated to eleven public performances. For many students it would be their first introduction to world-class musicians onstage, changing their lives forever. In 2025 they will expand to 7 in school performances with acclaimed artists such as soprano Jeanine De Bique, violin soloists Alexander Sitkovetsky and Blake Pouliot, cellist Clive Greensmith and member of Julliard Quarterts and Dover and ATX’s co-artistic directors Geoffrey Herd and Anna Petrova.
Tickets and information can be found at ATX Chamber Music and Jazz