2024-2025 Season
Jeremy Facknitz, singer-songwriter
October 5, 2024
3:30 PM
A private Roeland Park residence
The Charlotte House Series is thrilled to welcome Colorado-based Jeremy Facknitz to make his Series debut and to kick off its sixth season on October 5th. Facknitz has been entertaining audiences with his lovingly crafted music and high-energy performances for over 25 years. Since the 2002 break-up of his Detroit-based band "The Ottomans" (they earned a 2001 Detroit Music Award for Best New Alternative Band, beating out "The White Stripes"), Jeremy has performed primarily as a solo act, marrying folk-rock and jazz styles to showcase his intimate stories of life, love, and self-discovery.
Jeremy was named a top 24 finalist from over 800 entries in the 2020 and 2022 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Competitions at Kerrville Folk Festival. While occasionally performing with his six-piece band in Colorado, Jeremy continues to tour solo - performing at house concerts and listening rooms in the United States, Canada and Europe. His 6th solo album "Smilin' At The Future" was released March 31st, 2023 to worldwide critical acclaim, and he is excited to share selections from the album as well as some of his favorite songs at this Charlotte House Series concert.
The Response Project, Tremor
with pianist, Dr. Brianna Matzke
November 9, 2024
3:30 PM
A private Beacon Hill residence
Dr. Brianna Matzke's dynamic pianism shows “a sense of refinement, flair, and technical prowess” (clevelandclassical.com). An avid performer and commissioner of new music, Dr. Matzke has collaborated with many composers, including Tina Tallon, Marc Mellits, Michael Fiday, Elliot Cole, Molly Joyce, Alexandra du Bois, D. J. Sparr, Danny Clay, Jennifer Jolley, John Glover, and Evan Williams, and has appeared in concerts across the globe with recent appearances in Italy, Beirut, São Paulo, and in series such as TriBeCa New Music, Vanguard New Music Series, ETHOS New Music, Re:Sound Festival, neif-norf New Music Marathon, and the Accidental Music Festival. Dr. Matzke has also given multiple concerts with the Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center, and has performed with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and the concert:nova chamber ensemble.
Tremor is a concert of piano premieres for The Response Project written in response to Brianna's essential tremor diagnosis. Composers Molly Joyce, Hanna Benn, Adeliia Faizullina, Matthew Evan Taylor, and Forrest Pierce use her neurological condition to explore perceptions of ability/disability, personal expression in the face of misunderstanding, and belonging in a world ill-equipped to welcome individuals with this condition.
Visual artists with disabilities from Visionaries and Voices have also created visual artwork in response to Brianna's tremor, and Britni Bicknaver has curated and created sound art to bring their stories—and her own experience with stuttering—to life. The music, images, and sound will come together to create a multimedia concert experience.
To learn more about The Response Project, Tremor, please visit www.theresponseproject.org/tremor.
An Evening with the St. Petersburg String Quartet
March 1, 2025
3:30 PM
A private Westwood Park residence
The Grammy nominated St. Petersburg Quartet has enjoyed an illustrious international career as one of the world’s most esteemed string quartets. Considered the “natural successor to the Borodin [Quartet's] crown” (The Sunday Times), their rise to fame includes “Best Record” honors in Stereo Review and Gramophone, an opening night performance at the Mostly Mozart festival of Lincoln Center, a five-year residency at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a five-year residency at the Wichita State University, and hundreds of concerts throughout North America, Europe, and Asia at prestigious series and festivals.
Highlights of recent seasons include performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Library of Congress; appearances at festivals such as Music Mountain, Rockport, and Mainly Mozart in San Diego; and collaborations with pianists Leon Fleisher, Ruth Laredo, Misha Dichter, Anton Nel, and violist Michael Tree of the Guarneri Quartet.
The quartet has toured Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Israel, Ireland and the U.K. , where Tchaikovsky Piano Competition winner Peter Donahoe called their collaboration “some of the most sublime moments of chamber-music making I have ever experienced.” During European tours the quartet performed at venues such as Amsterdam Concertgebouw, London Wigmore Hall, Manchester Bridgewater Hall, Dublin National Hall, Moscow Conservatory Grand Hall, and St. Petersburg Philharmonic Grand Hall.
The Quartet is excited to make its Series debut at this concert!
Renaissance Revelry
with harpsichordist, Dr. Charles Metz
May 3, 2025
3:30 PM
A private Kansas City residence
The Charlotte House Series is thrilled for Dr. Charles Metz to make his Series debut on May 3rd! Following his graduation from Penn State University, where he earned a BFA in piano performance, Dr. Metz began private harpsichord lessons under the tutelage of the legendary Igor Kipnis. He would continue his harpsichord studies with Trevor Pinnock while earning a Ph.D. in Historical Performance Practice at Washington University in St. Louis. More recently, Dr. Metz has worked with Webb Wiggins and Lisa Crawford at the Oberlin Conservatory. He has performed solo recitals at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, Oberlin Conservatory, University of Michigan, and Penn State University in State College, PA. Collaborative appearances include performances with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Baroque Consortium, and the Newberry Consort of Chicago. As an early keyboard specialist, Dr. Metz currently performs on his own keyboard collection including his historic Italian virginal, harpsichords, and fortepianos.
Dr. Metz has released two CDs, one featuring the music of William Tisdale on his original 16th century Italian virginal and the other a recording of Scarlatti Sonatas on his original 1806 Clementi Square piano. Dr. Metz also has a Doctorate in Optometry and worked for twenty years in private practice in St. Louis before retiring. In addition to his performing endeavors, he served on the boards of Early Music America and the Newberry Consort. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Chamber Music Society of St. Louis and the Cultural Center of Palm Springs, CA.
Pianist Junwen Liang in Concert
Season Finale
June 28, 2025
3:30 PM
The Steinway Piano Gallery of Kansas City
Celebrated as "captivating" (Stroll Magazine) and “an extremely gifted and promising young artist” (Rorianne Schrade, New York Concert Review), Chinese pianist Junwen Liang began his piano journey at nine, making his solo debut at thirteen. He has performed as a soloist with the Central Texas Philharmonic, Penn State Philharmonic Orchestra, and Ithaca College Symphonic Orchestra. His accomplishments include appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Kimmel Center, and broadcasts on WSKG and Philadelphia's WRTI Classical Radio. During the 2024-2025 season, Junwen will perform across the United States, Canada, and China.
Junwen has been invited to major festivals such as the Texas State International Piano Festival, Lunigiana International Music Festival, Philadelphia Young Pianists’ Academy, Orford Musique, Art of the Piano, and Aspen Music Festival. He has also secured major prizes in competitions including WPTA Spain, The American Prize, Juliusz Zarębski International Piano Competition, New York International Piano Competition, and Philadelphia International Piano Competition. Beyond solo performances, Junwen actively collaborates in professional duo and chamber projects on the East Coast and adjudicates state-level competitions in the D.C. area.
Praised for his “engaging stage presence, helpful spoken introductions to the music, and confident programming skills,” Junwen is “ready for a major career” (Michael J. Moran, In the Spotlight Inc). Currently based in Philadelphia, Junwen recently graduated from the Peabody Institute, studying under Richard Goode. His past mentors include Christopher Guzman, Roberto Plano, Edward Auer, and Charis Dimaras, with additional studies under Gary Graffman and Oxana Yablonskaya. Junwen is represented worldwide by Price Attractions.
A Series-commissioned work will be premiered during this concert.