This fall, the University of Delaware Master Players Concert Series celebrates 13 seasons of exceptional live music from around the world.

Already, two concerts have sold out, including the season opening “Xiang Gao and Friends,” a gala performance co-presented by the UD Institute for Global Studies scheduled for 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 1, in the Gore Recital Hall of the Roselle Center for the Arts.

In addition, the Ahn Trio concert on Feb. 18, 2017, has also sold out.

Tickets are still available for the other six concerts of the season.

This season, the Master Players series will focus on the spectacular repertoire of strings, percussion and piano performed by leading musicians.

At the Oct. 1 gala, Xiang Gao, Master Players founding artistic director and Trustees Distinguished Professor of Music, performs alongside internationally renowned guest artists in a traditional chamber music concert featuring Mozart's Quartet for Oboe and Strings, Faure's Piano Quartet in C minor, Schumann's passionate Violin and Piano Sonata in A minor, and other beloved Romantic compositions.

Guest artists will include concert cellist Jeffrey Solow, past president of the American String Teachers Association and president of the Cello Society of New York, and Katherine Needleman, principal oboist of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. This concert will also mark the debut appearance of the newest member of the UD Department of Music, faculty violist Sheila Browne, and other guest artists.

Preceding the gala, Master Players will hold three free-of-charge master classes to benefit UD and Delaware music students as part of its long tradition of educational offerings. A cello and chamber music master class with Solow will be held in Gore Recital Hall from 1:25-2:15 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30. A piano master class with Zhihua Tang, professor and director of collaborative piano studies at Michigan State University, will be held in Puglisi Orchestra Hall from 1:25-2:15 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30, at the same time as the cello master class. An oboe and woodwind chamber music master class with oboist Needleman will take place before the concert begins on Saturday, Oct. 1, in Gore Recital Hall from 1-2 p.m.

Ticket information

Single tickets for the season’s remaining events are available now by phone or online through the Master Players website. Tickets for events are $25 for adults; $20 for senior adults, alumni, faculty and staff; and $10 for students with ID. Tickets for the Emerson String Quartet special event are $50 per ticket.

Subscription series are no longer available.

For more information, including driving directions, parking and dining information, visit the Master Players website.

Future concerts

• Saturday, Oct. 22, Latin Voyages: The Sphinx Virtuosi, 3 p.m., Gore Recital Hall in the Roselle Center for the Arts. This concert is co-presented by the UD Center for Black Culture. The Sphinx Virtuosi, led by the Catalyst Quartet, is one of the nation's most dynamic professional chamber orchestras. The group features 18 of the nation's elite black and Latino classical soloists, and these extraordinary artists come together each fall during their annual concert tour as cultural ambassadors to reach new audiences. A free master class with the Catalyst Quartet of Sphinx will be held on Saturday, Oct. 22, from 10:30-11:30 a.m. in Gore Recital Hall.

• Saturday, Nov. 5, Women in Rhythm: A Percussion Concert, 3 p.m., Mitchell Hall. Directed and co-produced by UD faculty percussionist Harvey Price, Women in Rhythm brings four leading female percussionists from a wide range of backgrounds to Delaware including Angela Zator Nelson, associate principal timpani for the Philadelphia Orchestra; steel pan virtuoso Jeannine Remy from Trinidad and Tobago; Valerie Naranjo, percussionist in the Saturday Night Live band for 20 years; and Ezgi Elkirmis, traditional Turkish drummer. Master classes to be announced.

• Saturday, Dec. 10, A Mozart Celebration: The Curtis Chamber Orchestra, 3 p.m., Mitchell Hall. More than 20 years after the last appearance of the Curtis Orchestra on the UD campus, this concert features two selected Curtis soloists performing two of Mozart’s most famous violin concertos, followed by Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante (Concerto for violin and viola) featuring Curtis faculty and virtuoso violinist Shmuel Ashkenasi and Curtis president and virtuoso violist Roberto Díaz. A free viola master class with Roberto Díaz will be held on Saturday, Dec. 10, from 10:30 a.m.-noon in Gore Recital Hall.

• Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017: Sold out. Great Musical Families: The Ahn Trio. Born in Seoul, Korea, and educated at the Juilliard School, the members of the Ahn Trio — sisters Maria, Lucia and Angella — are redefining chamber music, breathing new life into the standard piano trio literature with commissioned works from contemporary visionary composers. A free master class with the Ahn Trio will be held on Friday, Feb. 17, from 1:25-2:15 p.m. in Gore Recital Hall. This concert is co-sponsored by the Delaware Korean American Association in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Korean School of Delaware. A free of charge pre-concert Korean cultural presentation in the Roselle Center for the Arts’ Puglisi Orchestra Hall from 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18, is open to the public.

• Saturday, March 4, 2017: iMusic X: Encore! - A World Music Pops Concert, 3 p.m., Mitchell Hall. After a successful decade of innovative iMusic concerts conceptualized and performed by iMusic creator Gao and featuring creatively mixed musical styles, uniquely blended art forms, multimedia elements and inter-disciplinary collaborations, iMusic X celebrates all that iMusic has stood for with a pops and world music concert that is bigger and better than ever before. The special ticket price of $5 for children ages 14 and under has been made possible by a private gift. This concert is co-sponsored by the University of Delaware Center for Global and Area Studies.

• Sunday, April 9, 2017: Rachmaninoff and Beyond: A Piano Recital by Jon Kimura Parker, 3 p.m., Gore Recital Hall in the Roselle Center for the Arts. Known for his passionate artistry and engaging stage presence, Jon Kimura Parker, one of the world’s leading solo pianists, will perform a well-rounded program including two beloved Rachmaninoff preludes, Beethoven’s F minor Piano Sonata, Ravel’s lovely and mysterious Jeux d’Eau, and three contemporary works – William Hirtz’s Bernard Hermann Fantasy and Fantasy on The Wizard of Oz and Alexina Louie’s Scenes from a Jade Terrace. A free master class will be held on Sunday, April 9, from 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. in Gore Recital Hall.

• Sunday, April 30, 2017: The Art of the String Quartet IV: The Emerson String Quartet, 3 p.m., Gore Recital Hall in the Roselle Center for the Arts. Formed in 1976 and based in New York City, the Emerson String Quartet has accumulated an unparalleled list of achievements over three decades: more than 30 acclaimed recordings, nine Grammys (including two for Best Classical Album), three Gramophone Awards, the Avery Fisher Prize, Musical America’s "Ensemble of the Year" and collaborations with many of the greatest artists of our time. A free master class with a member of the Emerson String Quartet will be held on Sunday, April 30, from 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m. in Gore Recital Hall. The Art of the String Quartet is a special event and is not eligible to be included in any subscription. All tickets will be priced at $50.

Program support

Supported by the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Office of the Provost, Master Players events are made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

Other sponsors include Vita Nova restaurant at the University of Delaware and Marriott’s Courtyard Newark-University of Delaware. For a complete list of sponsors, see the Master Players website.