The Canyon Sounds Series will present the Borealis on February 24th. This Wind Quintet has received accolades for their finesse and style. Their remarkable ensemble playing is a result of a long musical collaboration focused not only on detail and precision, but also on carefully conceived musical interpretations. Their goal is to blend sparkling virtuosity with musical integrity in programs that are appealing and richly rewarding to the audience. Nominated for a 2006 Grammy Award in the Chamber Music Category, Borealis is acclaimed as one of America’s preeminent chamber ensembles. The highest musical integrity, irresistible energy and charisma distinguish Borealis in the chamber music field. Audiences love their exquisite programming that includes the finest of the classics, engaging commissioned works, opera arias for piano and winds.

February is when the University of Florida Performing Arts dance highlights really kick in to high gear. On February 9th we’re treated to the Chinese-American Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, accompanied by the music of none other than of the world-renowned Ahn Trio. The two groups will present their “Temptation of the Muses,” which premiered last year in New York to a sold-out house. The dance company calls itself “a blossom of color, energy and motion.” The New York Times calls director Nai-Ni Chen “a rare modern dance choreographer.” Chen fuses Chinese tradition — the flowing lines of its printed language, the movement of martial arts — with American modern dance idioms.

Irene Maslowski of the Bloomfield Hills Patch reports: “Dance is supposed to touch the deepest part of our being.” Carolyn Dorfman has found a way to do exactly that with her profound, emotionally resonant dance company, the Michigan native speaks directly to audiences through movement. So, The Center couldn’t think of a better choice to kick off their first annual Dance Month. Carolyn Dorfman’s works reflect both her unique story and her concern about the human condition. They speak directly to the heart…They stimulate emotion without wringing us out,” The Star Ledger extolls. “[Her] messages were universal.” “A haunting work, built from reverence and remembrance,” is how Arts Houston describes the repertoire. “…a remarkable evening of theater…” Back Stage reports.

One of the most exciting music festivals of the last few years has become the annual collaboration between MIT and the Boston Chamber Music Society, whose director, violist MARCUS THOMPSON, teaches at MIT. This year, the topic of the Forum is “Exiled to Hollywood: Outcast Artists in California,” about the European composers who found refuge at the Dream Factory. The panel discussion is at 1:30; the concert, at 4 pm features chamber works and songs by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Toch, Eisler, Gruenberg, Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

The Prism Saxophone Quartet and Music from China were together previously for their groundbreaking 2009-10 tour and CD release on Antiphony (Innova Records), and were hailed by Chamber Music Magazine for ”shattering expectations” and “pioneering achievements of the highest order.”  This time around PRISM and MFC, present Bright Sheng, Fang Man, Huang Ruo, Lei Liang in the world premieres of five new works for saxophones, traditional Chinese instruments (erhu, sheng, pipa yanqin), and percussion  in a program displaying the dynamic relationship between Eastern and Western, contemporary and ancient cultures. Performances will be in New York on February 3rd at Weil Hall and again in Philadelphia on the 4th.

Laura Kaminsky is one of the composers awarded commissions for new musical works by the Koussevitzky Foundations of the Library of Congress. Laura Kaminsky is artistic director of Symphony Space in New York City and is professor of music at Purchase College, State University of New York. A graduate of Oberlin and the City College of New York, she has received commissions, fellowships and awards as both a composer and presenter. She co-founded Musicians’ Accord in 1980, an ensemble devoted to the promotion of new music, was on the board of the American Music Center, and currently serves as a director of Chamber Music America. Her new work is written for the St. Petersburg (Russia) Chamber Philharmonic.

Dickinson, which is in North Dakota, will be immersed in the world of dance when New York’s Elisa Monte Dance presents a week-long residency from January 22 to 27. Elisa Monte Dance was founded in 1981 by choreographer Elisa Monte, who has performed as a professional dancer since age 11. “We travel all over the world, and Dickinson is part of the world,” Monte said from New York City. “Our mission is to spread dance and to help people fall in love with the art of dance. Monte will travel with the dancers to Dickinson. “With dance, a lot of issues can be resolved when people begin to understand within themselves the things you can’t express in words,” she said. You can initiate feeling through movement and dance. Said Pattie Carr, director of the Dickinson State University wellness and dance programs, “This is a monumental event for Dickinson and for the southwest corner of North Dakota.”

On New Year’s Eve this landmark event brings over 200 performing artists venues in and around the center of Morristown and includes world-renowned Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company with its elegant costumes and choreography showcasing traditional and contemporary Chinese dance. Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is a study in energy and motion. Its creative dance fuses American dance with the fluidity, grace and color of Asian art. The beauty and rich color of its performance will mesmerize audiences who welcome the New Year at the auditorium of Morristown High School. The company has received 12  awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and other institutions.

Two Philadelphia newspapers express their support for a great dance organization after twenty years:  THE DAILY NEWS… before the event (Molly Echel reporting)…It hasn’t felt like 20 years for Ronen Koresh, founder of Philly’s Koresh Dance Company. “You never think in terms of time. You think in terms of how to make things happen. It doesn’t feel like 20 years because you’re so involved in what you do,” Koresh said, “It’s a lot of fun and a lot of struggles.” To celebrate two decades of energetic, powerful and technically adept dance, Koresh Dance Company will perform a show that shows his evolution as a dancer, choreographer and man.  THE PHILADEPHIA INQUIRER…after the event (Merilyn Jackson reporting)…What a wonderful thing when a city’s audience base sustains an arts organization for two decades or more. Koresh Dance Company’s 20th-anniversary year is upon us, and the company proved that it deserves this longevity with its fall-season opener at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre Thursday evening. The program was simply a stunner, with all-out dancing by the 10-member troupe.

Sponsored by The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. this year’s Century Series includes a performance by Philadelphia native, pianist Leon Bates. He will perform in an afternoon recital at the Philadelphia Art Museum on Sunday, November 20th, 2011 at 3 pm. “An Artist of powerful impact” (Musical America), Philadelphia native Leon Bates is known for his strength and elegance at the keyboard. His many honors include a Pennsylvania Artist of the Year Award and a lifetime achievement award from the National Association of Negro Musicians. Back by popular demand, his Sunday afternoon recital at the Art Museum features Prokofiev’s third sonata, preludes and variations by Rachmaninov and Maurice Ravel’s gorgeous, fiendishly difficult Miroirs.