Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival - Family Concert: Musical Animals

Get ready for Our 24th Season

Filled with the world’s greatest music, internationally known musicians, and more fun than ever!

Schedule of Events:

April 12, 2025

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm - Family Concert: Musical Animals - Fernandina Beach Middle School

Designed for young audiences but perfect for music lovers of any age, our annual Family Concert, Musical Animals, features the humorous musical suite Carnival of the Animals and The Pied Piper of Hamelin performed by pianists Julie Coucheron & William Ransom, violist Yinzi Kong, and narrated by the Island’s favorite actor, Frank O’Donnell. You’ll be taken on a fun musical journey that will delight your imagination and fill your heart with joy!

Yinzi Kong

Violist Yinzi Kong, born and raised in Shanghai China, was a founding member of the international award-winning Vega String Quartet. Since winning several top prizes at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in France, the Carmel String Quartet Competition and the Coleman Competition in the US with the Vega, Miss Kong has enjoyed a versatile career in both solo and chamber music performance and teaching. She has performed in major concert halls around the world including the stages of Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Musikverein in Vienna, and the Musée D’Orsay in Paris; and her live performances have been heard on NPR’s Performance Today (USA), the National Radio of China, Shanghai TV, Radio France, France Musiques, and the National Radio of the Czech Republic. Miss Kong has also collaborated with some finest musicians of our time including Yo-Yo Ma, Elliot Fisk, William Preucil, David Shifrin, Richard Stoltzman, Charles Wadsworth, Mark O’Connor, and Sarah Chang among others. Miss Kong currently resides in Atlanta, where she is Artist-in-Residence at Emory University and Kennesaw State University. Miss Kong started her musical training at age five and gave her first public performances at seven. After moving to the United States in 1995, she received a bachelor’s degree from the Harid Conservatory in Florida and a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music in New York.

William Ransom

Pianist, Artistic Director, master teacher, editor, and judge for international competitions, William Ransom has appeared around the world as soloist with orchestras, recitalist, and chamber musician. He regularly collaborates with leading musicians including Yo-Yo Ma, Richard Stoltzman, David Shifrin, William Preucil, Stephen Isserlis, Cho-Liang Lin, Robert McDuffie, and members of the Emerson, Tokyo, Cleveland, Juilliard, American, St. Petersburg, Borromeo, Parker, Ariel, Lark, Dover, Dali, and Attacca String Quartets. Ransom is the Mary Emerson Professor of Music at Emory University where he is founder and Artistic Director of the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta. A graduate of The Juilliard School, in the summers, Ransom is Artistic Director of the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival and for a decade was an artist-faculty member at the Kamisaibara Pianists Camp in Japan. In 2016 he was named Artistic Director of the Juneau Jazz & Classics Festival and also one of Musical America Worldwide’s “30 Musical Innovators”. Recently, he was appointed Artistic Director of the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival.

Julie Coucheron

Born in Oslo, Norway, Ms. Coucheron began playing the piano at age four. She earned her Bachelor and Master’s Degree with honors from the Royal Academy of Music in London. At the age of 32, Ms. Coucheron has established an international career, winning awards and prizes in Italy, Germany, UK and in the United States. Ms. Coucheron has worked with musicians such as Claude Frank, Emanuel Ax, Chee-Yun Kim, Christopher O’Riley, Steve Miller Band, Yo-Yo Ma, and Elton John, and has toured Europe, America, South America and Asia, performing in halls like Verizon Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Ms. Coucheron has performed with the Norwegian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic; Jena Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Philarmonic and the Ukrainian Symphony Orchestra in Kiev. Ms. Coucheron regularly performs at festivals such as the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, Bergen International Music Festival, Amelia Island Music Festival, Madison Chamber Music Festival, Juneau Jazz and Classics and at La Jolla Summer Fest. She is Artistic Director of the Fjord Cadenza festival in Norway ,the Kon Tiki Chamber Music Festival in Oslo, Norway and Georgian Chamber Players in Atlanta, GA.

Frank O’Donnell

Frank O’Donnell is a familiar figure at Amelia Musical Playhouse (AMP) and other local theaters, known for starring in iconic musical and non-musical roles including Atticus Finch and Scrooge. He has narrated at previous AICMF Family Concerts as well as at the Highlands Chamber Music Festival and the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta.

Cost: Free

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Date: December 15, 2024 - June 14, 2025