Saturday, October 10, 2026 - 7:30 PM
Birmingham United Methodist Church, Milton, GA
Mozart in Milton
FEATURING:
The Vega Quartet
Laura Ardan, clarinet
William Ransom, pianist
Celebrate the opening of Music Milton’s second season with the Prince of all composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His dramatic G Minor Piano Quartet, a Duo for Violin & Viola and the Clarinet Quintet, one of the Crown Jewels of the Chamber Music repertoire, demonstrate the wide range of his genius.
Acclaimed clarinetist Laura Ardan, longtime Principal Clarinet of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, joins the internationally award-winning Vega Quartet and Music Milton Artistic Director
and celebrated pianist William Ransom for an extraordinary evening of chamber music.
The Vega Quartet
The Vega String Quartet, Quartet-in-Residence at Emory University, is cultivating a new generation of chamber music lovers through dynamic performances and innovative community engagement. The New York Times raved that "[the Quartet’s] playing had a kind of clean intoxication to it, pulling the listener along…the musicians took real risks in their music making" and the L.A. Times praised their “triumphant L.A. debut.” Winners of four of the top six prizes at the Bordeaux String Quartet Competition, including the International Critics Prize, the Vega Quartet tours extensively throughout Europe, Asia and North America. Their live broadcast credits include NPR’s Performance Today, WABE’s City Lights, as well as Radio France, National Radio of China and the National Radio of the Czech Republic. The Vega Quartet has appeared at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Royal Academy of Music in London, Musée d’Orsay in Paris, Vienna’s Musikverein and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, among others. The Vega Quartet performs frequently at numerous music festivals, including Amelia Island, Highlands-Cashiers, Juneau Jazz & Classics, Sitka Summer Music, Brevard and Kneisel Hall.
Laura Ardan
One of the United States’ most respected clarinetists, Laura Ardan recently retired from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra after serving as principal clarinet for 39 years, holding the endowed Robert Shaw Chair. In 2018 Ardan was awarded the Mabel Dorn Reeder Honorary Chair by the ASO. She has been a featured soloist in works by Mozart, Weber, Debussy, Copland, Bernstein, Finzi, Rossini, Shaw, and Michael Gandolfi.
Always an active chamber musician, Ms. Ardan has played and recorded regularly with the Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta, the Atlanta Chamber Players and the Georgian Chamber Players. She has performed with the Cleveland and Vega Quartets. While a student at The Juilliard School, Ardan performed frequently with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, was the resident clarinetist and teaching artist at the Lincoln Center Institute for four years and was a guest artist in “Emanuel Ax Invites...” on the Great Performers series at Lincoln Center.
Busy summer schedules have included performances at Tanglewood, Marlboro, Mostly Mozart, Grand Teton, Santa Fe Chamber, Highlands-Cashiers, Hamptons, Amelia Island, and Bellingham Festivals, and the Aspen Music Festival and School.
William Ransom
Pianist, Artistic Director, master teacher, editor, and judge for international competitions, William Ransom has appeared around the world as soloist with orchestras, recitalists, and chamber musicians. He regularly collaborates with leading musicians including Yo-Yo Ma, Richard Stoltzman, David Shifrin, William Preucil, Stephen Isserlis, Cho-Liang Lin, and members of the Emerson, Tokyo, Cleveland, Juilliard, American, St. Petersburg, Borromeo, Parker, Ariel, Lark, Dover, Vega, 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 and Classics Festival, and also one of Musical America Worldwide's “30 Musical Innovators.” In 2022 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, and in 2024 Chamber Music America awarded him the “Community Impact/Presenter of the Year” prize.