Earlier this year, the Tryon Concert Association formally announced to its loyal subscribers the programs for its 56th season. As usual, all performances are presented at the Tryon Fine Arts Center on Melrose Avenue.

The opening concert is at 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 16. The program features the St. Lawrence String Quartet, one of Canadas premier chamber ensembles. This world-class group has performed close to 2,000 times during the past 20 years. The group is noted for its particularly imaginative and spontaneous music-making.

The second concert is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Friday, December 3, and features American classical pianist Jeremy Denk, a graduate of Oberlin College with a degree in music and chemistry. He also holds a masters degree in music from the University of Indiana and a doctorate in piano performance from the Julliard School.

In 1997, he won the Young Concert Artists International Award. During his illustrious career, he has worked with most of the worlds finest string quartets as well as major orchestras and many noted soloists.

The third concert will be presented at 8 p.m. on Friday, February 25, 2011. Clarinetist Jose Franch-Ballester will display his artistry. A native of Valencia, Spain, Franch-Ballester is widely considered to be one of the most promising clarinetists of his generation.

In 2004, he also won the Young Concert Artists International Award. He has played throughout the world and has performed with many of the most outstanding artists of our time.

The fourth and final concert of the 2010-2011 concert season will be at 8 p.m., Tuesday, May 3, 2011 and will feature the Grammy Award-winning Chanticleer, the only full-time classical choral ensemble in the United States.

This celebrated group – an orchestra of voices – has been performing a repertoire ranging from Renaissance to jazz, from gospel to avant-garde.

This concert series may still have a limited number of subscriptions available, if you act promptly. The cost of the full, four-concert subscription is what one would expect to pay for a single concert at Lincoln Center or Carnegie Hall where most of the artists have performed.

For subscription information, contact Dorothy Wyckoff at 828-859-6065, or write the Tryon Concert Association at P.O. Box 32, Tryon, NC 28782.