Chamber Music Festival Returns to Oberlin in January

Ten free concerts and an extensive and accomplished roster of musicians are slated for the second-annual chamber music festival at Oberlin Conservatory. All events of the 2015 Chamber Music Intensive & Festival for String, Wind, and Piano are open to the public.

Festival co-chairs George Sakakeeny (bassoon), Peter Takács (piano), and Michael Strauss (viola) have invited colleagues from across the country and around the world to take part in performances as well as lectures and teaching duties.

“We're incredibly excited to bring this diverse and stimulating roster of guest artists to Oberlin to work with our students and perform with our faculty," says Associate Professor Strauss. "These celebrated musicians are coming from within our alumni ranks and from acclaimed ensembles in our neighborhood and around the world.

"The 10 programs show a fantastic range of sound and texture created by these small ensembles. And the variety is wonderful for introducing chamber music to new audiences, as well as appealing to those who already love it.”

The Oberlin Trio—violinist David Bowlin, cellist Amir Eldan, and pianist Haewon Song— anchor the festival as resident ensemble and are featured artists for the Finale program on Saturday, January 24.

Six student ensembles, varying from duos to quartets and including pianists, wind, and string players, will work daily in rehearsal and in coachings with faculty and guest artist mentors, and will take part in a lecture and workshop series as well as public master classes. They are also slated for two performances near the end of the month.

The complete festival schedule, including lectures and public master classes, can be found in Oberlin’s online event calendar. The concert schedule follows:

TUESDAY, JANUARY 6: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall
Wasmuth Quartet—Indiana University’s award-winning graduate string quartet in residence with Oberlin alumna Abigail Rojansky ’11—has programmed quartet works by Haydn, Webern, and Ligeti.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7: 8 p.m., Clonick Hall
Chartreuse +, a new-music trio of Oberlin alums in collaboration with current Oberlin students, will kick off a two-week tour with this concert in Oberlin.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall
A diverse and decorated roster of faculty and guests will perform Bach’s Trio Sonata BWV 525, Mozart’s G Minor Piano Quartet, and Dvořák’s A Major Piano Quintet Op. 81. Austin Hartman (member of the Naumberg Award-winning Biava Quartet) and Adriana Contino (former principal cellist of the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra) are featured guests.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 10: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall
The Oberlin-founded Prima Trio return with music by Schumann, Milhaud, Piazzolla, and Khachaturian. Trio member Boris Allakhverdyan will be taking a brief break from his duties as principal clarinetist of the Metropolitan Opera to join his long-time colleagues—violinist and violist Gulia Gurevich and pianist Anastasia Dedik.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall
Oberlin faculty and members of the Cleveland Orchestra join together for a colorful concert focused on woodwind chamber music by Beethoven, Mozart, Francaix, and Philip Maneval. Cleveland Orchestra members include oboist Frank Rosenwein, violinist Stephen Rose, English horn player Robert Walters, and cellist Charles Bernard.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall
Oberlin faculty and guests—violinists Michelle Abraham and William Harvey, and Cavani Quartet cellist Merry Peckham—present works by Villa Lobos, Ginastera, and Dvořák.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall
Three student ensembles will perform works by composers including Beethoven, Schumann, Reinecke, and Destenay.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall
Highly-regarded Russian pianist Misha Namirovsky and faculty members Michael Strauss (viola) and Amir Eldan (cello) will perform works by Schubert and Shostakovich.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22: 8 p.m., Kulas Hall
Three student ensembles will perform works by composers including Beethoven, Schumann, Reinecke, and Destenay.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 24: 8 p.m., Warner Hall
Finale featuring the Oberlin Trio and faculty includes Beethoven’s Piano Trio Op. 1, No. 1, Ravel’s La valse for two pianos, and Schumann’s Piano Quintet, Op. 44.