Chamber Music at Centrum

Cellist Desmond Hoebig to Appear at the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival

Cellist Desmond Hoebig, who will be in residence at the 2008 Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival, first appeared as a soloist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra at the age of eight. He went on to study, during the years of 1979-83, at the Juilliard School, while winning awards over that same time frame: the 1980 Canadian Music Competitions International Stepping Stones, the 1981 CBC Radio Talent Competition. He was a finalist in the 1982 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

Hoebig is equally accomplished as a solo, chamber, and orchestral player. He has appeared with multiple orchestras as a guest soloist, toured widely, and won first prize in the 1984 Munich International Competition. He is currently principal cellist of the Cleveland Symphony.

Hoebig will perform at the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater on both Friday, June 27; and Saturday, June 28. Tickets are available here or by calling Centrum at 800-733-3608 or 360-385-3102, x117. Tickets may be purchased in person in Port Townsend at the Centrum office at Fort Worden State Park; at Quimper Sound, 230 Taylor Street; and at The Food Co-op, 414 Kearney Street. Tickets may also be purchased at individual events, but availability is not guaranteed.

THE PORT TOWNSEND SUMMER CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL
Helen Callus, Artistic Director

Friday, June 27
The Joseph F. Wheeler Theater – 7:30 pm
• Quartet in A minor, D. 804. Franz Schubert. Performed by the Tokyo String Quartet
• Primera Luz (written for the Tokyo String Quartet). Lera Auerbach. Performed by the Tokyo String Quartet.
• Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36. Johannes Brahms. Performed by the Attacca String Quartet with Helen Callus, viola; and Desmond Hoebig, cello.
Tickets: $29/25; youth 18 & under free with reservations

Saturday, June 28
The Joseph F. Wheeler Theater – 7:30 pm
• Quintet for Strings in Bb, K. 174. Wolfgang Mozart. Performed by the Tokyo String Quartet with Helen Callus, viola.
• Quartet in Eb for Piano and Strings, Op. 47. Robert Schumann. Performed by Martin Beaver, violin; Helen Callus, viola; Desmond Hoebig, cello; Robert Koenig, piano.
• Quartet in A minor, Op. 132. Ludwig van Beethoven. Performed by the Tokyo String Quartet.
Tickets: $29/25; youth 18 & under free with reservations

Getting Down to the Wire with Chamber

We're close...

The scholarship and audition deadlines for the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival are this Friday, April 12.

If you've been putting off registering for the workshop, don't delay. We'd especially like to invite violinists and cellists, as our early ensemble-balance projections indicate that we may be able accommodate more instrumentalists in these two categories.

Let us know how we can help--it is going to be a great week, and we want you here with the Tokyo String Quartet, and the rest of the artist faculty!

Chamber Audition/Financial Aid Deadline Moved

A quick note to let you know that we've moved some dates around on our audition and financial aid calendars for the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival.

Once you have registered online to spend a week with the Tokyo String Quartet (you have registered, haven't you?), your scholarship deadline AND audition deadline will be April 12.

Violinist Andrew Dawes

Andrew Dawes, who will be in residence at the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival is known as one of the most distinguished violinists Canada has ever produced. As a founding member and first violinist of Canada’s renowned Orford String Quartet, he has played over 2,000 concerts in more than 25 countries and won three Juno Awards and made more than 50 recordings.

In 1992 he was awarded the Order of Canada in recognition of his contribution to the musical life of Canada. In 1994, he received the prestigious Chalmers National Music Award for creativity and excellence in the arts. He first performed at the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival in 1996 as first violinist of the Tokyo Quartet and has performed here in many concerts since then. He now teaches at the University of British Columbia and is a member of the Eden Trio.

Registration Opens for 2008 Workshops

Registration has opened for Centrum's 2008 workshops. Follow the links in the top right column to learn more, or bookmark http://www.centrum.org/admin/register.html, which is our new launch page for registrations.

New in 2008, we've upgraded the software we use to handle registrations, which will give you more information, more quickly than ever before. As always, your feedback will help us improve how we serve you.

New Food
Also new in 2008, we are excited to announce a new food partner at Fort Worden. Bon Appétit Management Company is bringing their passion for great food inspired by a deep commitment to sustainability and locally grown and produced fare. They share our own belief that food serves a much larger purpose for the community. Breaking bread together helps create a sense of community and comfort. We can't wait for you to come to Fort Worden to experience a new era in excellent cuisine. Learn more at http://www.cafebonappetit.com/fortworden/.

We look forward to seeing you at Fort Worden in 2008.

2008 Chamber Music Information

If you're anything like us, you're busy planning your 2008 activities. As you begin making those plans, we wanted to let you know the following information about Chamber Music here at Centrum in 2008:

1. The dates for the 2008 Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival will be June 22-29, 2008.
2. The Tokyo String Quartet will be our ensemble-in-residence.

For those of you who enjoyed the performances from this year's Festival, we're pleased to announce that the live recording of the Brahms' Piano Quartet in G Minor, Op 25 will be featured on NPR's Performance Today and on Seattle's KING-FM 98.1. We'll let you know when they broadcast.

2007 Chamber Music Workshop Evaluation

If you were a participant in the 2007 Festival workshop, we want to know how the experience was for you! Each participant received an email with a link to the online evaluation. If that message gets misplaced, here is the direct link to the evaluation.

Let us know what you think--your voice matters.

William Feasley

Classical guitarist William Feasley is performing his multimedia show, "Echoes of Goya," worldwide.

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a late seventeenth century Spanish court painter. He is regarded both as the last of the old masters and as the first of the moderns. The subversive and subjective element in his art, as well as his bold handling of paint, provided a model for the work of later generations of artists, including Manet and Picasso.

Feasley's multimedia show takes the form of a guitar recital with an accompanying power point slide show. The works of Goya that are featured range from his early "cartoons" through his mature portraiture, examples of the black paintings, six Caprichos and on to the Milkmaid of Bordeaux (pictured right).

The music falls into three categories; music that was around Goya as he created his art, music that his art inspired and Feasley's musical associations between Goya's art and Spanish music.

The repertoire for the concert continues to evolve. Most recently he commissioned Three Goya Portraits from the Cuban-American composer José Lezcano.

William Feasley, who will be on faculty at the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival August 5-12, 2007, is rapidly becoming recognized as one of today's top classical guitarists.

The first guitarist to be awarded the Peabody Conservatory's coveted Artist Diploma, Feasley has since been the recipient of numerous prizes and awards.

Since making his debut in 1980 with the San Francisco Ballet, performing Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, Feasley has maintained an active international touring schedule.

Recent tours have included Spain, the Caribbean, Greece, Yugoslavia, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Iceland.

He has also has released four critically acclaimed discs: Simplicity, American Sketches, Echoes of Goya, and his most recent CD, Shenandoah, a collection of works with roots in popular or folk music.

Feasley, who is in currently on the faculty of Catholic University, Columbia Union College, and Shepherd University, will be leading a week of workshops August 5-9. As a public capstone to the week, he performs onstage in a free performance at the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater on Tuesday, August 7, at 7 pm.    

Choro Workshop and Performance

CHORO: THE SWEET LAMENT OF BRAZILIAN MUSIC
November 8-11, 2007
$495 includes all meals and lodging. 

Join Mike Marshall (mandolin), Carlos Oliveira (six- and seven-string cavanquinho guitar), Andy Connell (clarinet and saxophone), and Brian Rice (pandeiro and other Brazilian percussion instruments) in this new Centrum fall offering. 

The thirty-person workshop is open to all instruments. “There will be people of different backgrounds and abilities and we’ll be sure to match you up!” Marshall says.

Evening jam sessions, combined with relaxing Brazilian film and audio sessions, round out the workshop. Participants will receive free admission to the November 10 performance in the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater. On Sunday morning, November 11, participants are invited to join the faculty for an authentic Brazilian brunch, prepared by chefs who have relocated to the United States.

For Tickets to the November 10 show, call 800.733.3608 or 360.385.3102, x117. Workshop registration is full.

Violinist Hal Grossman

Centrum is proud to announce that violinist Hal Grossman, Instructor of Violin at Interlochen Center for Arts, will be in residence at the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival. Grossman, who is listed in Who's Who Among America's Teachers consistently ranks as one of the top violin instructors in the country.

Grossman is a former associate professor of violin at Miami University, played first violin for the Oxford String Quartet, is a winner of several international and national competitions, and has played as a soloist with many American and Canadian orchestras, including the Rochester Philharmonic and the North Carolina Symphony. He has also performed recital tours throughout North America and Europe.

After a full week of teaching, Grossman will perform on both Friday, August 10 and Saturday, August 11 at the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater. More workshop information, as well as registration information, is here. For tickets, follow this link.

Clarinetist Alan Kay

Clarinetist Alan Kay will be in residence at the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival, August 5-11, 2007. After teaching in the weeklong festival workshop, he will give a performance on Friday, August 10, at 7:30 pm at the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater as the special guest clarinetist for Trio Solisti's performance of Tempest Fantasy, composer Paul Moravec's Pulitzer Prize-winning work.

One of the most versatile and respected musicians of his generation, Mr. Kay was honored with membership in the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in 2002 and serves as Principal Clarinet with New York’s Riverside Symphony.  He also performs as principal clarinet with the American Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

Also a conductor, Mr. Kay studied orchestral conducting as a Bruno Walter Scholar at Juilliard with Otto-Werner Mueller and has led ensembles at Purchase College, Juilliard, in Buck’s County (PA), Staten Island, California and New York City. Mr. Kay taught at the Summer Music Academy in Leipzig, Germany in 2004 and teaches at the Manhattan, Hartt and Juilliard Schools. 

Pianist Robert Koenig

Canadian pianist Robert Koenig, a much sought-after collaborative artist and chamber musician, will be teaching and performing at the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival from August 5-12, working with emerging professionals, college students, adult amateurs, and talented high school students.

Mr. Koenig performs regularly in major centers throughout the world with many of this generation’s most renowned musicians.

Recent engagements have included performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Alice Tully Hall in New York, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, the Seoul Arts Center, the Concertgebuow in Amsterdam, and the Louvre Museum in Paris.

He has performed with many of today’s leading artists including Sarah Chang, Hilary Hahn, Pamela Frank, Ida Kavafian, Elmar Oliveira, Sidney Harth, and Aaron Rosand

Mr. Koenig is frequently heard on radio and television, including NPR, the BBC, the CBC, ABC’s “Good Morning America,” and CBS‘s “This Morning.” From 1992-1999, Mr. Koenig was staff pianist at the Juilliard School and in September 1999 he became staff pianist at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.  In the fall of 2000, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Piano and Piano Chamber Music at the University of Kansas in Lawrence and has taught there since.

Mr. Koenig has recorded for Artek, Ambassador, Biddulph, Cedille, CRI, Eroica, and Naxos. His most recent CD of favorite encores for violin and piano with violinist Elmar Oliveira was released in May 2001 on the Artek Label.

You can listen to Mr. Koenig's recording of the "Concerto in D for violin, piano, and string quartet" by Ernst Chausson, here. The excerpt is from the fourth movement.

Tempest Fantasy

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec will be composer-in-residence at the 2007 Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival, working closely with college, adult, and emerging-professional composers. Moravec, whose composition Tempest Fantasy will be performed at the Festival by Trio Solisti (the very ensemble that he wrote it for) and clarinetist Alan Kay, has had over a dozen CDs performed of his work, and has composed several dozen chamber, choral, and orchestra works.

It is Tempest Fantasy, a meditation on the motifs and characters of Shakespeare's play The Tempest, that has garnered Moravec much recent acclaim.

"Tempest Fantasy has," Moravec notes, "everything to do with Shakespeare and nothing to do with Shakespeare."

Moravec originally wrote a violin-and-piano piece called Ariel's Fantasy. (In the play, Ariel is a light-hearted messenger sprite.) When violinist Maria Bachmann, of Trio Solisti, first heard the music, she loved its energy and color, and encouraged Moravec to develop it into a complete half-hour piece.

Trio Solisti gave the world premiere performance of Tempest Fantasy. On Friday, August 10, at 7:30 pm, at the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival, Trio Solisti, together with clarinetist Alan Kay, will perform all five movements of Tempest Fantasy: "Ariel," "Prospero," "Caliban," "Sweet Airs," and "Fantasia."

Teaching and Performing: Antonio Lysy

"I can't do without either," Antonio Lysy says, when asked if he prefers performing or teaching.

Performing puts Lysy close to the music, close to the instrument, and to a place of "discovering more about myself, about my limits. It's a great incentive to then be able to pass [that] on," he says.

Antonio is an artist of international stature. He has performed worldwide in major concert halls, including the Royal Festival Hall, the Convertgebuow, and the Berlin Philharmonie. He has also appeared extensively as a soloist, with such orchestras as the Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras of London, Camerata Academica of Salzburg, Zurich Tonhalle, the Zagreb Soloists, Orchestra di Padova e il Veneto, and many, many others.

He currently teaches at UCLA and will be at the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival August 5-12, teaching, tutoring, and performing.

Listen to Lysy playing Bach's Suite No. 3 in C major.

Trio Solisti at Centrum in 2007

Trio Solisti, whose performances thrill audiences around the globe, will be the featured ensemble at the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival in 2007.

Trio Solisti's recordings include a widely renowned CD of Brahms's work, and recordings of music by composer Paul Moravec that includes the world premiere of Moravec's Pulitzer Prize-winning work. The Trio has also given critically acclaimed performances at Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater, at Town Hall in New York City for the People's Symphony Concerts, and at the Tuscan Sun Festival in Cortona, Italy, among many others. As Helen Callus, Artistic Director for the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival notes, "We are thrilled to be able to build our program around these musicians."

Audition Information

Workshop registration is limited to achieve balanced instrumentation and similar levels of experience. All participants are required to submit a CD or tape as part of their application. Below are some suggestions for making a recording.

Making an effective recording doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. You can obtain a good result with a modest microphone and your computer, minidisk recorder, or a cassette recorder. Be sure to make a few test recordings with the microphone(s) placed in different places to maximize the quality of your sound before making a recording to submit. We also have an informative Powerpoint presentation available to help you make your demo recording.

Indicate which of the following categories describe you:

Instrumentalists

• Emerging Professional
  You have graduated from a university or conservatory within the last three years, and are actively pursuing a career in music. You’re looking for an opportunity to play chamber music with other strong players and to receive focused coaching from our outstanding artist faculty.
• College (graduate or undergraduate)
  You are currently enrolled in a university or conservatory, and are seeking additional experience playing chamber music at an advanced level. Of the four categories, Emerging Professionals and College Students will receive the most intensive coaching.
• Adult Amateur
  Music is an important part of your life, but you’re not a professional musician. You played or studied music in college and possibly beyond, and remain active as a player. Your colleagues often tell us that spending a week doing nothing but playing music feeds their spirits in a way nothing else can.
• High School Student
  You’re a motivated player with strong skills on your instrument. You may or may not have career ambitions as a musician, but are actively studying privately on your instrument. Adult Amateurs and High School Students may receive part of their coaching from members of our guest graduate ensemble, who will be students from a leading school spending the week as apprentices to the faculty learning, teaching, and performing.

Composers

• This track is designed for intermediate and advanced composers who would like to receive personal instruction from Pulitzer-winning composer Paul Moravec. It is aimed at composers in college or graduate school as well as serious composers not in school. Applications will also be considered from talented high school composers. You need to have a solid grasp of notation, and should have at least a modest portfolio of completed pieces from which to submit an application. You should bring at least one finished work to the workshop as well as a work-in-progress.

All Instrumentalists
Your audition recording should include two contrasting works of your choice, totaling not more than 20 minutes. Please choose from concertos or sonatas in contrasting styles and tempos. String players are asked to include one unaccompanied work such as a solo Bach Suite, Sonata, or Partita as one of their selections. If one of these is not in your repertoire, please use a second sonata or concerto movement. In addition to the two solo selections, you may include a movement of chamber music if the recording is of high quality.

Mark the recording and its case clearly with your name and instrument, and the composer and title or tempo marking for each track.  If you submit a CD, please index each selection as a separate track. (Example:  Track 1) W.A. Mozart, Concerto for Violin in D, K. 211, Movement I, Allegro)

Composers 
Send two scores, preferably of more recent work. Include recordings if you have them, even if they are computer realizations. We will save your scores, but we strongly encourage you not to send originals.

Mail all materials by June 1, 2007, to Centrum, PO Box 1158, Port Townsend, WA 98368.

Workshop Schedule

First Sunday

• 3:30-5:30 check-in
• 7:00 welcome session

Monday-Friday

• 9:00am ensemble coaching
• 11:00am rehearsals
• 1:00pm special sessions
• 2:30 ensemble rehearsals
• 3:30 extra sessions
• 7:00 faculty presentations

Meals

• breakfast     7:30
• lunch        noon
• dinner        5:45

Friday & Saturday- public performances
Last Sunday, check-out by 11am

2007 Artist/Faculty

Helen Callus, the Artistic Director of the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival, is an international recording artist and the first elected female president of the American Viola Society. She is a regular performer on radio and television as a recitalist, chamber music collaborator, and concerto soloist. Her debut recording, Portrait of the Viola, and her subsequent recordings have been met with wide critical acclaim. Callus currently serves as Associate Professor of Viola at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Hear her music and more.

Maria Bachmann, Alexis Pia Gerlach, and Jon Klibonoff join together as Trio Solisti to create performances that have thrilled audiences across Canada, Europe, and the United States. The New York Times describes Trio Solisti as “compelling and consistently brilliant.” The Trio has been featured on national radio shows around the country. Trio Solisti’s recordings include an all-Brahms album for Marquis Classics, and a recording of music by Paul Moravec for the Arabesque label which includes recordings of Moravec’s 2004 Pulitzer Prize-winning work, composed specifically for the Trio. In 2003, a documentary video, Trio Solisti Explores Beethoven, was released by the Films for Humanities and Sciences. more

William Feasley is recognized as one of today’s top classical guitarists. The first guitarist to be awarded the Peabody Conservatory’s coveted Artist Diploma, Feasley has since been the recipient of numerous prizes and awards and maintains an active international touring schedule. In addition, he is currently on the faculties of Catholic University, Columbia Union College, and Shepherd University. Hear his music and more.

Hal Grossman teaches at the Interlochen Academy, and was previously Associate Professor of Music at Miami University. He is the winner of the International Cleveland Quartet and National Fischoff  Chamber Music competitions, and made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Casella String Quartet. In addition, Grossman has served as first violinist of the Oxford String Quartet and as Concertmaster of the Estranach (Luxembourg) and several U.S. orchestras. In addition, Grossman has made several recital tours throughout North America and Europe. more

Clarinetist Alan Kay appears frequently with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and has been featured at the Vail Valley Music Festival and the Yellow Barn Festival. He teaches at the Manhattan, Hartt, and Juilliard schools, and has performed with the award-winning ensemble Hexagon, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, and the Da Camera of Houston. more

Pianist Robert Koenig has quickly established a reputation as a much sought-after collaborative artist and chamber musician. He performs regularly in major centers throughout the world with many renowned musicians. Recent engagements have included performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Alice Tully Hall in New York, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, the Seoul Arts Center, the Concertgebuow in Amsterdam, and the Louvre Museum in Paris. more

Cellist Antonio Lysy has performed worldwide in major concert halls, including the Royal Festival Hall, the Concertgebouw, the Tonhalle, Salle Pleyel, Wigmore Hall, Sala Verdi, Berlin Philharmonie, and Teatro Colón. He has appeared extensively as soloist with such orchestras as the Royal Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras of London, among many others, including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, where he gave the premiere of a triple concerto by composer Denis Bouliane. Hear his music and more.

Paul Moravec, recipient of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in Music for his work Tempest Fantasy, composes orchestral, chamber, choral, and lyric compositions, as well as film scores and electro-acoustic pieces. His many awards and fellowships include the Rome Prize, NEA Composer Fellowship, and Rockefeller Foundation fellowship. Moravec is currently Music Department Chair at Adelphi University. more

Workshop Description

At the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival, August 5 - 12, 2007, structured rehearsals and coaching foster an inspirational atmosphere to unleash your artistic potential. All this in one of the West Coast’s most beautiful locations. You’ll play in ensembles divided by skill level. All participants will receive coaching by our outstanding artist faculty. Master classes, reading sessions, special classes, and private instruction are also included. The week’s curriculum is rounded out with daily informal reading sessions with faculty.

The Festival serves:

Instrumentalists

• Emerging Professionals
  You have graduated from a college or university within the last three years, and are actively pursuing a career in music.  You’re looking for an opportunity to play chamber music with other strong players and to receive focused coaching from our outstanding artist faculty.
• College (graduate or undgraduate)
  You are currently enrolled in a college or conservatory, and are seeking additional experience playing chamber music at an advanced level.  Of the four categories, Emerging Professionals and College Students will receive the most intensive coaching.
• Adult Amateurs
  Music is an important part of your life, but you’re not a professional musician.  You played or studied music in college and possibly beyond, and remain active as a player.  Your colleagues often tell us that spending a week doing nothing but playing music feeds their spirits in a way nothing else can.
• High School Students
  You’re a motivated player with strong skills on your instrument.  You may or may not have career ambitions as a musician, but are actively studying privately on your instrument.  Adult Amateurs and High School Students may receive part of their coaching from members of our guest graduate ensemble, who will be students from a leading school spending the week as apprentices to the faculty learning, teaching and performing.

Differing levels of ability are expected, and ensembles are formed with this in mind. Individuals—as well as pre-formed ensembles—are encouraged to apply. An audition is required.

Composers

• This track is designed for intermediate and advanced composers who would like to receive personal instruction from Pulitzer-winning composer Paul Moravec.  It is aimed at composers in college or graduate school as well as serious composers not in school.  Applications will also be considered from talented high school composers.  You need to have a solid grasp of notation, and should have at least a modest portfolio of completed pieces from which to submit an application.  You should bring at least one finished work to the workshop as well as a work-in-progress. 

Tuition for the workshop is $475 ($375 for returning participants who register a new participant at the same time that they register), and includes admission to all festival events. Room and board options range from $200 to $385.