Meet Elizabeth, and her family.

We have enjoyed having Elizabeth Ramos (violin) perform with us so much this season! When we asked her to play this upcoming concert with us, she was giddy with delight. It turns out that one of the pieces on the program holds a special place in her heart, and this is her first opportunity to actually play it. She has graciously shared this story with us today. Elizabeth comes from a family of musicians. Both of her parents play in the St. Louis Symphony. Her mom is a cellist and her dad is a violinist. Both of her siblings are also musicians. What is it like to grow up in a house full of string players? She gives us a little glimpse in her story. 

Elizabeth Ramos, violin

In my parents house, my mother has a studio that is cluttered with dusty cassettes, decaying volumes of music, and every type of random artifact you could imagine, ranging from decade old used strings to broken splintering cello chairs.  It is here that I would come in my adolescent years to rummage through old bins of recordings and thumb through yellowed, flaking pages of chamber music.  Mixed into the hodgepodge of musical paraphernalia I would frequently come across live recordings of my parent's performances, some from only a few months prior, and others extending as far back as their conservatory days in the 70's.  Perhaps early on I had a deep seated sense of parental pride, or more likely it was just an inquisitive child's curiosity, but more often than not I would find myself specifically combing through the familial stacks of long forgotten cassette tapes labeled "Carmen Fantasy, 1987," or "Brahms Double, 1993."

Elizabeth on the far left, with her sibling playing together.

Every find would be a secret bonanza, to be confiscated and listened to over and over again while doing the dishes. (The kitchen had the most easily accesible stereo.)  It was during one of these "snooping" sessions that I came across a cassette tape of the Schumann Piano Quintet with my father playing first violin.  To a child's ears, it was magnetic.  During the after dinner dishes that evening, I dragged my little brother into the kitchen and forced him to sword fight with a spatula and a wooden spoon to the Scherzo, and play acted a long, drawn out melodramatic death accompanying the slow movement.  For the next year it was the only recording that played during our dish washing listening sessions.  Eventually we memorized our own made up lyrics, usually consisting of comedic insults and ridiculous dialogue, frequently interrupted by bouts of giggles and laughter. Throughout the years I've held this chamber work in the highest regard, not only for it's masterful brilliance, but also for the nostalgic quality it inspires.  This will be my first time performing the Schumann Piano Quintet.

Come hear Elizabeth play the Schumann Piano Quintet next Friday! Maybe she'll swing a wooden spoon at you during the Scherzo. 

ACE April 12, 8:00pm The Chapel Venue buy tickets>

SCHUBERT  String Trio in B flat Major CRESTON  Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano SCHUMANNPiano Quintet in E flat Major

Hannah Frey, violin Elizabeth Ramos, violin Laura Reycraft, viola Stephanie Hunt, cello Adrianne Honnold, saxophone Peter Henderson, piano

Where in the world...

Our upcoming concert is called "Voyage" and explores music that expresses some kind of journey. We asked our musicians about their musical Voyages! Cellist Valentina Takova previously shared her story, which envovles an intense journey of leaving her homeland and moving to America with her cello. You can read that here. But this time she shares something a little lighter. And sandier.

"I have traveled quite a bit because of my cello but I think my favorite work related voyage is going to Hawaii! Yes, you read this right! I play with the Honolulu Symphony from time to time and there is nothing better than dropping off your cello after rehearsal and going to the beach or to swim with turtles! Every day is sunny and beautiful. Girls wear flowers in their hair and people say Aloha when you walk in to Walgreen's. And at the end of the week...you get payed...Yes, you read that right too! Of course there are always dangers like getting your ears full with sand from a big wave, falling off of a cliff while hiking or being bitten by a giant bug...but I'll take it! Thank you Honolulu Symphony! Definitely my favorite musical voyage!"

Artistic Director and flutist, Jennifer Gartley shares her story of going to a festival in Canada where she fell in love....sort of.  She's also been to Mexico, but that story is for later.

A few summers ago, well more than a few now, I spent a couple weeks up in Canada, north of Quebec at a music festival called Domaine Forget.  The sole reason I went was to learn from my flute boyfriend: Emmanuel Pahud. To be clear, he is unfortunately not my boyfriend, but I can promise you if you ask any of my college students about my flute boyfriend, they will know exactly who you are talking about. Now, I did not just love him because he is beautiful and French - but that didn't hurt.  I loved him mostly because he was the most amazing flute player I had ever heard.  My

friend Anne and I drove up from Portland, Maine in an old ford taurus that had seen better days.  We arrived and the views were breathtaking and there were a ton of flutists.  Flutists sometimes get a bad rep for being ul

tra competitive and dare we say not very friendly, but that was not my experience.  I made a ton of new flute friends from all over the globe and I got to practice my French a little bit.  Emmanuel Pahud turned out to be not only an amazing player, but also an empathetic, daring, and inspiring teacher.  On our free days, we walked through the streets of Quebec and I bought a really great pair of earrings from this fancy Canadian store, that turned out to be an American chain retailer - but I felt very fancy for a moment. The lessons I learned about being open to other musicians, making intentional artistic decisions, and hearing J.S. Bach in an entirely new way are lessons I have carried with me ever since.

Vince Varvel, guitar enjoyed performing all over Europe. Vince is performing with Chamber Project for the first time on Voyage. 

I think my favorite musical "voyage" up to now has been the first time I went to Europe to play. The excitement of being in Europe combined with the experience of playing for the wonderful audiences over there was a life-changing experience for me.  While it was wonderful performing in a big city like Paris, my favorite concerts were the ones played in the smaller towns in the countryside where we were welcomed and treated like family (and fed pretty well, to boot!)

FEB 22, 7:00pm at The Saint Louis Art Museum Art After 5 series.Call 314-721-0072 to reserve your free tickets. **THIS CONCERT IS SOLD OUT**

MARCH 1, 8:00pm at The Chapel Venue. $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Includes 2 drinks. Click here for advance ticket purchase.

Full Program PIAZZOLLA            L’histoire du Tango BERMEL                Soul Garden SCHOENBERG     Transfigured Night

Meet Eliana

Our upcoming concert is titled "VOYAGE" because all of the pieces start somewhere and end up somewhere different. We thought it would be fun to learn about Voyages our musicians have taken so we asked them to share. Eliana Haig (viola) will be making her debut with Chamber Project next week. She's new to Saint Louis so take a moment and get to know her and her story! We'll have a few more stories coming soon.  Hi! My name is Eliana and I am very excited to be playing viola on the Voyage concerts for Chamber Project! I am a Saint Louis newbie, having just moved here with my fiance, Alex, in August. I currently teach about 22 private students (and growing) and freelance throughout the region.

I decided on the viola in 3rd grade string orchestra through a process of elimination. I decided that 1) the violin was too high-pitched and annoying (upon working with many great violinists I have since changed my view) and 2) the cello was going to be a pain to carry around. The viola and I have been inseparable ever since. I love playing the middle voice and being in the center of the action.

I’ve been lucky that my viola playing has allowed me to enjoy many different parts of the world as well as many different musical experiences. I just moved to Saint Louis from Rochester, New York: I got my Master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music, then lived “downstate” (NYC area) for two years, then went back to Rochester, and now here. I grew up in Kentucky, but did my Bachelor’s degree in Wisconsin, so I’ve sort of lived a little bit of everywhere! My most interesting musical voyage, however, was the year I spent studying abroad in Austria.

Like many American students, I did a study abroad program for a semester, and chose Vienna as my destination. To non-musicians this may seem a bit random. Why not London or Paris or Berlin? But Vienna is actually a musician’s dream destination. Most of the composers we know best lived there, including Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Schubert, and Schumann. Arnold Schoenberg, the composer of Verklärte Nacht [which is on the upcoming concert], was born in Vienna and lived and worked there before being forced to emigrate when the Nazi party rose to power. {click here to watch a short video about Schoenberg in Vienna} I got to visit Beethoven’s apartment, explore an entire museum devoted to Mahler, and see a Bruckner Symphony with the same orchestra and the same hall where it was premiered. During my semester in Vienna, I also took lessons with a fantastic viola teacher, from whom I learned so much that I decided to stay the rest of the year.

This teacher actually taught full-time at a school in Graz, a small city in the southern part of Austria, so I enrolled there. I learned conversational German, though much of it I have forgotten. I played a lot of concerts, and met many people from all over the world. Being far away from home with only a passable command of the language was exciting, fascinating, confusing, and lonely, often all in the same day! Since I often think in musical terms, the best way I can think to describing my experience is that it was like learning a completely new piece of music for the first time.

Beginning to rehearse a new piece, while fun and exciting, is often disorienting. Even if I have listened to the piece with the score, hearing my part combined with the others for the first time feels like information overload. Especially when I’m preparing to perform piece of contemporary music, it takes a while to try to understand the “musical language” of the composer. Why do they want it to get louder there? What emotional or coloristic effect is he or she going for? Sometimes a new piece seems so “foreign” that I’m not even sure if certain markings in the score are clerical errors or intentional musical instructions. But much like the thrill of travelling, I love playing new music because it stretches me intellectually and forces me to try new ways of doing things - all in real time and while responding to the other musicians. That’s why live music is so much fun!

Much like a composer’s notes in the score, symbolic instructions can get lost in translation. This ambiguous sign, which I saw outside of public transit station in Graz, Austria, says “uneven surfaces”.

Be sure to say hi to Eliana at one of our upcoming concerts!

FEB 22, 7:00pm at The Saint Louis Art Museum Art After 5 series.Call 314-721-0072 to reserve your free tickets.

MARCH 1, 8:00pm at The Chapel Venue. $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Includes 2 drinks. Click here for advance ticket purchase.

Full Program PIAZZOLLA            L’histoire du Tango BERMEL                Soul Garden SCHOENBERG     Transfigured Night

Transfigured Night Illuminated

this post written by Dana Our next concert, Voyage, features a very famous piece by the famous composer Arnold Schoenberg. Verklärte Nacht, or, Transfigured Night. Written for string sextet (2 violins, 2 violas and 2 cellos) the piece is based on a poem of the same name by Richard Dehmel.

The poem is quite intimate and powerful, and had a big effect on Schoenberg. So big, it inspired him to write one of his most famous works. After writing the haunting, passionate and beautiful Transfigured Night, Schoenberg turned his music, and the world of music, on its head by writing some really crazy stuff, notably Pierrot Lunaire, which is being performed this Wednesday by members of The Saint Louis Symphony at The Pulitzer if you're interested.

But back to Transfigured Night. As you might know, we've been creating art posters for each of our concerts this year, and I felt that this poem had such rich imagery I really wanted an artist to do something with it, and luckily, I had just recently met a wonderful artist - Holly Gollwitzer-Gregg. I pitched it to her and she said yes! Here is the result!

It might seem rather mysterious if you haven't read the poem - which is what we were looking for. This poem has really stuck to me. It has everything- the just slightly taboo subject, the fear, the courage, the love and acceptance. Holly captures THE MOMENT of the poem so beautifully. You can see more of her work (she's also an incredible Decorative Painter) on her site: www.lefthanddecorative.com

Here is the poem, courtesy of Wikipedia, where you can learn more about the music too if you'd like. There are also some fantastic YouTube videos of it. This one gives a moment by moment description of how the music and the text fit together.

Zwei Menschen gehn durch kahlen, kalten Hain; der Mond läuft mit, sie schaun hinein. Der Mond läuft über hohe Eichen; kein Wölkchen trübt das Himmelslicht, in das die schwarzen Zacken reichen. Die Stimme eines Weibes spricht:		Two people are walking through a bare, cold wood; the moon keeps pace with them and draws their gaze. The moon moves along above tall oak trees, there is no wisp of cloud to obscure the radiance to which the black, jagged tips reach up. A woman’s voice speaks:
„Ich trag ein Kind, und nit von Dir, ich geh in Sünde neben Dir. Ich hab mich schwer an mir vergangen. Ich glaubte nicht mehr an ein Glück und hatte doch ein schwer Verlangen nach Lebensinhalt, nach Mutterglück		“I am carrying a child, and not by you. I am walking here with you in a state of sin. I have offended grievously against myself. I despaired of happiness, and yet I still felt a grievous longing for life’s fullness, for a mother’s joys
und Pflicht; da hab ich mich erfrecht, da ließ ich schaudernd mein Geschlecht von einem fremden Mann umfangen, und hab mich noch dafür gesegnet. Nun hat das Leben sich gerächt: nun bin ich Dir, o Dir, begegnet.“		and duties; and so I sinned, and so I yielded, shuddering, my sex to the embrace of a stranger, and even thought myself blessed. Now life has taken its revenge, and I have met you, met you.”
Sie geht mit ungelenkem Schritt. Sie schaut empor; der Mond läuft mit. Ihr dunkler Blick ertrinkt in Licht. Die Stimme eines Mannes spricht:		She walks on, stumbling. She looks up; the moon keeps pace. Her dark gaze drowns in light. A man’s voice speaks:
„Das Kind, das Du empfangen hast, sei Deiner Seele keine Last, o sieh, wie klar das Weltall schimmert! Es ist ein Glanz um alles her; Du treibst mit mir auf kaltem Meer, doch eine eigne Wärme flimmert von Dir in mich, von mir in Dich.		“Do not let the child you have conceived be a burden on your soul. Look, how brightly the universe shines! Splendour falls on everything around, you are voyaging with me on a cold sea, but there is the glow of an inner warmth from you in me, from me in you.
Die wird das fremde Kind verklären, Du wirst es mir, von mir gebären; Du hast den Glanz in mich gebracht, Du hast mich selbst zum Kind gemacht.“ Er faßt sie um die starken Hüften. Ihr Atem küßt sich in den Lüften. Zwei Menschen gehn durch hohe, helle Nacht.		That warmth will transfigure the stranger’s child, and you bear it me, begot by me. You have transfused me with splendour, you have made a child of me.” He puts an arm about her strong hips. Their breath embraces in the air. Two people walk on through the high, bright night.

(English translation by Mary Whittall)

Performances

FEB 22, 7:00pm at The Saint Louis Art Museum Art After 5 series.Call 314-721-0072 to reserve your free tickets.

MARCH 1, 8:00pm at The Chapel Venue. $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Includes 2 drinks. Click here for advance ticket purchase.

Full Program PIAZZOLLA            L’histoire du Tango BERMEL                Soul Garden SCHOENBERG     Transfigured Night

Stay tuned, we're going to have Voyage stories from our musicians in the next post!

Building Together

Today we launch our "Countdown to 2013" donation drive! We love bringing music to our community - and we need your help to keep it coming! Help us establish ourselves as a permanent fixture in the music scene here in Saint Louis by making a donation. We call it, "Becoming Part of the Project" because when you donate to us, you really are an integral part of what we do and you join the circle of people who have come together to make our concerts a part of their lives.

So, this thing called music costs money. Quite a bit of money. Our focus is to present the best musicians our town has to offer in intimate, casual settings where you can get to know the musicians, as well as the music. We go out of our way to use locally owned businesses for the services we need as much as we can. (All of our printing is done by locally owned printers - The Ink Spot on Hampton and Paperkeet on Morganford).

We put together this little flyer to send out with our snail mail campaign - scroll down to see our "contribution menu".

The first advice we got from an adviser who helped us set up our non-profit status was that our financial foundation would come from lots and lots of small to medium donations. Not from grants or big flashy donations. And she was right. We have received some very generous donations, for which we are incredibly grateful. We've received our first grant, and look forward to more in the future, but what we really seek is for the community to chip in what they can to help make music happen in their community!

Take a moment and visit our PayPal link and become a Part of the Project!

www.PayPal.com

or send a check to:

4159 Wyoming Street St. Louis, MO 63116

Thank you and Happy New Year!

Meet Megan

Meet Megan, her sisters and her dog, and hear her play this Wednesday at The Schlafly Tap Room! (concert details at the end) My name is Megan Stout. I have loved the harp for as long as I can remember.  I moved to St Louis a few years ago and have been so fortunate that Chamber Project has asked me to play with them. It is such a rewarding musical experience with marvelous musicians and people.

People ask me why I chose the harp.  I, honestly have no idea.  I was always taken with the idea. When I was a little girl (about 5) we lived in a house with a pool. The hollow metal pool railing was shaped like a harp and I would hit it until it would ring then pretend to play. It combined two of my favorite things, water and the harp!

I FINALLY got lessons when I was 9 years old. When my mom told me that my teacher accepted me and that I was going to start lessons I fell to the floor crying. I was an ecstatic little girl. :)

As we all know, the harp is heavy and awkward to carry. It took me a little time to be able to get a harp dolly but luckily, I had the older neighbor boy, Jake, to help me and my mom get it into the old family suburban. When I got my harp dolly I named it Jake after that patient and strong boy. Jake (the cart) and I have been together for 20 years and it currently resides at Powell Symphony Hall!

I have two sisters who are also musicians. My older sister is a pianist and my younger sister is an oboist. We are very close and love to play duets and trios together. These are pictures of me and my sisters after a few recitals we played together.

My older sister and I did our undergraduate studies together at IU [Indiana University] and then my younger sister and I overlapped at IU for our Master's degrees.  We confused a lot of teachers as we all look so much alike.

I loved my time at IU.  It is such a big school!  The harp department usually had about 23 harpists in it each semester and I learned so much from my fellow harpies. This is a picture from my freshman year recital.

After IU I spent some time in Indianapolis and Cincinnati. I have to say that I was thrilled to move here to St Louis to play 2nd harp for The St. Louis Symphony. I love St. Louis and feel like my friends and colleagues give me such a full and rich life. This year I am playing as the Acting Principal Harpist of The St. Louis Symphony, which has been such a fun and rewarding experience.  This year brings to fruition everything that I dreamed of as a little girl.

I couldn't talk about myself without also mentioning my practice buddy, Oliver! He is an adorable terrier schnauzer mix whom I rescued 2 years ago.  There was a period of time where I was working particularly hard for an upcoming concert and practicing long hours. Oliver likes being in the room with me when I practice (I have to push him off of my feet pretty often as he blocks me from using my pedals!). At one point he got up, went to the other room, grabbed his doggy bed, and pulled it into the harp room to lay it directly on the legs of my music stand. He curled up and looked at me like, "OK, I'm comfy! Go ahead!"

My time in St Louis has been the happiest of my life. With great people, a great job, and great musicians, (and great dog!) how could it not be?

Megan is featured in our concert this Wednesday at The Schlafly Tap Room! Sit back and enjoy the amazing sounds of the harp with your favorite local brew. Come early and enjoy dinner in downstairs.

NOV 14, 7:00 pm The Schlafly Tap Room -upstairs in The Club Room, doors at 6:30 2100 Locust Street, (@21st) 63103 MAP IT $10 cash/check/card - in advance online click here

program ROCHESTER YOUNG     Song of the Lark MOZART                         Duo in B-flat Major K.424 DONIZETTI                      Harp Solo from Lucia di Lammermoor JOLIVET                          Petite Suite

musicians Jennifer Gartley, flute Hannah Frey, violin Laura Reycraft, viola Megan Stout, harp

Dana Hotle, remarks

Creating a MOSAIC

Our concert this week is called "MOSAIC". Every piece on the program is by an American, and each piece truly unique.  We're really excited about the blend of old and new on this program and the breathtaking variety of style. From traditional classical, modernist mastery, jazz, blues and folk - it's all in here! Learn a little more about the music from the musicians themselves in this post. October 19, 8:00 pm The Chapel Venue - tickets include 2 drinks. $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Online ticket purchase click here.

October 24, 7:30pm Chamber Music Series Danforth University Center, Washington University - in the Goldberg Formal Lounge free

MUSICIANS Jennifer Gartley, flute Dana Hotle, clarinet Adrianne Honnold, saxophone Elizabeth Ramos, violin Laura Reycraft, viola Stephanie Hunt, cello Christopher Haughey, bass

JOAN TOWER Petroushskates (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano)

Dana "I about fell out of my chair the first time I heard Petroushskates I loved it so much. It is so colorful and vibrant. Joan achieves these bright, shimmering, brilliant colors with just these 5 instruments, almost exactly the same colors the composer Stravinsky gets with a full orchestra. Stravinsky's famous ballet, Petroushka, is one of her sources of inspiration for this unique piece. The other source, figure skating, seems completely at odds with her first source: an iconic ballet by a Russian master, but somehow, she makes it work! I love the tension that these two seemingly unrelated ideas create in this short piece. I'm excited to finally play music by Joan Tower, one of the great American composers of the 20th Century, and one of the first female composers to really "make it". She was the Conductor in Residence at the St. Louis Symphony in the '80s, so she has this great St. Louis connection as well."

Jennifer "The Tower never lets up, I can never stop counting even for a second. In practicing this work, the rhythmic element is just so challenging, but the effect should be a mix of the ultra complicated coupled with a feeling of effortlessness... which doesn't completely make sense until you hear it."

AARON COPLAND Piano Variations (solo piano)

This is not your everyday piece of music. This is not your everyday composer. One of the most popular American composers of all time, you get to hear a side of Copland you may not have heard before in his Piano Variations (1930). This piece put him on the map as a very serious artist. This music is "ART" in the highest sense of the word. It falls into the category of "Modernism", which basically means a style of music in which a composer is trying to break out of the traditional ways of using melody, harmony and rhythm, often times failing to create anything lasting. But not Aaron, he succeeds brilliantly. This music is bracing and angular, representing the incredible changes in society in the early to mid 20th century. Think machines, technology, urbanism - expressed in a very elegant and concise vocabulary. We've rented a brand spanking new Yamaha Concert Grand piano for this concert, and Nina is going to show you everything it can do with the Copland!

MASON BATES Life of Birds (flute, clarinet, violin, cello)

Jennifer "I have been intrigued by Mason Bates for a few years and I first heard about him in his role with the New World Symphony in creating these really cool electronica/classical crossover concerts that were held in clubs late night. After a little bit of research, I found that he also composed acoustic works and this work just seemed to fit perfectly with our programming. I like his approach to narrative within a work, and even though flute players sometimes get a little tired of being compared to birds, this new approach by Bates really caught my interest. I can't wait to play this, it has been on my wish list for a couple of years."

Dana "Life of Birds is amazing. It's playful, jazzy, modern and soulful all at the same time. we had a blast rehearsing it at a Very Open Rehearsal at STLCC last week!"

Mason is on Facebook and Twitter (follow links to connect with him)

~intermission~

EVAN CHAMBERS  Come Down Heavy (violin, saxophone, piano)

Adrianne "Evan Chambers, the composer of Come Down Heavy, is a contemporary American composer and a traditional Irish fiddler. As you might imagine, he often unites the contemporary and the traditional in his music, and Come Down Heavy is no exception. The piece starts out with a blues-styled line in the saxophone part but quickly evolves into a more avant-garde imagining of the melody utilizing the extended range of the saxophone and rhythmic complexity in the ensemble as a whole. At one point the instruction to the performers in the score says "Cataclysmic", which I've never seen in a piece of music!

Throughout the first movement, the piece goes back and forth between these bluesy folk tune melodies and a more modern representation of those melodies. The second and third movements of the piece are more traditional, with the second movement featuring a beautiful melody performed by the fiddle and the third movement featuring the saxophone. Finally, the fourth movement, "Drill Ye Tarriers" employs different types of dance forms and ends with a frenzied flourish in the form of a tarantella. [a tarantella is an old Italian dance form that has to do with spiders, you can read about it here] Throughout the piece Chambers uses traditional Irish, Scottish and even Italian folk ideas, a nod to both his own heritage and to the varied heritage of America.  This piece can get pretty wild, but just keep listening! You're never far from another folk tune. "

GEORGE GERSHWIN "Someone to Watch Over Me" (saxophone, string quintet) An American Classic, sweetly arranged for sax and strings. Check out this beautiful rendition by the incredible Ella Fitzgerald. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYEeAOTIQ2c&feature=related]

This program is presented in partnership with The American Arts Experience, and partially funded by The Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

STLCC Students ROCK!

by Dana - be sure to scroll down! The St. Louis Community College has invited us to present a Very Open Rehearsal on their Meramec Campus on Friday Oct. 12. We are thrilled to be involved with this young energetic community. Dr. Jerry Myers, Director of Choral Actives/Assistance Professor of Music at STLCC says,

It is a goal of the STLCC Meramec Music Department to expose our students to quality musical experiences, whether in the classroom, rehearsal, or through guest artists. While it is important for our students to see performances by professional musicians, our focus is on teaching students the process of learning music. The Very Open Rehearsal allows us to exposes our students to professional musicians, but also gives the students the opportunity to witness a professional-level rehearsal. Further, our students will be able to interact with these musicians and discuss the rehearsal process with the guest artists. I cannot think of a better music education experience!

We can't either, and we're excited about being on campus on Oct. 12th at noon! This event is free and open to everyone. It's in Humanities West, Room 102, which is across the hall from the Theater. Please join us!

As part of this project, we asked Micheal Swoboda's STLCC Graphic Design class to create posters for this event in a unique cross-discipline collaboration. We are thrilled with the results! Do you have a favorite? We could pick one so we printed a few of each!

One-Week Design Challenge

Chamber Project event Posters

24˝ x 36˝ ; typeface: Gil Sans

 

Working in groups of three and using the supplied text—

research the mission of the organization, listen to the style

of music to be performed, and conceptualize multiple ideas

to create one or more dynamic posters that will entice the 

community to attend the event.

 

Graphic Design 1 and II, Monday / Wednesday 6:00 pm to 8:50 pm

 

Class Participants

 

John Chihak

Karrie Columbus 

Chris Conant

Blake Estes

Emily Feldewerth

David Harris

Adam Scott 

Carly Troxell

 

Willa Allen

Merrick Felder 

Brian Grass 

Irfan Mirza      

Steven Nash

Ashley Schepers 

Peggy Triska

 

Michael Swoboda, instructor

October by the Interval

It's October, it's fall, it's a great time of year.  The weather has been fantastic, and the arts are in full swing here in the 'Lou.  Here at Chamber Project, we're really excited about our biggest month of the season! Our kick off concert in September was fantastic. We had a packed house and a great performance. We're keeping the energy up with three events in October! We are really excited about our October program, called "MOSAIC", for many reasons.

First of all, the music is fantastic. This is an all American program, and truly brings together the past and the future of music in America. More on the Music in a post coming soon.

Second, WE GOT OUR FIRST GRANT to help fund these events! Thank you to the Missouri Arts Council (a state agency) for the funding! (Yes, I'm supposed to say "a state agency" in conjunction with "Missouri Arts Council", those are the rules.) It's a small Project Grant to help cover costs and aid in some marketing for all three events (2 concerts, one VOR) in October. It's awesome to get our first grant, hopefully the first of many!

Third, we are participating in The American Arts Experience with our October 19 concert  (at The Chapel) along with some of the best arts organizations in town. Our September concert at The Chapel almost sold out  - so get your tickets early! (click here)

Fourth, The St. Louis Community College has invited us to present a Very Open Rehearsal at their Meramec Campus on at noon on Friday October 12. We are really excited about engaging with this vibrant student population. One of the STLCC design classes is working on poster(s) for the VOR - we'll share them here when we get them! It is open to the public, and free - so come on out.

Fifth, Our MOSAIC program features Adrianne Honnold, (saxophone). She teaches at Washington University and they've asked her to bring us back to the DUC Chamber Music Series on Wednesday October 24. 

Sixth, We've got this awesome poster we're putting up around town - look for it.

Seventh. Well, I just wanted to get to seven so I could introduce this cool website where you can listen to the Musical Intervals, which are labled as 'seconds', 'thirds', 'fourths' and on up to 'sevenths'.  Intervals are the distance (low to high) between notes. As I made this list, I was thinking about the intervals. Most people don't know about intervals in music, but now you do. Some intervals get along, they're "consonant", others disagree, they're "dissonant". Which ones are which? Can you tell? Our MOSAIC program uses some very interesting combinations. Goof off for a moment and enjoy this site! http://www.musicalintervalstutor.info/listenpg.html

We'll have more about our MOSAIC program, and each of the events coming up in October soon!

There's a BEAR on STAGE!

A short photo essay by Dana. We kicked off our season this past Friday to a packed house at The Chapel!

We began the day with rehearsal at 10:00am. We hadn't seen each other since our marathon weekend of rehearsing Labor Day weekend. Two weeks without rehearsal is an eternity to musicians, but that's the way it worked out this time. We came into The Chapel to rehearse and found this:

Why was there a giant bear playing the piano Jerry Lee Lewis style on stage? We have no idea, but we took it as a good omen.

We moved the bear to a more comfortable listening position, and commenced rehearsal.

We had a few visitors stop by during rehearsal - one took some shots for us.

After rehearsal we got the chairs arranged for the concert. One of my favorite things is being in a venue when it's empty and know how transformed the space will be in just a few hours time.

We had record online ticket sales - and many more who braved the crazy traffic (we heard they closed Hampton it got so busy!) to make it to the concert.

The concert gets underway!

The audience loved it - we got an enthusiastic "Standing O".

Did you notice the bear during the concert? We think he enjoyed it too.

Thanks to everyone at The Chapel for volunteering their time to make this event happen! It was a spectacular way to kick off our season!

Youth

We kick off our 2012-2013 season this Friday with a program we're calling "Youth".  Here's a little post about the music and the musicians, and what the musicians think about the music. MEET THE PROGRAM:

R. STRAUSS      Till Eulenspiegel - Einmal Anders! TANN                 Duo NIELSEN            Serenata-Invano BEETHOVEN      Septet Op. 20

Till Eulenspiegel is one of Richard Strauss' most famous works for full orchestra. It musically tells the story of Till Eulenspiegel - The Merry Prankster of German folklore which dates back to the Middle Ages. Till stirs up trouble in a market, harasses the monks, flirts with the ladies and mocks the academics - until he gets caught. This clever arrangement (Einmal Anders means, 'Another Way") for quintet (violin, clarinet, horn, bassoon and double bass) captures the very essence of Stauss' original composition.

Laura and Adrianne will be performing Hilary Tann's Duo which directly contrasts the playful boisterous Till with smooth long lines weaving between the viola and the haunting sound of the soprano saxophone. The "youngest" piece on the program provides an intimate encounter with these two instruments.

Carl Nielsen's Serenata-Invano (Serenade in Vain) tells the story of youthful love. A young man hires a band to serenade his love - I won't give away the end by telling you what happens.

After intermission (time to grab another beverage!) we bring seven musicians to the stage to play the amazing Septet by perhaps the most famous of all composers, Beethoven.  Beethoven was bursting onto the scene as a young man (19!) when he wrote this joyful, energetic music. Featuring the violin, the Septet is rounded out by 3 more stings; viola, cello and bass, and contrasted with clarinet, bassoon and horn. It sounds like a small orchestra!

MEET OUR MUSICIANS

When asked what his favorite piece on the program was, Kyle said "So, if I had to say my favorite piece, it'd be the Strauss...because it gives our listener a taste of what his coloring for full orchestra was like, without the 90 piece ensemble. Music which provides entertaining characters that the audience can easily recognize is just purely more enjoyable for both performer and listener alike."

We've given Kyle about 10,000 notes to learn for this program, and every one sounds brilliant. Kyle is from Kansas City, and has lived on this side of the state for quite some time.

Dana says this about Youth, "I am really excited about this program! The combination of pieces is just fantastic. They're all really fun to play, and I know the audience is going to love it. The Beethoven just sparkles with positive energy. The Nielsen is new to me, and the first time I heard it I couldn't believe how beautiful the combination of clarinet, bassoon, horn, cello and double bass were. There is a moment in the middle where it slows down, and it's just gorgeous."

Dana is a co-Artistic Director for Chamber Project and is a hometown girl. If you're lucky you'll meet most of her family at this concert.

Tricia is playing with us for the first time. She's a recent transplant to St. Louis - so be sure to welcome her! She says this, "I'm particularly excited to play Till Eulenspiegel-Einmal Anders.  It's pretty incredible that five instruments, through shear force of personality, can carry a piece originally written for a huge orchestra.  This is a wonderful ensemble of players and we've had a lot of fun putting this concert together."

What she doesn't tell you is that Till Eulenspiegel begins with one of the most famous horn melodies ever written - she basically kicks off the concert and sets the stage for the musically hilarity that follows.

Adrianne Honnold, recently back from touring Europe with the St. Louis Symphony, has this to say about the Hilary Tann Duo, "This piece has three different moods that make for an interesting journey; plaintive, aggressive and hopeful."

Adrianne performed at the World Saxophone Conference this summer in Scotland - she had quite an amazing trip! (Take a close look at her hands during her performance, there's something new on one of them...)

Melissa Mackey returns to perform with us for a second season. Melissa suggested we play the Beethoven Septet, it's one of her favorite pieces to play.  Melissa is the Associate Professor of Bassoon and Music History at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She wrote a short blog post about the Beethoven Septet on her own blog - check it out!

The bassoon is featured quite a bit in this program. It's a great chance to check out this very unusual, and very cool instrument. Melissa's bassoon is over 100 years old!

Antonio Innaimo is joining us for the first time, but if you've been to the MUNY , you've heard him play - he's the Principal Cellist of the MUNY Orchestra! When not sweltering his summers away here in St. Louis, he lives in Florida. Tony says, "It's such a joy to work with such consummate chamber musicians, performing such fine works!"

Laura Reycraft, co - Artistic Director of Chamber Project is back with us after a little time off last spring to be a new mom! We're thrilled for her and happy to have her back. Here's what she has to say about this program -

"I love playing the Beethoven-it is so fun!  The viola part alternates between accompaniment and melodic material, acting sometimes as a second violin and occasionally as a bass instrument.  The fresh energy and enthusiasm is palpable throughout the 6 movements, although I think my favorite is the last movement with its extremely serious opening and then light fast section.

The Tann has grown on me as I have learned it through listening to a recording and practicing.  The dissonance created between the two instrumental lines is complex and interesting and more melodic that I first thought."

Christopher Haughey is joining us for the first time. He grew up here in the St. Louis area, and has recently returned to join the United States Air Force Band of Mid American located at Scott Air Force Base. They keep him busy performing in three ensembles! We're glad he had the time to work some chamber music into his busy concert schedule!

Come to the concert and meet all of these great musicians!

DETAILS:

September 14, 8:00 pm at The Chapel Venue Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door (cash/check only) $4 students. Tickets include two drinks: beer/wine/soda. purchase tickets online here

What Does it Take?

This post is by Chamber Project Artistic Director and clarinetist, Dana. What does it take to put together an entire season? The only way to find out is to do it!

We've got ten concerts, six programs, 18 pieces, 17 musicians, six venues (and a kitchen sink) all ready to go starting September 14th!  This is our 5th Season, and by far our biggest and best one yet. Our concerts this year are filled with fantastic pieces, and we're really proud of the combinations we've put together (otherwise known as 'programming').  We've got a lot of musicians who are new to us and new to St. Louis this year. We will perform a number of pieces that we believe to be St. Louis premieres, along with some some old favorites  - you're not going to want to miss any of this!

As you know, we're all trained as musicians; we are not trained as businesswomen or as marketing specialists, graphic designers, personnel managers and so on. Putting this all together has been very challenging, and very rewarding.  When we got started, over 5 years ago, I stumbled onto this quote and it keeps me going!  (yes, on the internet, so I hope it's real): 

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Martin Luther King Jr.

When we started Chamber Project, we had no idea that we had no idea what we were doing. We've pushed ourselves and each other to learn new skills, to take risks and to be better musicians.  We love music and we wanted to share it, so we kept going, even when we didn't know where exactly it was going.  

Preparing and organizing this season has challenged us to be more creative, and more daring than we've been before. As I pondered what to say in this first blog about this season, I was once again struck by how much being a musician can prepare you for just about anything. As I thought about it, I realized that the  skills you need to be an excellent musician are the same skills you need to start and run a non-profit arts organization. Even though every step of this has seemed new to us, our training as musicians prepared us more than we realized.

I jotted down a few of the key elements that jumped out for me about what this all takes. Maybe you'll find a little inspiration here, so I thought I'd share them.

COURAGE. As a musician, to get up on stage and let the world hear you play is pretty courageous.  For us, producing a concert and not knowing if anyone would come - and then they did and they had a great time and everyone felt great.  Courage, as my Mom said, is not the absence of fear, it's moving forward in spite of it. (Why is Mom always right?)

COMMUNICATION. Musicians have to communicate with each other - or it's not music, it's just people making noise at the same time. To put together a season of concerts, we have to communicate ideas, disagreements, information. We talk with venues, with other musicians, with - well, I could go on. To communicate successfully,  you have to LISTEN. I could write a whole blog post just about listening....

COLLABORATION. Real collaboration. Which means not always being right and not always getting what you want. Trusting that the people might have a better idea than you do. This is true in playing music, and in anything else that requires more than just you to happen.

PATIENCE. This is a big one. The patience to practice the same thing over and over, the patience to wait while you build a skill on your instrument. Working together to create concerts requires a ton of patience. Waiting for someone to respond to something you think is urgent, waiting for the right ideas to come, the right people to sign on to your programs. Waiting for your slow internet to load the pictures into this blog.

PERSEVERANCE. Just keep at it. Keep practicing, keep following your heart to do what you love, even when it's a struggle. If it's on your instrument, or learning how to use Excel, or researching composers to find the piece that is just the right fit with that other one. Just keep trying.

And back to the MLK quote. It takes FAITH. Faith in the belief that music matters. That art matters. That through music, we are all able to be a little more human, to have fuller, richer lives. That all of this effort, all of this passion matters. We believe it does.

We hope you'll come to as many concerts as you can this year. We could not be more excited about what this season has to offer! We kick things off on September 14th with a program we're calling "YOUTH".

If you want to know more, check out our website: www.chamberprojectstl.org or visit our Facebook events page.

And on this blog, we're going to continue the 'Inside the Music' posts about each program, where you learn about the music before the concert from the musicians who are playing the concert. We're also going to introduce you to more of our musicians and have some guest bloggers. So stay tuned!

Rear View Mirror

Jen here, flutist from Chamber Project St. Louis.

I have a bit of a a love/hate relationship with the concept of nostalgia.  There are certain songs that get me every single time even though they really aren't very good.  Madonna's "This Used To Be My Playground" = Jen in a big puddle on the floor.  Green Day's "Time of Your Life," oh man, just get me a kleenex in advance.  I am not sure if I am scared that the best days are behind me (can we say mid-life crisis at 32?), or if I just appreciate those great times gone by.  I am going to go with the latter.

It has been a little over a week since our final Chamber Project concert of the season, just enough time to pull back and get a little perspective.  Final things always seems like a whirlwind. Graduations, weddings, funerals, transitions in general can be kind of stressful.  I am going to be forthright and honest by telling you the end of CPSTL's Season 4 felt a little like a tornado.  Good, but slightly tornadic.  I am not sure if it is a contradiction to be "slightly" tornadic, but let's go with it.  Going non-profit has required us start planning subsequent seasons much farther in advance and getting ten people in rehearsals is well...challenging.

We have the unique opportunity every season to present a retrospective in music at our Audience Choice concerts. Ten women played music chosen by the audience to a completely full house, and an amazingly responsive audience.  All of the stress seems to disappear when you just relax, choose to have fun, and realize you are so blessed and lucky. **See the previously mentioned appreciation of times gone by**

Looking back at the rest of the season has taught me a few things.  I get kind of annoyed when people insist that you should learn something from everything in life.  I don't always think you have to learn something from a failed relationship, or a great vacation, or an instructional exercise video.  Some of these things I may have already known, but perhaps needed a gentle reminder.

Embrace growth: We are growing.  I mean really, really growing.  More musicians, more audience, more performances, and Laura even grew a baby.... Sometimes, the growth can be a little overwhelming, but it is also unbelievably exciting.

Embrace what makes you different:  We started Chamber Project with certain core values and goals.  One of those is to break down the wall between the audience and the performer.  I am pretty sure it doesn't get any closer than this picture below.  As we grow, holding on to those things that we hold as our mission will get more and more important.

This may sound corny...but: Embrace each other:  There is something to be said for how our friendship translates into music making.  I know that you do not HAVE to be friends with someone to make beautiful and memorable music with them, but I think it certainly helps.  Being patient and kind in rehearsals will translate to the stage and to the audience.  I think we generally do a pretty good job of remembering this tenet, but if we forget, please remind us. :)

I intended to write a retrospective detailing our season, but I think you get the idea.  Through 14 concerts - YES, I SAID FOURTEEN CONCERTS - we have had a complete blast in Season Four.  Our audience is not a two dimensional shadow in the distance that is difficult to make out in the darkness of a stuffy concert hall.  They are real people wanting an authentic experience, just like us.

Not to sound like a cheerleader, but a big "Thank you" to Season Four and BRING IT ON, SEASON FIVE!  We are ready!  More information will be coming your way very, very soon....

And the Winner is...

You will have to be at our Third Annual Audience Choice Concert on June 1 to find out!

What is an Audience Choice Concert you ask? It's a concert where the audience has chosen the music that we will be performing.

How did the Audience choose the music? At all of our concerts for this season (since September of 2011) the audience has been asked to vote for their favorite piece on the program. We have a blast reading the comments and finding out what our audience thinks about the music we choose to play! We always expect the big standards to win by a landslide (Mozart, Beethoven etc) but often they don't! Every piece on each program always receives a few votes, and we often have two that tie for first place.

Why did you start an Audience Choice Concert? From the very beginning, we've been focused on breaking down the "wall" between audience and performer. We had some pretty crazy ideas about how to go about this - and this was one of them! It's proven to be our most popular concert of the year two years in a row, and we're really excited about this year! We've got 10 of the best musicians in the area all in one concert!

Any hints about what we might hear on Friday? Well, we can't give it away, but we can tell you the concert starts with a beautiful tune, moves into some dramatic material, has an interlude of pure elegance, and ends with the most playful and joyful piece of music you can find! It's going to be really fun!

Who are these 10 musicians who will be playing? If we told you that, some of our pieces would be revealed, at least to the close observer of what we've been doing. But, we can tell you that we are thrilled that Laura Reycraft will be back with us after a break this spring (she had a baby!) All of our Core Members will be there, including the always fabulous Nina Ferrigno on piano, plus a great bass player we're excited to be working with for the first time! And you'll have to show up to find out more than that!

Where and When? 

The Chapel Venue - a sanctuary for the arts Friday, June 1, 2012  8:00pm 6238 Alexander Drive -63105 (Behind Memorial Presbyterian Church) $12 regular/$4 students - includes two beverages free street parking click here for a Google Map

To read more about what we do at The Chapel - click here

Meet Hannah

Hi everybody.  I'm Hannah and I play the violin.  The group asked me to write a blog entry about myself, and even though I write my own blog about myself all the time, I am having a hard time figuring out what to write about here—

Playing violin with Chamber Project St. Louis has been such a fun experience!  Let me tell you how my lifelong journey with the violin has led me here.

I started playing violin at the age of 5 using the Suzuki Method.  If you aren't familiar with the Suzuki Method, the concept is that one can learn to play a musical instrument the same way one learns a language—starting young, listening to the music, repeating familiar songs (words), and with active parental involvement and positive reinforcement.  I loved played the violin, but mostly I loved playing the violin with other people, an opportunity I had in Suzuki group lessons.

 

(And FOR other people too!)

As I grew up and continued to play, I became more serious about music, and found great joy (while having a lot of fun!) collaborating with other musicians.  My first love was orchestra.  I played in the Carolina Youth Symphony for many years, and looked forward to the weekly rehearsals.  I loved the camaraderie of playing in a large group, and was inspired by how the entirety of the orchestra—the collective sound, the togetherness of the experience—was (cliché ahead!) truly greater than the sum of the individual parts.

As far as chamber music went, my only real experience until I got to late high school was playing duets with my sister Leslie, who is also a violinist.  As I grew older and more experienced,  I learned that playing chamber music with people who are not related to you is different than playing with your sister.  You see, with those pesky non-relatives you have to be nicer and more diplomatic, and "because I'm older" is generally not an acceptable reason to do things your way.  However, it is less likely that your fellow musicians will burst into tears or threaten to "tell mom", so that's a definite bonus!

 

(Performing with Leslie on one of her graduate recitals)

Anyway, by the time I got to high school I knew I wanted to go into music for a living.  My goal was to become a violinist in a major symphony orchestra.  Since I had so far pretty much achieved every goal I set my mind to I didn't see any reason why I wouldn't achieve that goal as well.  I went to the Cleveland Institute of Music for college, and stayed there for graduate school as well.  During that time I practiced hard, had many amazing orchestral and chamber music experiences, and, well, met my husband, Chris.  I also began to realize how difficult it was to get a job in a symphony orchestra.

 

(Me, playing the violin a couple of years ago…at a wedding!)

Nonetheless I wasn't going to let that challenge stop me.  I won my first (and probably last) symphony job right out of school and moved to North Carolina to play with the Charlotte Symphony.  I had done it—I had realized my dream!  I was on the cusp of my new life and career as a professional orchestral musician and couldn't wait for the future.  But the future wouldn't turn out quite as I thought (does it ever?)  After playing a couple of seasons with the orchestra, I just wasn't…happy—I realized that professional achievement doesn't automatically bring about personal fulfillment, and, frankly, I was miserable without Chris nearby.  I left after a couple of years to return to Ohio to freelance and teach.  Chris did a variety of different things, and then ultimately we decided to move to St Louis so he could play with the Symphony here. 

That didn't leave much for me to do, unfortunately, so when the ladies of Chamber Project asked me to play a concert with them the other year, I jumped on it!  After enduring a couple of years devoid of chamber music, it was a lifesaver.  Not only are they all delightful people and friends, they are wonderful to work with and fun to make music with.  I've learned so much from everyone and from playing with Chamber Project, not just musically, but in terms of engaging the audience, public speaking, and all kinds of administrative-type stuff that goes into running a chamber music group.  It's been great, and I'm honored to be a part of it.

(after our March concert at the Wine Press)

It's funny how life surprises you.  If you'd asked 16 year old Hannah if she thought she'd follow a man to a city where she didn't have any work she would have smacked you.  If you'd asked that same Hannah if she thought she'd love playing chamber music with a bunch of women who had a chamber music project and a dream, she would have laughed in your face.  But here I am, and all I know is that each year just keeps getting better. 

(Warming up for a performance in April)

I hope you can join us for our Audience Choice Concert on June 1 at 8 pm at the Chapel.  I'll be playing!

Nina's Musical Cocktail Party

Our pianist, Nina Ferrigno, shares what it is she loves about chamber music, and the many paths it has lead her down! You can hear Nina with Chamber Project on June 1 at our Third Annual Audience Choice Concert!

Amongst your classical musicians, pianists definitely have a superiority complex.  Being a pianist myself, I’ll not bore you here with all the many reasons why this is totally justified, but just think of a pianist’s brain!  Reading two clefs at the same time, two hands working independently, ten fingers playing twelve-note chords (thanks, Messaien)!  Add this to the multitudinous hours spent alone in a practice room perfecting the ability to handle it all, the muscle, the power, the inexplicable delicacy, dexterity and grace, it’s amazing we keep it in check at all!  I missed a lot of social gatherings growing up.  I was practicing.  It’s OK, I think that helped me avoid being a victim of “mean girl” syndrome in high school (New Hampshire can be brutal.  It’s not all fall foliage and snow...).  But I consider myself a social creature so imagine my joy at discovering CHAMBER MUSIC at age 13.

To me, chamber music is like playing a mini-concerto and having a non-stop musical cocktail party all at the same time.  I get to “talk” a lot (I’m good at that) through my instrument and I get to listen to others “talk” through theirs.  During rehearsals I love this non-verbal communication followed by the “what just happened there” questions and ensuing discussions as to whether we really meant it!  Leading up to the performance these are such important discussions as we build trust as an ensemble and lay the groundwork that allows us to throw most of that plan out the window while on stage.  I don’t improvise notes like a jazz musician but chamber music performances are a kind of improvisation.  Everyone’s unique musical personality shines through the give and take of musical expression in each piece played.  Every performance is different, every rehearsal different.  This kind of playing really keeps my ears open and I love adapting to the moment!

As a pianist, I seek out new experiences in chamber music all the time.  Along with Jennifer Lucht, cello, and Catherine French, violin,  I formed the Boston-based Calyx Piano Trio in 2001.  Simply stated, we have a great time playing together!  The trio repertoire is second to none and really exemplifies the spirit of partnership while maintaining the solo identities of each member.  Since moving to St. Louis in 2007 I have appeared regularly with Chamber Project St. Louis and love the interesting pieces the flexible instrumentation of our ensemble provides us!  Sometimes we are really challenged by poor pianos in our venues, but as we move forward we are committed to finding instruments worthy of our artistic output!  In many ways some of the extra demands placed on us while dealing with less-than-ideal pianos have yielded some of our most interesting and connected performances!  Yeah, CHAMBER MUSIC!

My love of chamber music has also lead me to starting the Missouri Chamber Music Festival, (www.mochambermusic.org) with Scott Andrews, clarinet (husband and partner in every way).  Concerts June 21-23, 2012 in Webster Groves mark our second season and we are thrilled with how the creation of this Festival has lead to some of the most inspired classical music performances of the St. Louis concert season!  We bring musicians in from all around the country to take up residence in Webster rehearse with fabulous musicians from St. Louis and create some incredible performances as a result.   We also run the MOCM  ProAm Chamber Music Intensive which is for adult amateur chamber musicians.  Over a workshop weekend we put groups together, take over the Community Music School building of Webster University and throw ourselves into chamber music.  We have doubled our enrollment this second year!  It has totally added to the “non-stop musical cocktail party” feeling chamber music instills in me!