The Oregon Symphony’s season ended on June 12 this year, and there was barely time for a respite and the summer festival season began in earnest. In the midst of that ‘respite’, I had the great pleasure of playing the string trio version of Bach’s Goldberg Variations on the brand new Chatter PDX series with my trio compadres con brio, Trevor Fitzpatrick and Emily Cole. So much fun, hard work, and reward from learning and performing this monumental masterwork!
More chamber music goodness came at the Chintimini Festival in Corvallis, Ore. Music of Cras, Brahms, and Strauss along with phenomenal musicians (and good area cycling and bakeries) made for a wonderful time – my first extended stay in Corvallis – I’ll look forward to returning very much!
Then came the Oregon Bach Festival in Eugene, Ore. Some really great music making there, and a fancy new dorm building to live in (albeit with only partial AC). Best part: cycling the area and Prince Pückler ice cream!
Shortly after OBF concluded, the rehearsal period for the Willamette Valley Chamber Music Festival began. It’s always the highlight of my playing year, and this year did not disappoint. Our composer in residence this year was the young up-and-comer Kevin Day, whose music both delighted and made a deep impression upon us and the audiences. Keep an eye out for Kevin and his music – he’s going to be a big name in the biz!
Now, at the end of August, I’m all done with the festival circuit and have some time free to get stuff done in the garden and around the house. It’s also almost time to really get ready for the beginning of the OSO season, which starts off with a big bang – Strauss’ epic Alpine Symphony.
Here’s a list of the music that I performed this summer:
Orchestral
- Damien Geter Prelude and Fugue (and Riffs, too)
- Gustav Holst The Planets
- Camille Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 “Organ”
- Carlos Simon Fate Now Conquers
- Gabriela Lena Frank Pachamama Meets an Ode
- Ludwig van Beethoven Sympony No. 9
- J.S. Bach Cantata Wir Danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir, BWV 29
Chamber
- Franz Joseph Haydn String Quartet in D major Op. 64 No. 5 ‘Lark’
- Jean Cras String Trio
- Johannes Brahms String Sextet in G major, Op. 36
- Richard Strauss Metamorphosen for string septet (arr. Leopold)
- J.S. Bach (arr. Sitkovetsky) Goldberg Variations for string trio
- Akshaya Avril Tucker In Whose Mouth, the Stars for string trio
- Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet in A major, Op. 18 No. 5
- Kevin Day Variation V for string quartet
- Kevin Day Birds in a Cathedral for string quartet
- Kevin Day Transit (for soprano and string quartet)
- Astor Piazzolla (arr. Day) Oblivion (for soprano and string quartet)
- Maurice Ravel String Quartet in F major
- Christine Southworth Honey Fliers for string quartet
- Franz Schubert String Quartet No. 13 in A minor, D. 804 ‘Rosamunde’