First Hints of the 2017 Festival
More 20th Season details are emerging! Dates are set, artists are being lined up, and fabulous repertoire and special events are planned for the 2017 Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival.
Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival’s 20th Season, Saturday, August 5th through Sunday, August 20th, will include the return of many Festival favorite artists, including William Preucil, Alexandra Preucil, Martin Chalifour, Chee-Yun, David Harding, Bion Tsang, Desmond Hoebig, Anne Martindale Williams, Michael Collins, Timothy McAllister, Lorna McGhee, Jeffrey Kahane, the Miró Quartet, and our Artistic Leaders, Aloysia Friedmann and Jon Kimura Parker. Rising star violinist Benjamin Beilman will join the Festival for the first time. Look for romantic works by Franz Schubert throughout the program, and a work for saw and string quartet by Jake Heggie has been commissioned.
The 2017 season will also bring the return of the Children’s Concert, Open Rehearsal for Seniors, Know the Score lectures, Pre-Concert Talks, Hamlet Concerts, and OICMF on Lopez. We are thrilled to offer our quinquennial gift to the island, a free Concert in the Park on Sunday, August 13th, this year featuring the return of Jon Kimura Parker and the OICMF Stage Band performing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
Ticket pre-sales for those who donate $600 and up will begin on April 18th. Early Birds will be able to purchase tickets in person at Orcas Center the morning of May 2nd, and online ticket sales begin at 5:00 that evening.
2016 Leaves of Gold: “A Bach Celebration!”
Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival is very pleased to present its annual Leaves of Gold concert at 6:00 PM on Thursday, December 8. “A Bach Celebration!” will feature music by J.S. Bach, the composer Beethoven called the “Immortal God of Harmony.”
Two violinists will join Rosario Resort’s grand piano, and the historic pipe organ in the Music Room at the Rosario mansion will be tuned up and ready to add a big, dramatic thrill to this season’s concert. OICMF Artistic Director and violinist Aloysia Friedmann and OICMF Artistic Advisor and pianist Jon Kimura Parker are joined by two returning Festival musicians, both internationally renowned, violinist Lilit Gampel and organist Gregory D’Agostino.
Currently, Lilit Gampel lives in New York and has performed as concerto soloist with the New York Philharmonic, among other great orchestras. She also plays in the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. The Chicago Tribune commented on her “super-accurate ear…control of tone…prodigious talent.”
Gregory D’Agostino has performed around the world. He’s the Director of Music and Organist at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament near Lincoln Center and is on faculty at the Mannes School of Music. His playing has been described by The American Organist magazine as a “stunning, controlled delirium.”
The concert will take place in the Music Room at Rosario Resort, which sparkles with holiday cheer. A reception will follow in the Mansion Dining Room, featuring a wonderful buffet with hors d’oeuvres, desserts, and wine, prepared by executive chef Raymond Southern and his staff. Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival is grateful to Rosario Resort owners Jan and Jerry Barto for hosting this event. Tickets are $150 ($75 is tax deductible). To reserve your seat, email linda@oicmf.org or call 360-376-6636.
Looking Ahead to Season 20 in 2017!
The Next Festival will be Our 20th!
(How did we get here so quickly?)
We look toward Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival’s 20th Season in August of 2017 with great anticipation and excitement! We will welcome back many of our Festival alumni, and we will welcome new Festival musicians to the great family of OICMF Artists that has developed over the last 19 years.
Our dates are yet to be cast in stone, but we do know that the Festival will begin near the first weekend in August and will run for the next two weeks. The 20th season will include many celebratory events, including our gift to the island, a free outdoor Concert in the Park on Sunday, August 13th, at the Stage on the Green in Eastsound.
More information will be available as we get closer to next summer!
Salon Concerts October 22 and November 5
Save the Dates!
For large hall, big-piano-sound aficionados, we bring you TWO concert grand pianos on the Orcas Center stage on October 22nd!
And, to set the tone for the beautiful, quiet post-autumn island season, an intimate violin and piano concert in a lovely Orcas Island home on November 5th
Two Grand Pianos! Two Amazingly Dynamic Pianists! Two Fantastic Russian Piano Concertos!
“Jon Kimura Parker plays Carnegie Hall in late October!” is news enough—
but wait…
there’s more!
One week before Jon Kimura Parker performs the Prokofiev 3rd Piano Concerto at Carnegie Hall, hear him perform it at OICMF’s special Carnegie Hall Concerto Preview, with live piano accompaniment!
The October 22 salon concert starts at 1:00 p.m. Jon Kimura Parker opens the program playing Prokofiev’s spirited and dynamic Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, with up-and-coming star pianist Scott Cuellar playing the accompaniment on a second concert grand piano. Jackie talks about the Prokofiev C Major Concerto on his YouTube channel.
The second half of the program will feature Scott Cuellar playing Rachmaninoff’s beloved Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor with Jon Kimura Parker accompanying on the second piano.
Scott Cuellar has been honored with many prestigious awards, including the gold medal at the 2016 San Antonio International Piano Competition. He is a doctoral student at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, Texas, studying with Jon Kimura Parker.
Meet the artists at the post-concert reception in the Madrona Room and join us for a glass of Thurston Wolfe wine and light appetizers provided by Ron and Mary from the Orcas Village Store.
Tickets for this salon concert are $50 each and $5 for students 18 and under. Please contact the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival office for more information and to purchase tickets.
This special salon concert is generously underwritten by Judy and Dick Evans.
Violin + Piano = Tangos & Romance
Scott Cuellar returns with Artistic Director Aloysia Friedmann on November 5th for Tangos and Romance, a violin and piano concert at 4:00 p.m. in an intimate setting at a beautiful home on Orcas Island.
You will be treated to lush and seductive tangos by Albeniz, Stravinsky, Schoenfield, and Piazzolla, interspersed with Ysaÿe’s passionate Ballade and romantic works by Schumann, for both solo piano and violin/piano duo.
Come and enjoy this sumptuous salon concert with Festival friends, delicious hors d’oeuvres, and OICMF signature wines in this gorgeous island setting.
Tickets for this lovely late afternoon Salon Concert are $75 each. Seating is very limited, so get your tickets early!
Information and tickets for both events can be obtained by contacting the OICMF office, either by phone at 360-376-6636 or email at linda@oicmf.org.
Time for Three’s Nikki Chooi Joins Met Opera as New Concertmaster
Nikki Chooi begins as Concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra… after stopping by to perform in the San Juan Islands!
Nikki Chooi, one of Time for Three’s two violinists, has accepted the Concert Master position with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, beginning in September, 2016. Time for Three opened our Nineteenth Season, which began with our annual Lopez Island concert on August 4 and continued on Orcas Island August 5 and 6.
Time for Three
Time for Three, whose other members are Nick Kendall, violin, and Ranaan Meyer, double bass, specializes in original genre-defying arrangements, fusing classical artistry and tradition with pop hits and folk staples. All three members of Time for Three graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music; the trio has been featured in a full-length special on PBS, has appeared at Carnegie Hall and on Dancing with the Stars.
The ensemble has been called “Glowing… very hot… marked by great intensity of feeling… impassioned…” by NBC.
Sir Simon Rattle, chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, said about Time for Three, “Simply put, they’re a knockout! Three benevolent monsters – monsters of ability and technique surely. But also conveyers of an infectious joy that I find both touching and moving. I would recommend them not only for entertainment value, but also for anyone looking to see how all types of American music can develop, when life and passion such as this are breathed into it.”
Violinist Nikki Chooi
Upon Mr. Chooi’s departure, recent Juilliard graduate Charles Yang will fill out Time for Three’s musical complement.
Read more about Nikki Chooi’s new adventure in the New York Times:
and the Violin Channel: https://www.theviolinchannel.com/nikki-chooi-new-york-metropolitan-opera-concertmaster/.
Jon Kimura Parker Named Royal Conservatory of Canada Honorary Fellow
Congratulations to our Artistic Advisor! Jon Kimura Parker was named Honorary Fellow of The Royal Conservatory of Canada, alongside iconic singer-songwriter k.d. lang and The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, at the Conservatory’s signature fundraising event on May 12, 2016.
The Honorary Fellowship is the highest designation conferred by The Royal Conservatory.
In reference to the prestigious occasion Mr. Parker stated, “I got my Grade I Royal Conservatory Piano Certificate at the age of six in 1966, and I really never looked back.” In reference to his excitement, he was heard to comment, “All that really matters is that I sat next to k.d. lang and heard her sing Hallelujah live!”
Parker and lang join opera soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, conductor Mario Bernardi, iconic Camelot star Robert Goulet, and jazz great Oscar Peterson, along with many other musical luminaries, as Honorary Fellows of the Royal Conservatory in Toronto.
An Evening with Heifetz
OICMF celebrates the legacy of violinist Jascha Heifetz with violinist/pianist Ayke Agus and violinist Chee-Yun Kim. Dr. Agus studied with Jascha Heifetz at University of Southern California early in her career. This began a lasting professional association and friendship with the great violinist. Dr. Agus was accompanist to Heifetz for the last fifteen years of his life. After his death she wrote the book “Heifetz, as I Knew Him,” which was subsequently a source for the documentary “Jascha Heifetz, God’s Fiddler.”
Dr. Agus will discuss her time with Heifetz and accompany violinist Chee-Yun, who will perform from Heifetz’s broad repertoire of transcriptions. Ayke Agus will also perform several of Jascha Heifetz’s favorite transcriptions on violin, accompanied by Jon Kimura Parker. Video clips, including Heifetz playing, will round out this entertaining and educational multi-media event. The concerts will take place at Orcas Center on Mount Baker Road. Aloysia Friedmann and Jon Kimura Parker will host.
After the show sold out two months in advance, the Festival added a second show the following afternoon, Tuesday, August 16, at 2:30 pm.
Seats for all of this season’s Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival concerts are selling briskly. You are encouraged to get your tickets soon, available at the Orcas Center box office or online at www.orcascenter.org.
2016 Summer Festival
The 2016 Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival was a Rousing Success!
From the kick-off weekend with the inimitable “Time for Three,” all the way through to the innovative menu options of the final “Á la Carte!” concerts, the 2016 Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival took listeners on a moving journey through centuries of music and a spectrum of emotions.
Artistic Director and violist Aloysia Friedmann crafted two weeks of fabulous concerts, filled with renowned artists, including:
The Argentinian rhythms and fire of the Ginastera 1st Quartet
The melancholy and excitement of Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet
Smetana’s passionate and melodic Piano Trio in G minor
Dvorak’s luscious E-flat Piano Quartet
The exciting Dohnanyi Sextet
Poulenc’s brilliant clarinet sonata
The dramatic new Rhapsodos by Betinis
The lyrical Horn Trio by Brahms
We welcomed amazing artists who performed for the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival for the first time, and welcomed back Festival friends. Flying in from England for the Northwest premiere of Abbie Betinis’s Rhapsodos, clarinetist Michael Collins performed with pianist Jon Kimura Parker.
Other major artists new to Orcas this year included pianists Anne-Marie McDermott and Craig Sheppard, hornist Julie Landsman, cellists Beth Rapier and Anthony Ross, and Time for Three, and we welcomed back many Festival favorites with great enthusiasm: the Miró Quartet, violinists Chee-Yun and Sandy Yamamoto, and violist Toby Appel!
Aloysia and Jackie hosted a special event on August 15th and 16th, celebrating the legacy of violinist Jascha Heifetz, featuring pianist/violinist Dr. Ayke Agus, who worked with Heifetz as a violin student and as piano accompanist to his studio. She shared stories about Heifetz, including excerpts from the documentary God’s Fiddler.
Duo Takes Students Around the World
They came to Orcas Island with a marimba, taiko drum, Andean flute and more.
They left one week later, leaving a decided impact on students of all ages. The exciting duo of Miho Takekawa and Diego Coy, who teach and perform in the Seattle area, were the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival Musicians-in-Residence in February.
“The visit provided the children with a wonderfully engaging tour of songs and instruments from around the world,” said Tom Rubottom, Montessori School teacher. “The performers, with their drums, piano, percussion, flutes and whistles captivated the children’s minds and moved their bodies, leaving the class with great big smiles and, perhaps, a deeper appreci
ation of how music can bring us all together.”
Miho is from Japan, Diego from Colombia. They came together in 2006 after admiring each other’s works and discovering their sounds could be combined to make something genuinely new and unique. Their primary goal is to encourage cultural understanding through music.
“Miho and Diego’s visits to both Kaleidoscope preschool and Salmonberry primary were exceptional experiences,” said Tom Rawson, OICMF Pied Piper. “The children received a rich experience in understanding both rhythm and dynamics, as well as a taste of th
e cultures that the music comes from. I can’t say enough wonderful things about the fabulous presentations Miho and Diego gave.” At one preschool, Miho played “Mary Had a Little Lamb” on their steel drum and invited the children to sing along. They surprised her by singing it in Japanese, too!
In addition to visiting the preschools, Miho and Diego coached Band Director Darren Dix’s 5th, 6th, Middle School and High School Band students. They were enthusiastically welcomed as they taught and performed for Pamela Wright’s kindergarten through 4th grade music classes. In the evening, they worked with Community Band members and conducted a Master Class in percussion, which were educational and entertaining for all. And the duo performed a special concert at the Senior Center, 
where the marimba, wooden flutes, piano, drum and maracas added up to fun Friday event.
“We can’t thank enough Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival and the Washington State Arts Commission for this wonderful opportunity,” said Miho Takekawa.
Aloysia Friedmann to Join Chamber Music America Board
“Start Spreading the News ….”
Aloysia and CMA’s CEO Margaret Lioi
It’s an incredible honor to be invited to join the National Board of Chamber Music America (CMA). And the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival is very proud to announce that Founder and Artistic Director Aloysia Friedmann will join their Board of Directors starting this summer.
Chamber Music America is the national service organization for ensemble music professionals. Its diverse membership consists of thousands of individual musicians, ensembles, presenters, artist managers, composers, educators , jazz artists and others in the national chamber music community. Margaret Lioi, CEO of Chamber Music America, wrote in her invitation to Aloysia: “… To be even more connected to the national organization for the field would be seen – and should be seen – by your own Board as important recognition for you as a leader in the field.”
“Being a member of the board of CMA for the next 3 years will give Aloysia an invaluable inside track on the world of chamber music, and the thoughts of its most influential performers and promoters,” OICMF Artistic Advisor Jon Kimura Parker said. “It will also greatly expand her network of artists in the chamber music world.”
Aloysia with Roman Borys of the Gryphon Trio, and Will Fedkenheuer of the Miro Quartet at CMA
Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival has been recognized by CMA over the years. In 2002/03, we received the ASCAP-Chamber Music America Award “For Adventurous Programming of Contemporary Music.” In 2008, OICMF was the recipient of the CMAcclaim Award “in recognition of outstanding service and cultural contributions to the community.” Margaret Lioi traveled to Orcas Island to present this prestigious award. In 2012, the Miró Quartet received the Chamber Music America Quartet-in-Residence Award for their residency during the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival.
Aloysia with CMA honoree Ken Fischer, President of the University of Michigan Musical Society; and Zarin Mehta, former Executive Director of the New York Philharmonic
This music education and outreach partnership marked the beginning of our first annual concert on Lopez Island and the Hamlet Concerts on Orcas Island.
“Margaret’s invitation came to me as a complete surprise!” Aloysia said. “CMA has played an important role in my life since the beginning of OICMF nineteen years ago. Never did I think I would be asked to join this group of illustrious people. I admire Margaret Lioi, the CMA organization and all it stands for. It will be with great honor that I get to represent the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival on the Board of Chamber Music America.”