The Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival is renewing our commitment to bringing new music into the world.
Does that surprise you? Remember that once upon a time, Beethoven's music was modern too.
Beginning in 2018, we began to offer our annual Composer in Residence program, sponsored by Michael and Luisa Cogan of Redding, California.
With this program, we invite one composer each summer to join us on a week-long retreat in the beautiful Trinity Alps. This is more than just a week in the woods to work on tunes, more than just a traditional escape from the city, traffic, and emails. This is an opportunity to live and work alongside festival musicians and farmers, on our host's beautiful property in Hyampom, California.
Each Composer in Residence will join festival musicians as we prepare for our chamber music concerts, and will have opportunities to workshop their own music with festival musicians. Additionally, we will perform music by the composer throughout the year, and arrange for a special commission to create new music reflecting this experience.
We are delighted to announce our composer-in-residence for 2023 will be accordionist and pianist Sam Reider!
Does that surprise you? Remember that once upon a time, Beethoven's music was modern too.
Beginning in 2018, we began to offer our annual Composer in Residence program, sponsored by Michael and Luisa Cogan of Redding, California.
With this program, we invite one composer each summer to join us on a week-long retreat in the beautiful Trinity Alps. This is more than just a week in the woods to work on tunes, more than just a traditional escape from the city, traffic, and emails. This is an opportunity to live and work alongside festival musicians and farmers, on our host's beautiful property in Hyampom, California.
Each Composer in Residence will join festival musicians as we prepare for our chamber music concerts, and will have opportunities to workshop their own music with festival musicians. Additionally, we will perform music by the composer throughout the year, and arrange for a special commission to create new music reflecting this experience.
We are delighted to announce our composer-in-residence for 2023 will be accordionist and pianist Sam Reider!
Past composers-in-residence and commissioning projects have included composers Stephen Kahn, Danny Clay, Alisa Rose, Max Stoffregen, John Glover, and Roseminna Watson.
New Music at the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival
- a not-so-brief history -
In 2012 we commissioned composer Stephen Kahn to write "Redbud Peeks", an art song for soprano, cello, and piano. This was for a very special occasion - the annual Redbud Day, at the Old Garret Ranch in Hyampom, celebrated on a weekend in March or April when the beautiful Redbud bushes begin blooming. The performers included Ian Scarfe on piano, Charles Akert on cello, and soprano Indre Viskontas. That summer, Viskontas also introduced us all to the music of Osvaldo Golijov, performing his works "Lua Descolorida" and "How Slow The Wind".
In 2013 we commissioned Stephen Kahn again, to help arrange a 20th century classic, Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf." This arrangement, for 10 instruments and narrator, was something we performed for over 5,000 local children at dozens of schools, summer camps, and free family concerts.
(learn more about our educational and outreach concerts)
In 2014, the festival performed at the Berkeley Arts Festival, including the music of two living California composers, Mason Bates and Alden Jenks. The concert included the premiere of Jenks' new work "Hammered - for laptop and piano", written for pianist Ian Scarfe.
Watch a video of Scarfe performing this work here.
In 2015, the festival presented "String Quartet Set," a work by California legend Lou Harrison.
Also in 2015, the festival embarked on another major project to bring music to schools and children. With help from the Musical Grant Program of the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music, we commissioned composer Danny Clay to set several of Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories" for an ensemble featuring six instruments and a narrator. The pieces to come out of this project were extraordinary - "How the Whale Got Its Throat", "How the Camel Got Its Hump" and "The Elephant's Tale" each featured a variety of instruments including Violin, Cello, Flute, Piccolo, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Guitar, Piano, Kazoos, Wine Glasses, Slide Whistles, and other fun things. The Festival performed these stories for over 4,000 students at dozens of schools across North State California, and collaborated with Noe Valley Chamber Music to bring the program to schools and families in San Francisco as well.
(Watch a clip of one of our Just So Stories performances)
In 2016, we commissioned Danny Clay to write another piece for the festival, this time incorporating Ian's suitcase-sized reed organ, which was joining a quartet on tour for performances of Dvorak's "Bagatelles for Harmonium and Strings".
Danny Clay's piece "Ocean Park" was both an impressionistic vision of wave forms, as well as directly influenced by the Diebenkorn paintings of the same name.
(Watch a video about the Reed Organ here)
(Check out Danny Clay's website here)
Also in 2016, we began partnering with Michael Cogan of Redding, California. Michael is a dedicated friend, an extraordinary listener, and a devoted husband, as evidenced by the first commission that he sponsored, the "Piano Trio for Luisa", written by composer and violinist Alisa Rose. Rose performed the premiere of the work, alongside cellist Elizabeth Vandervennet and pianist Amy Zanrosso.
(Watch part of their performance of "Piano Trio for Luisa" here)
In 2017, with the help of Michael and Luisa Cogan, we commissioned composer Noah Luna to write the work "Landscape Variations." This piece was was performed on a tour featuring clarinettist Matthew Boyles, violinist Rachel Patrick, cellist James Jaffe, and pianist Ian Scarfe.
In 2018, we formalized the Composer in Residence program, sponsored by Michael and Luisa Cogan. Our first Composer in Residence was Max Stoffregen. An avid outdoorsman and backpacker, Max was drawn to the festival for its combined focus on the outdoors, rural communities, and classical chamber music. We performed Max's work "Telescope Ridge" for bass clarinet, two violins, viola, cello, and bass, and we will present the premiere of a commissioned work during the 2019-2020 season.
In 2019, we invite composer John Glover to join us as the Composer in Residence.
He is excited to join us, traveling all the way from his home in Brooklyn, New York.
In 2019, 2020, and 2021, and 2022, the festival presented programs that highlight the works of two other New York based composers, Caroline Shaw and Jessie Montgomery. Both women write exceptional music, especially for strings (both women are also violinists). Also on our programs is a work by composer Scott Gendel, "To Keep the Dark Away", a set of songs based on the poems of Emily Dickinson. Set for soprano, cello, and piano, the music was commissioned and first performed by festival artists Jamie-Rose Guarrine (soprano) and Karl Knapp (cello), who will be on hand in July 2019 for these performances.
In 2020 and 2021, the festival commissioned a new work from violinist and composer Roseminna Watson. Watson's work "Triptych A Priori: Logic of the Interior" was finally premiered in Spring of 2023, after several Covid-related delays!
- a not-so-brief history -
In 2012 we commissioned composer Stephen Kahn to write "Redbud Peeks", an art song for soprano, cello, and piano. This was for a very special occasion - the annual Redbud Day, at the Old Garret Ranch in Hyampom, celebrated on a weekend in March or April when the beautiful Redbud bushes begin blooming. The performers included Ian Scarfe on piano, Charles Akert on cello, and soprano Indre Viskontas. That summer, Viskontas also introduced us all to the music of Osvaldo Golijov, performing his works "Lua Descolorida" and "How Slow The Wind".
In 2013 we commissioned Stephen Kahn again, to help arrange a 20th century classic, Sergei Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf." This arrangement, for 10 instruments and narrator, was something we performed for over 5,000 local children at dozens of schools, summer camps, and free family concerts.
(learn more about our educational and outreach concerts)
In 2014, the festival performed at the Berkeley Arts Festival, including the music of two living California composers, Mason Bates and Alden Jenks. The concert included the premiere of Jenks' new work "Hammered - for laptop and piano", written for pianist Ian Scarfe.
Watch a video of Scarfe performing this work here.
In 2015, the festival presented "String Quartet Set," a work by California legend Lou Harrison.
Also in 2015, the festival embarked on another major project to bring music to schools and children. With help from the Musical Grant Program of the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music, we commissioned composer Danny Clay to set several of Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories" for an ensemble featuring six instruments and a narrator. The pieces to come out of this project were extraordinary - "How the Whale Got Its Throat", "How the Camel Got Its Hump" and "The Elephant's Tale" each featured a variety of instruments including Violin, Cello, Flute, Piccolo, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Guitar, Piano, Kazoos, Wine Glasses, Slide Whistles, and other fun things. The Festival performed these stories for over 4,000 students at dozens of schools across North State California, and collaborated with Noe Valley Chamber Music to bring the program to schools and families in San Francisco as well.
(Watch a clip of one of our Just So Stories performances)
In 2016, we commissioned Danny Clay to write another piece for the festival, this time incorporating Ian's suitcase-sized reed organ, which was joining a quartet on tour for performances of Dvorak's "Bagatelles for Harmonium and Strings".
Danny Clay's piece "Ocean Park" was both an impressionistic vision of wave forms, as well as directly influenced by the Diebenkorn paintings of the same name.
(Watch a video about the Reed Organ here)
(Check out Danny Clay's website here)
Also in 2016, we began partnering with Michael Cogan of Redding, California. Michael is a dedicated friend, an extraordinary listener, and a devoted husband, as evidenced by the first commission that he sponsored, the "Piano Trio for Luisa", written by composer and violinist Alisa Rose. Rose performed the premiere of the work, alongside cellist Elizabeth Vandervennet and pianist Amy Zanrosso.
(Watch part of their performance of "Piano Trio for Luisa" here)
In 2017, with the help of Michael and Luisa Cogan, we commissioned composer Noah Luna to write the work "Landscape Variations." This piece was was performed on a tour featuring clarinettist Matthew Boyles, violinist Rachel Patrick, cellist James Jaffe, and pianist Ian Scarfe.
In 2018, we formalized the Composer in Residence program, sponsored by Michael and Luisa Cogan. Our first Composer in Residence was Max Stoffregen. An avid outdoorsman and backpacker, Max was drawn to the festival for its combined focus on the outdoors, rural communities, and classical chamber music. We performed Max's work "Telescope Ridge" for bass clarinet, two violins, viola, cello, and bass, and we will present the premiere of a commissioned work during the 2019-2020 season.
In 2019, we invite composer John Glover to join us as the Composer in Residence.
He is excited to join us, traveling all the way from his home in Brooklyn, New York.
In 2019, 2020, and 2021, and 2022, the festival presented programs that highlight the works of two other New York based composers, Caroline Shaw and Jessie Montgomery. Both women write exceptional music, especially for strings (both women are also violinists). Also on our programs is a work by composer Scott Gendel, "To Keep the Dark Away", a set of songs based on the poems of Emily Dickinson. Set for soprano, cello, and piano, the music was commissioned and first performed by festival artists Jamie-Rose Guarrine (soprano) and Karl Knapp (cello), who will be on hand in July 2019 for these performances.
In 2020 and 2021, the festival commissioned a new work from violinist and composer Roseminna Watson. Watson's work "Triptych A Priori: Logic of the Interior" was finally premiered in Spring of 2023, after several Covid-related delays!
