The Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival will continue its seventh annual summer concert series this August, with six public concerts across North State California and Oregon. On the programs this month will be classical and contemporary works featuring strings, woodwinds, and piano. The performers are coming from across California to collaborate on this program: violinist Petr Masek and oboist Gabrielle Castriotta from Los Angeles, clarinetist Matthew Boyles and violinist Rachel Patrick from Napa, and cellist James Jaffe and pianist Ian Scarfe from San Francisco.
During this tour, the organization will be celebrating its 200th public concert—an astonishing accomplishment for a music festival in its seventh season! Founded in 2011 by pianist Ian Scarfe and violinist Ellen McGehee, this festival has become one of the premiere presenters of classical chamber music in North State California. A variety of performances have been offered each year, including seasonal classical programs, tours of local schools, family concerts, and this annual summer series. The ensemble will combine in different groups to offer a variety of works, including Mozart's Quartet for oboe and strings, Igor Stravinsky's Suite from “A Solder's Tale” for clarinet, violin, and piano, music from the 1986 film The Mission, Czech composer Martinu's Piano Quartet, and others. Also on the program will be the world premiere of a new composition written for the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival by nationally known California composer Noah Luna. Luna, born in 1984, is a composer and orchestrator who is equally comfortable working with classical ensembles and popular artists. His collaborations include the Berkeley Symphony, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Friction Quartet, and Bay Area Chamber Choir. His collaborations in popular music have ranged from Billy Joel to Kanye West, and he has worked as an orchestrater for a number of Bollywood films, independent feature films, and a PBS Special entitled “The Power of Music.” Mr. Luna's new composition “Landscape Variations” is inspired by poetry of Federico García Lorca, and tries to “capture the sensation of walking around a garden of chaos and having a perfect circle come into focus.” Mr. Luna’s composition was underwritten and commissioned by one of the Festival’s sponsors, the Law Offices of Michael Cogan, which observes that “music can open our minds and hearts in ways that are beyond our understanding.” The festival musicians have embraced this attitude, and aspire to do just that in all of their musical programs, presenting new compositions alongside classical masterpieces with dedication and love. The listed concerts are all free and open to the public, a tradition that this organization has held since its founding. Audiences are encouraged to make a personal donation at the door, or supporters can make a donation online to help the festival continue this kind of musical programming.
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With an ever-expanding roster of professional musicians, the festival will welcome 18 musicians from around the United States this summer. Audiences will enjoy hearing regular favorites such as Scarfe and McGehee, as well as clarinettist Karla Avila, bassist Jacob Johnson, violinists Ellen Flanagan, Rachel Patrick, and Daniel Rouslin, violist Stephen Fine, and cellists Charles Akert and James Jaffe. Joining them will be several new faces as well – Massachusetts-based soprano Jamie-Rose Guarrine and cellist Karl Knapp; violinist Andie Springer, an acclaimed performer coming from New York; Santa Rosa-based violist Alex Volonts; and clarinettist Matthew Boyles, a regular performer with the San Francisco Ballet who hails from Napa, California. Some might even recognize violinist and fiddler Philip Brezina, who merges his classical violin career with bluegrass fiddling, as a member of the popular band The Brothers Comatose.
Founded in 2011 by pianist Ian Scarfe and violinist Ellen McGehee, this festival fills both the role of a wilderness retreat for musicians and a community arts organization. It has grown since, becoming one of the premiere presenters of classical chamber music in North State California. With dozens of performances each year, including seasonal programs, tours of local schools, family concerts, and this annual summer series, this festival has presented a stunning number of concerts in its short history. This August will bring the organization's 200th public event. In fitting with this organization's mission of making music available to everyone in these communities, all public concerts are listed as free events, with a suggested donation of $20 per person to benefit the organization. 
Once again, six energetic musicians traveled to rural and scenic Trinity County in Northern California for our annual winter retreat in the Trinity Alps. This is always a bit of an adventure, but this year topped all the rest. Our weeklong retreat at the beautiful farm of Justin Brown and Ellen McGehee in Hyampom, California was just what we needed - a week of great home-grown food, unlimited time for rehearsing Beethoven, and a break from traffic, cell service, and emails. El Nino also made an appearance - dropping rain and snow on the area consistently that limited our activities to indoor music-making relieved by trips to the wood-fired hot tub looking over Hyampom valley. After a week of this pleasantly serious rehearsals and preparations, we were ready to share our music with the communities. We played for a packed house in tiny Hyampom's Community Hall, a program featuring two major works from Beethoven's late period - the Violin Sonata, Op. 96, and the String Quartet, Op. 127. The drive to our next program in Weaverville was beautiful and a bit dangerous - with the rain starting to turn to snow the musicians crept along mountain roads and passes trying to keep from sliding off the cliffs into the wilderness. After safely arriving in the Weaverville area, we warmed ourselves with a big fire and a pot of chicken soup at the Arttus Ranch, a 3 bedroom vacation rental generously donated by our sponsors Dennis Arttus and Lorrie Gallagher. Our second concert in Weaverville was another great success, with the seats full of locals and visitors from "over the hill" in Redding, all who braved wet and stormy weather to enjoy an evening of stormy Beethoven. The next day, Saturday, we set out westward, toward to Pacific and the coast town of Eureka to present our final concert of the tour. Today the weather and the land would give us our biggest challenge yet - and yet it would become one of the most gratifying and memorable days this festival has seen in its 5 year history. Between Weaverville and Eureka, state highway 299 winds its way alongside the wild and scenic Trinity River. It is always a nice drive, but this time we came to a full stop and made way for Caltrans plow trucks and bulldozers to clear a landslide that had blocked the road.
 After waiting for four hours, Caltrans announced the highway was closed "indefinitely" and advised all travelers to use an alternate route. The only problem was, the best alternate route was a 4+ hours drive through Hayfork and Fortuna, taking highways 3 and 36 back to the coast. We called our hosts in Eureka and decided to postpone Saturday night's concert until Sunday at 12:00 noon. Back in Weaverville after the sun had gone down, we sought refuge with our longtime friends at Indian Creek Lodge. Not only did they offer our weary travelers free beds for the night, but they invited us to their new restaurant, the Cafe at Indian Creek with Trinity County's hottest new chef Scott Boone. Scott and his staff fed us a delicious dinner, and then we once again brought out our instruments and offered "musical desserts" to the other diners and the staff at Indian Creek. The next morning, we arose at 6am, an hour few touring musicians ever see, and set out through pouring rain on the long detour to Eureka, making it our venue at the Morris Graves Museum of Art with an hour to spare. Janine Murphy, the programs manager at the museum had met with our audience the night before and told them all about our delay and the postponement. Thankfully, nearly everyone came back the following day at noon, as well as a handful of folks who heard about our landslide adventure! Our musicians were weary and felt as though they had surmounted great challenges to get here, yet those feelings transmitted surprisingly well to performing late works of Beethoven such as these. After the concert, we enjoyed a final meal together, then set out on the long drive back to San Francisco, needing to get violinist James Keene back to SFO airport for his redeye flight back to his home in New Jersey. It was a trip none of us will ever forget! We would like to thank our 2016 season sponsors, with special mention to the folks who helped us this past week! Please consider making a contribution to help future programs such as this one at www.TrinityAlpsCMF.org/donate
Celebrating its fifth season in 2015, the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival continues its dedication to its younger audiences with a special family friendly program centered around musical arrangements of Rudyard Kipling's “Just So Stories”
Also featuring classical music by John Cage, Jacques Ibert, Ludwig van Beethoven, and more, this fun program will feature a new work commissioned for the occasion by the up-and-coming composer Danny Clay. Clay's music sets three of Rudyard Kipling's animal origin stories to music with narrator, similar to the classic favorite “Peter and the Wolf”. Festival director Ian Scarfe will perform at the piano and narrate, and will be joined by Gina Gulyas on flute, Matthew Boyles on clarinet, Ryan Loweth on guitar, Rachel Patrick on violin, and James Jaffe on cello. The three selected stories will be “How the Camel Got its Hump”, “How the Whale Got its Throat”, and “The Elephant's Child”, a tale of the young elephant whose insatiable curiosity gets the better of him in a confrontation with the crocodile of the great green greasy Limpopo river. Danny Clay's music is direct and elegant, giving each character in stories a different instrument. Memorable moments include the bass clarinet playing the grumpy Camel, who always says “Humph!”, the exotic flute solo of the Genie of the desert, the haunting guitar harmonics depicting the undersea world of the Whale, and the fiddle-playing dancing Mariner (a man of infinite sagacity!) who outwits the Whale. Kipling's stories are funny and imaginative, showcasing his legendary command of the English language This tour will include performances at schools and public venues in Chico, Redding, across Trinity County, Yreka, and Dorris. The public is welcome to attend concerts on Wednesday the 16th at 6:00pm at the Old City Hall in Redding, on Saturday the 19th at 2:00pm at the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival in Weaverville, and on Sunday the 20th at 2:00pm at the Yreka Community Theater in Yreka. As has been the case with the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival, all concerts are free and open to the public! Suggested donations are encouraged, recommended $15 per person, $30 per family.  Independence Day Weekend - American Classics Music by Samuel Barber, Lou Harrison, Antonin Dvorak, and Alisa Rose Friday, July 3, 7:00pm - Hyampom Community Hall, Hyampom Saturday, July 4, 7:00pm - Trinity Alps Performing Arts Center, Weaverville Sunday, July 5, 2:00pm - Old City Hall, Redding Now in its fifth season, the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival will bring two dozen musicians from all over the world to Northern California during the months of July and August for special artistic retreats, youth outreach at local summer camps, and of course the highly popular series of free chamber music concerts.
This Independence Day Weekend, the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival will present the first program of the 2015 Summer Festival, “American Classics”, featuring music by Samuel Barber, Lou Harrison, Benny Goodman, Miles Davis, Antonin Dvorak, and festival musician Alisa Rose. Performances will be Friday, July 3 at 7:00pm in Hyampom, Saturday, July 4 at 7:00pm in Weaverville, and Sunday, July 5 at 2:00pm in Redding. What better way to celebrate America's holiday than with a program of American music, both contemporary and classical? This concert will feature a world-premiere of the work “Lands End” by violinist and festival musician Alisa Rose. She writes about the work: “Lands End is about traversing the Lands End trail in San Francisco. In Lands End I incorporated some of rhythmic bowings of American old-time fiddling to describe my physical feeling of traversing the trail - the buoyancy of walking down the dirt path, the different gaits of one’s feet ascending or descending stairs, as well as pauses to overlook at the waves breaking far below or to look upward at the birds circling. The music also seeks to capture the emotional feeling of this path that leaves from an urban setting and quickly takes one somewhere that feels natural and untamed.” The program will also feature the “Quartet Set” by California composer Lou Harrison, a work that showcases the composers synthesis ancient, modern, eastern, and western influences to produce novel effects and a moving experience. Born in Oregon, Lou Harrison spent the majority of his life living in California's San Francisco and Santa Cruz areas. He was a longtime teacher of California musicians, and an influential figure in California music. Festival musicians will dedicate a part of the program to American jazz music – showing their versatility and sense of humor with a set of arrangements of dance tunes and jazz ballads by Benny Goodman and Miles Davis. Clarinettist Karla Avila and bassist Jacob Johnson have long mixed jazz and rock music into their lives as classical musicians, and here have a chance to lead “the band” in a foray into America's great musical heritage of jazz music. Composer Samuel Barber will be represented by his sorrowful and stunningly beautiful work “Adagio for Strings”, which will feature all the festival string players in a chamber orchestra arrangement. Referred to as the “saddest piece of music ever written”, this provides a moment of memory and reflection in an otherwise uplifting and joyful concert. The program will conclude with a work by the classical master, Antonin Dvorak. Though born and raised in the Czech Republic, and a through-and-through “classical” composer, Dvorak spent the 1890s in the United States, where he was deeply influenced by American culture and musical styles. The “String Quintet in E-flat, Op. 97” is referred to as his “American Quintet”, because the work was composed in his summer retreat home in Spillville, Iowa. The music brims over with folksy enthusiasm, and embodies the American spirit in its openhearted, untroubled, and straightforward lyricism. Concerts will continue July 9 and 10 with concerts in Humboldt County featuring Baroque music alongside classics by Mozart and Schubert. Then during the last week of July, the three concerts entitled “From Russia With Love” have been moved to the dates of July 27, 28, and 29 (see schedule below). Finally, August 2 and 3 will feature a special solo-cello program by festival cellist Hannah Addario-Berry, entitled “Scordatura”.  Independence Day Weekend - American Classics Music by Samuel Barber, Lou Harrison, Antonin Dvorak, and Alisa Rose Friday, July 3, 7:00pm - Hyampom Community Hall, Hyampom Saturday, July 4, 7:00pm - Trinity Alps Performing Arts Center, Weaverville Sunday, July 5, 2:00pm - Old City Hall, Redding Into the Woods - Humboldt County Outreach Featuring Baroque music on period instruments, and works by Schubert and Mozart Thursday, July 9, 7:00pm - China Creek Amphitheater, Willow Creek Friday, July 10, 7:00pm - Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka From Russia with Love Music by Rachmaninoff, Beethoven and Prokofiev Monday, July 27, 7:00pm - Hyampom Community Hall, Hyampom Tuesday, July 28, 7:00pm - Trinity Alps Performing Arts Center, Weaverville Wednesday, July 29, 7:00pm – Trailhead Pizza Cafe, Coffee Creek Scordatura – The Cello Alone Zoltán Kodály's Sonata for Solo Cello and Four New Pieces Sunday, August 2, 4:00pm – Pilgrim Congregational Church, Redding Monday, August 3, 7:00pm – Trinity Alps Performing Arts Center, Weaverville All concerts are free and open to the public. Dates and venues subject to change. This summer, musicians from around the world will gather in California's scenic and remote Trinity County, home of the Trinity Alps Wilderness, for the fifth annual Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival.
Originally conceived as a retreat for fellow musicians by pianist Ian Scarfe and and violinist Ellen McGehee, this organization has quickly become one of the premier presenters of first-rate classical music in the north state. In the first four seasons, Scarfe and McGehee have brought over 50 world-class musicians to Northern California and presented over 150 community and school events, nearly all of them free public concerts and educational programs for schools and summer camps. This summer promises to be full of excitement. Besides California, musicians will be coming from Oregon, Florida, and New York. Special guest violinist Leonie Bot will be making the trip all the way from her home in Amsterdam, where she is a member of the legendary Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Throughout the month of July, this extraordinary group will be performing a range of classical chamber music, from Bach and the Baroque masters, to Romantic favorites by Schubert and Dvorak, to American Classics by Samuel Barber, Lou Harrison, and contemporary California composers. The summer series will open on Independence Day Weekend, and will feature a program highlighting the music of America, including the world-premiere of a new piece by festival violinist and composer Alisa Rose. Other works on the program will include Lou Harrison's poignant “Quartet Set”, Samuel Barber's passionate “Adagio for Strings”, and a quintet for strings by Czech composer Antonin Dvorak, written in the American folk style while he lived in rural Iowa in the 1890s. Already well known to music lovers in Trinity and Shasta Counties, the festival is offering a new special set of concerts for audiences in Humboldt county this season, with concerts July 9 at the China Creek Amphitheater in Willow Creek and July 10 at the Morris Graves Museum in Eureka. The concerts will feature several classical masterpieces - Mozart's Quintet in C, K.515, and Schubert's Quartet in B-flat, D.112. Musicians will also perform a set of Baroque music featuring period instruments from the 1700s, including a harpsichord that will come down from Oregon with festival violinist Daniel Rouslin, a professor of music at Willamette University. For the final festival weekend, July 25-26, a special program “From Russia With Love” will feature passionate and upbeat works by Russian composers Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Prokofiev, as well as the first of Ludwig van Beethoven's “Rasumovsky” Quartets. As an added bonus, festival cellist Hannah Addario-Berry will present “Scordatura”, a program of solo cello music on August 2 and 3. The centerpiece of this concert will be Zoltán Kodály's legendary Sonata for Solo Cello, written in 1915, and will also showcase four new works by contemporary composers honoring the 100th anniversary of Kodály's masterpiece. All concerts are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! This is made possible by contributions from music lovers like you – please take this time to consider supporting this organization. Tax-deductible contributions can be made by making a check to: Trinity Players – (memo line: Chamber Music) 652 6th Avenue San Francisco, CA 94118  Music by Mozart, Poulenc, Kodaly, and Vivaldi
The Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival starts its fifth season off with a program of upbeat, dramatic and lyrical classics, with a series of three free public concerts in Hyampom, Weaverville, and Redding, on May 1, 2, and 3.
The program will feature a range of musical works from the past 300 years. The musicians will perform the Concerto for Two Cellos in G Minor, written by the Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi, known for his rock-star-like virtuoso concertos. Also on the program will be Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's lyrical masterpiece, the “Kegelstatt” Trio, K. 498. This work was supposedly written by Mozart in his head during a late-night binge at a bowling alley – only the next morning after sleeping it off did he bother writing it all down. Cellist Hannah Addario-Berry will present one of the most difficult “Mount Everests” of cello repertoire, Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály's Sonata for Solo Cello in B Minor, Op. 8. Finally, the springtime atmosphere will be captured by a jazzy and upbeat work by French composer Francis Poulenc – his Clarinet Sonata. This will be the first series of concerts that the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival will present in Northern California for 2015, the organization's fifth year. The group will announce its summer festival programs, as well as fall and winter tours over the weekend, and will be active in the community raising money to support these events as well as youth programs in schools and summer camps. Festival director Ian Scarfe will be the pianist for these concerts, which will take advantage of two new pianos in Trinity County – one in the Community Hall in Hyampom and another recently moved into the Trinity Alps Performing Arts Center in Weaverville. These new instruments show Trinity County's dedication to supporting this flourishing music festival and the increasing number of professional musicians coming to perform. Also performing will be clarinettist Karla Avila, who first came to the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival as a performer in 2013 with her husband, bass player Jacob Johnson. The couple fell in love with Trinity County and moved from San Francisco to Hyampom with Inyo, their 18 month-old daughter. Returning to the music festival for these concerts will be two cellists – Hannah Addario-Berry, who performed in 2014 during the “Chamber Music of Brahms” programs, and Charles Akert, one of the founding members of the organization. Now a member of the indie-rock band “The Family Crest”, Charly has not been seen in Trinity for the last few events and is looking forward to this return. The concerts are free and open to the public. Suggested donations will benefit the 2015 season of the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival. Donations can be mailed to the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival, 652 6th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94118.  Free Classical Piano Concerts:
Friday, January 9, 7:30pm - Pilgrim Congregational Church, Redding, CA Saturday, January 10, 7:30pm - Trinity Alps Performing Arts Center, Weaverville, CA Master-Class - for pianists and musical minds! Saturday, January 10, 4:00pm Trinity Alps Performing Arts Center, Weaverville, CA Pianist Ian Scarfe, the founder and director of the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival, will perform two concerts of classical piano music in Northern California this weekend. Hailed in the press as "a masterful keyboard talent", Scarfe has been said to perform with "well-honed artistry and thoughtful expressiveness". He has performed around the world, including recent tours across the United States, Canada, and Euopean cities. An articulate speaker about music, Scarfe always takes time during concerts to talk to audiences and tell stories about the music, the composers, and different approaches to listening, making for a musical experience appropriate for music lovers of all types. The program will feature music by Bach, Chopin, Gershwin, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, and Mozart, including Mozart's incredible masterpiece, the Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 333. Also on Saturday night's program will be a special guest performer - Weaverville piano prodigy Ben Harper! Saturday's "Master-Class" will feature performances by local piano students who will be coached by Scarfe, as well as demonstrations and examples of various musical styles. All events are free and open to the public, and donations will be encouraged to benefit the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival. Founded by Scarfe and Ellen McGehee of Hyampom in 2011, this festival is now entering its fifth year of presenting free classical music concerts and educational programs around Trinity County and Northern California.  Trinity Alps Chamber Players and Danny Clay, composer present Rudyard Kipling's "Just So Stories" in a family-friendly musical arrangement
The Trinity Alps Chamber Players announces the world-premiere of a new commission from composer Danny Clay - “Just So Stories” – based on the stories of Rudyard Kipling. The completed composition will be premiered at a free public concert on Sunday, September 7, 2014 in San Francisco as part of a special “Grandparents’ Day” celebration. Following the concert will be a special “instrument petting zoo” reception, where our audience will have a chance to mingle with performers and kids will have opportunities to try out various classical instruments.
Clay's rendition of “Just So Stories” will consist of three fantastical tales from Kipling's colorful origin stories – the Camel's Hump, the Whale's Throat, and the Elephant's Child – told through narration and music. In addition to playing traditional instruments such as violin, cello, clarinet, flute, piano and guitar, the musicians will be making extraordinary sounds using ordinary – but unexpected – everyday objects, such as wine glasses, slide whistles and thunder tubes! Danny Clay is a composer, educator, and general noise-maker based in San Francisco. He currently works as a teaching artist with the San Francisco Opera, serves as the school music director at Zion Lutheran School, and curates a record label of experimental music by his students called Project Object. As a composer, he has collaborated with artists and organizations of all ages, including Kronos Quartet, 826 Valencia, AXIS Dance, the International Contemporary Ensemble, Bay Area pianist Sarah Cahill, concert:nova and the Cincinnati Ballet, toy pianist Phyllis Chen, and an array of emerging Bay Area chamber groups. Supported by a grant from the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music |
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