Notes and Personnel

Notes by Val Phillips

The fifth concert in an ongoing series of chamber music performances by North Coast chamber music ensembles will feature music of Felix Mendelssohn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Tommaso Giordani, and contemporary British composer John Kember.

2009 marks the bicentennial year for Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), a prolific and influential composer who wrote for the many instrumental and choral combinations which existed in the Germany of his time, and was particularly masterful in his writing for string instruments. His seven quartets, two quintets and octet, all masterworks of string literature, are remarkable for their elegant expressiveness and scintillating figuration. Mendelssohn’s Quartet No. 3 in D, composed in 1838, will be presented by the Meadowood Quartet, which rehearses in Eureka.

Quartet Arioso, based for a number of years in Fortuna, will present Tommaso Giordani’s Quartet in G, and John Kember’s Seven Pieces. Tommaso Giordani (1740-1816), a member of a noted Neapolitan family of opera performers who found great fame in the London in the 1760’s, lived in Dublin for many years. He was was a noted composer and teacher who wrote with distinction for voice and also for instrumental combinations.

John Kember, born in 1935, is a resident of London, where he is well-known as a teacher, conductor, and composer of vocal and instrumental music of wide popular appeal.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Septet, op. 20 for four strings and three winds, was published in 1802, and immediately achieved such popularity in Vienna that versions for other combinations of instruments came into existence, including Beethoven’s own trio arrangement, his opus 38 for clarinet, cello and piano. The Septet was a substantial step in Beethoven’s rise to fame as a composer. It was emulated by later 19th century composers such as Schubert, Kreuzer and Berwald, who composed similar large works for string and wind combinations. The Septet will be performed by the Hidden Valley Chamber Players, who rehearse in Bayside.

The HSU Music Department is the sponsor for this community chamber concert series, which is coordinated by Val Phillips, emeritus professor of music at HSU.


Personnel

Quartet Arioso

Judy Scott, Flute. Fortuna: volunteer musician, community centers in Fortuna

Sherry Hanson, violin. Fortuna; teacher at Fortuna Middle School.

Patty Larson, cello. Mckinleyville, Arcata Children’s Center staff member.

Ruth McClimon, piano. Fortuna; studio piano teacher.

Meadowood Quartet

Betty Bliss, violin. Redway: retired, Eureka Symphony.

Marilyn Page, violin. Arcata; Music teacher, Fieldbrook School - Eureka Symphony

Stephan Vaughan, viola. Eureka; studio violin and viola teacher - Eureka Symphony

Eric Jones, cello. McKinleyville, Transportation driver

Hidden Valley Chamber Players

Allen Lesser, violin; Fortuna, Henderson Center business owner
Aryay Kalaki, viola. Bayside, Retired.
Helen Ann Reid, ‘cello. Eureka; Staff, Gottschalks,’ Eureka Symphony.
Shao Way Wu, bass. Arcata, performer, instructor HSU Music Dept.
Virginia Ryder, clarinet. McKinleyville, Instructor, HSU Music Dept., Eureka Symphony.
Val Phillips, horn. Mckinleyville, HSU Emeritus faculty/administrator, Eureka Symphony.
Justin Sousa, bassoon. Fortuna; Surveyor, Eureka Symphony.