The Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival, founded in 2011, is celebrating its tenth season this year, with a series of summer concerts across California. On June 20th at 3:00pm, they will present a special live, in-person, outdoor concert on the shore of Lake Merritt in Oakland, in the gardens of the historic Camron-Stanford House.
The concert is open for all to attend, with garden seating provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Admission is free, but music-lovers are encouraged to make a “suggested donation” to support the musicians and the festival. A limited number of front-row seats will be available to be reserved for a $50 admission fee.
Chairs will be provided for sitting on the lawn of the garden, between heritage rose bushes and in the dappled shade of old-growth trees. Chairs will be provided, however guests are invited to bring their own seating, and to consider bringing blankets or extra layers in case that cool breeze comes up from the bay.
“2020 was such a challenging year for all of us,” says festival director Ian Scarfe, “This concert is the best possible way I can imagine celebrating a return to in-person concerts.” A professional concert pianist, Scarfe has spent the last year adapting to the pandemic life of digital concerts, recorded or streamed on Zoom. Scarfe will be performing on a 1928 Steinway generously loaned by Callahan Piano Services in Alameda, and joined by a string quartet made up of his colleagues, guest artists of the Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival.
The featured music for all of these concerts will center around Antonin Dvorak's masterpiece of chamber music, the Piano Quintet in A Major, Op. 81. The work is written on a symphonic scale, full of Dvorak's lively folk-like dance rhythms and tuneful melodies. It is also a workout – over 40 minutes of inspired, joyous music for the 5 musicians to craft together, supporting each other as the instruments trade of solos. Other selections on the program will feature works the musicians will be recording during the month, and some concerts will also feature opening acts by local students and kids participating in music lessons.
More information about the festival and the scheduled concerts can be found at www.TrinityAlpsCMF.org.