Exploring a Rich Musical Vein

In today’s economic climate, it can be easier for musical organizations to find an audience than a permanent venue. Since founding the Gold Coast Chamber Players a decade ago, violist and Music Director Pamela Freund-Striplen has been steadily building a following for chamber music in Contra Costa County. Along with a core group of artists that includes members of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony, Freund-Striplen has presented concerts at various schools and halls throughout the Diablo Valley. Now, as it prepares to enter its second decade, the group has finally found a home base.

On Jan. 31, Freund-Striplen and friends launch Gold Coast’s tenth anniversary season in the attractive Community Hall in the City of Lafayette’s new Library and Learning Center. The center, which also houses the Glenn Seaborg Learning Consortium, is located at the intersection of Mt. Diablo Boulevard and First Street. Designers of the $42 million building, which opened last November, wisely included concert space in the center, and Gold Coast will be among the first to perform there.

Titled “Slavic Spirit,” the season-opening program — the first of three scheduled for 2010 — focuses on Hungarian music. Included are Johannes Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5 for violin and piano; Zoltán Kodály’s Intermezzo, for string trio; Franz Liszt’s Un Sospiro for solo piano; and David Popper’s Hungarian Rhapsody.

Of particular interest is Ernõ Dohnányi’s virtuosic 1935 Sextet, Op. 37, for clarinet, French horn, piano, and string trio. Along with Freund-Striplen, the afternoon concert features Beni Shinohara (violin), Tamara Bohlin (cello), Tony Striplen (clarinet), Bill Klingelhoffer (horn), and Roy Bogas (piano.)

The Gold Coast Chamber Players season will continue in Lafayette on April 25 with a program titled “Bach–Bachianas,” featuring an appearance by soprano and San Francisco Opera Adler fellow Leah Crocetto. The season concludes May 22 with a program featuring works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Frank Bridge, Arnold Bax, and Charles Loeffler.