Brown County is no stranger to musical events and performances, but starting next week a series of new performances will be introduced into the local arts scene.
The first-ever Brown County ChamberFest starts Tuesday, Aug. 17. Trios, string quartets and more will perform at the Nashville United Methodist Church and other locations.
Audience members will experience classical music performed in an intimate setting, known as chamber music. The genre consists of a small ensemble of musicians — more than two, less than 10 — each performing their own part on traditional instruments that have evolved over the last couple centuries.
The festival’s artistic director, Andreas Ioannides, said that the sound produced depends on what the composer envisioned for the piece and wishes to explore.
“Pretty much every major composer wrote a string quartet,” he said. “There’s a traditional chamber music genre, like piano trio or string quartet — essentially, anything goes.”
Ioannides is originally from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, but came to study in the United States when he was 18. He graduated from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music with a piano performance doctorate in 2019 and is now a lecturer of piano at Indiana State University in Terre Haute.
Last September he and a group of local people began planning the Brown County ChamberFest. Sponsors like the Brown County Community Foundation, Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement, Indiana Arts Commission and the Nashville Arts and Entertainment Commission have made it possible for the event to take place.
The performing groups come from all over, Ioannides said, but they’ve all made a connection through music. Many are alumni of the Jacobs School of Music. One group, Fry Street Quartet, is from Utah State University.
“There’s connections and friendships, people we admire,” Ioannides said about how performers were chosen. “Obviously, we respect their playing. There was a connection to each one of these people.”
The choice in location for this festival was not by accident, Ioannides said, even though Brown County is not known for chamber music.
“We all thought that Brown County is such a beautiful place, popular with visitors, there’s all kinds of artistic history visual arts, it’s a thriving scene,” he said. Music culture already exists here in bluegrass, jazz and other genres. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a classical event to join all the other cool events?” he asked.
Classical music has a reputation for being reserved, Ioannides said, but he wants to help change the way it’s often perceived. Audience members can expect world-class musicians performing “some of the most beautiful music ever written,” Ioannides said, all in a “beautiful setting.”
“We’ll have hosts, receptions, a friendly atmosphere,” he said. “It’s just going to be a celebration of music and our common humanity presented at a really, really high level.”
Their mission is to bridge the musical divides in rural Indiana, he said, making classical music approachable. This accessibility is also seen in the ticket prices; most concerts in the series are free.
“It’s just great art, and it belongs to everyone,” he said.
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- Tuesday, Aug. 17, 7 p.m. — Piano trio: Andreas Ioannides, piano; Madalyn Parnas Möller, violin; Gabriel Martins, cello, in Nashville United Methodist Church, 36 S. Jefferson St., Nashville.
- Wednesday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m., Volante Winds & Futaba Niekawa, in Nashville United Methodist Church.
- Thursday, Aug, 19, 7 p.m. — Rising Tide, The Crossroads Project (cinematic performance by the Fry Street Quartet), Brown County High School Auditorium, 235 Schoolhouse Lane, Nashville
- Friday, Aug. 20, 7 p.m. — Fry Street Quartet with Andreas Ioannides, piano, Nashville United Methodist Church.
- Saturday, Aug. 21, 4 p.m. — Lecture, “Caring for Beethoven,” by Roman Ivanovitch, Brown County History Center, 90 Gould St., Nashville.
- Saturday, Aug. 21, 7 p.m. — Pacifica Quartet, Brown County Playhouse, 70 S. Van Buren St., Nashville. Tickets required for this event.
- Sunday, Aug. 22, 3 p.m. — Voice and piano, “Songs from Europe and the New World,” Bruno Sandes, baritone; Aleksey Artemyev, piano; Nashville United Methodist Church.
Information: chamberfestbrowncounty.com
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