Classical reprise: Chamber music festival returning for 2nd year this summer

Last year Brown County welcomed its first-ever ChamberFest, a week-long classical music festival at various locations throughout the county.

ChamberFest Brown County announced last week the musical event with string quartets, trios, duos and more will return for its second year this August.

According to a press release, the festival will once again feature “world-class” artists performing in a variety of styles.

“We believe we have created a uniquely meaningful experience for Brown County,” ChamberFest President Annie Hawk said. “We received overwhelming expressions of appreciation and gratitude from our audiences in last year’s festival. We intend to build on this success and offer a spectacular experience this coming August.”

From Aug. 14 to 20, 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.

Last year, the festival’s artistic director Andreas Ioannides said the sound produced depends on what the composer envisioned for the piece and wishes to explore. Ioannides will return as the artistic director for this year’s festival.

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.

In September of 2020 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 made it possible for the event to take place.

The performing groups come from all over the country. Many are alumni of the Jacobs School of Music. One group, Fry Street Quartet, is from Utah State University.

The artist line-up for ChamberFest Brown County 2022 features among others the Lincoln String Quartet, comprised of members of the elite Chicago Symphony Orchestra including the principal cellist John Sharp; baroque violinist and Avery Fisher career grant-winner Rachell Wong; and IU Jacobs School of Music violin professor Mark Kaplan and cello professor Peter Stumpf.

The festival is made possible through a collaboration between educational and civic organizations in the region, in addition to contributions by individuals and small businesses.

To be as inclusive as possible, most festival events are non-ticketed with optional donations, so there are no financial barriers to access. The result of this partnership is a seven-day festival featuring interdisciplinary events highlighting contrasting styles of music and artistic experience.

The music schedule will be as follows:

Sunday, Aug. 14: Guitar duo Jordan Dodson and John Marcel Williams at Presbyterian Fellowship Church.

Monday, Aug. 15: Early music duo featuring baroque violinist Rachel Wong and David Belkovski on the harpsichord at St. Agnes Catholic Church.

Tuesday, Aug. 16: Poetry reading by Cathy Bowman at a venue that will be announced at a later time.

Wednesday, Aug. 17: Chamber music with clarinet, piano and strings featuring Andrea Levine playing clarinet, pianist Futaba Niekawa and members of the Lincoln String Quartet at the Nashville United Methodist Church.

Thursday, Aug. 18: Piano and strings music featuring Elizabeth Pridonoff and Andreas Ioannides playing piano and the Lincoln String Quartet at the Nashville United Methodist Church.

Friday, Aug. 19: Piano trio Andreas Ioannides on piano, violinist Mark Kaplan and cellist Peter Stumpf at the Nashville United Methodist Church.

Saturday, Aug. 20: Chamber Music Gala for Strings featuring the Lincoln String Quartet with members of the Pacifica Quartet at the Brown County Playhouse.

In 2021, Ioannides said that Brown County is the perfect location for this type of event with its beautiful setting, popularity with visitors and rich artistic and musical history.

“Through engendering passion, empathy and hope, we believe that great art can have a real and tangible influence in our world for the better,” Ioannides said last month. “ChamberFest Brown County is on a mission.”

Learn more about ChamberFest Brown County at chamberfestbrowncounty.com or follow on Instagram and Facebook @chamberfestbrowncounty.