Memphis gears up for 17th annual Belvedere Chamber Music Festival this week | EarRelevant

Mark Gresham | 19 JUN 2023

Seventeen musicians from seven states will converge in Memphis, Tennessee, this week to perform in the 2023 Belvedere Chamber Music Festival, which begins this Wednesday, June 21, and runs through Saturday, June 24, at Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in the Central Gardens neighborhood of Midtown Memphis.

Organized by the Luna Nova Music, an ensemble that emerged in 2003 as a collaborative effort among the Associated Colleges of the South, this is the Festival’s 17th season. This year’s performers hail from Alabama, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

The ensemble’s dedication to promoting contemporary art music performance and composition is unparalleled in Memphis, as the Belvedere Chamber Music Festival is the city’s sole private chamber series dedicated to this genre. Thanks to the generous contributions of private donors, the Festival continues to thrive, with all concerts free of charge and open to the public to ensure access to music enthusiasts of all backgrounds.

The Festival also emphasizes nurturing young talent. Its Friday afternoon concert will include compositions by three prize-winners of its 2023 Belvedere Student Composition Contest.

Travelers headed to Memphis this week can expect this year’s Festival will be an engaging celebration of musical ingenuity and creativity. Here is the complete rundown of the Festival’s six concerts:

Belvedere Chamber Music Festival, 2023 Concert Series:

Wednesday, June 21, 7:00 p.m.
Concert I
Brian Ray, piano; Maeve Brophy, piano; Jonathan Webber, clarinet; Sabrina Laney Warren, soprano; Kelly Herrmann, alto flute; Adam Bowles, piano; John McMurtery, alto flute; Mark Volker, guitar.
J.S. BACH: English Suite No. 3 in G minor: I. Prelude (1713)
Florence PRICE: Pensive Mood (1928)
Francis POULENC: Clarinet Sonata (1962)
P. Brent REGISTER: to sing, sweetly, forever (2021)
Toru TAKEMITSU: Toward the Sea (1981)
Claude DEBUSSY: Images Book I: Reflets dans l’eau (1905)
Thursday, June 22, 7:00 p.m.
Concert II
Robert Patterson, horn; Daniel Gilbert, violin; Craig Hultgren, cello; Nobuko Igarashi, bass clarinet; John McMurtery, flute; Perry Mears, piano; Brian Ray, piano; Tomasz Robak, piano; Michelle Vigneau, oboe; Mark Volker, guitar; Jonathan Webber, clarinet.
Gerald FINZI: Elegy, Op. 22 (1940)
Dan LAZARESCOU: Wallachian Retakes (2022)
Gunther SCHULLER: Duo Sonata for Clarinet and Bass Clarinet (1949)
Javier JACINTO: Luz de Luna (2002)
Eugène BOZZA: En Forêt, Op. 40 (1941)
Friday, June 23, 3:00 p.m.
Concert III
Adam Bowles, piano; Maeve Brophy, piano; Daniel Gilbert, violin; Kelly Herrmann, flute; Craig Hultgren, cello; Nobuko Igarashi, clarinet; Sabrina Laney Warren, soprano; Perry Mears, piano; Tomasz Robak, piano; Hannah Schmidt, cello
Aurelia GOODEN: Gigue (2011)
Jerry OWEN: Mister Raggity’s Sublime Dance (2012)
Jane K (Evgeniya KOZHEVNIKOVA): A Cycle of Love Songs (2020) (texts by Sara Teasdale)
Music by 2023 Belvedere Student Composition Contest Winners:
Sean PENZO: Fuse (2023), 3rd Prize
Jacob BERANEK: Sempre nella luce (2017), 2nd Prize
Kian RAVAEI: Unstoppable (2022), 1st Prize
Ludomir RÓŻYCKI: Sonata Op. 10 (1906)
Friday, June 23, 7:00 p.m.
Concert IV
Maeve Brophy, piano; Craig Hultgren, cello; Nobuko Igarashi, clarinet; John McMurtery, flute; Robert Patterson, horn; Marisa Polesky, violin; Marisa Polesky, violin; Tomasz Robak, piano; Hannah Schmidt, cello.
Robert G. PATTERSON: Pathways on the Maze (2023)
Ofer BEN-AMOTS: Montage Music (2017)
Saturday, June 24, 3:00 p.m.
Concert V
Adam Bowles, piano; Kelly Herrmann, flute; Perry Mears, piano; Brian Ray, piano; Michelle Vigneau, oboe
Adolphus HAILSTORK: Flute Set (2003)
Ed ROBINSON: Changing Landscapes (2010)
Walter GIESEKING: Sonatine (1937)
Warren GOOCH: Soliloquy (2004)
Saturday, June 24, 7:00 p.m.
Concert VI
Adam Bowles, piano; Daniel Gilbert, violin; Craig Hultgren, cello; Sabrina Laney Warren, soprano; John McMurtery, flute; Perry Mears, piano; Marisa Polesky, violin; Brian Ray, piano; Mark Volker, guitar.
Einojuhani RAUTAVAARA: Summer Thoughts (2008)
Rachel DeVore FOGARTY: Say Little Things (2016) (text by Amy Lowell)
Mark VOLKER: Songs of Yesterday and Far Away (2023)
Astor PIAZZOLLA: The Four Seasons (1991)

External Links:

Belvedere Chamber Music festival: belvederefestival.org
Luna Nova Music Ensemble: lunanova.org

About the author:

Mark Gresham is publisher and principal writer of EarRelevant. He began writing as a music journalist over 30 years ago, but has been a composer of music much longer than that. He was the winner of an ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award for music journalism in 2003.

Read more by Mark Gresham.