Seattle Chamber Music Society To Present 2025 Summer Festival

Seattle Chamber Music Society revealed the programming for its 2025 Summer Festival, the World's Largest Chamber Music Party. The five-week celebration of extraordinary music and first-rate artists takes place June 20-August 1, with 12 mainstage concerts at Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, each including a free pre-concert recital; two outdoor concerts in idyllic parks in Seattle and Bellevue; 18 concerts aboard The Concert Truck; the live music and cooking event Tasting Notes; and an exciting variety of community and education programs. Chamber music fans and casual listeners alike can expect to hear some of the most beloved and iconic works from the repertoire alongside lesser-known gems and new music by some of the most original and compelling voices of today. (Full program details are below.)

Among the renowned artists participating this year are violinists James Ehnes, Elena Urioste and Noah Bendix-Balgley; pianists Yulianna Avdeeva and Inon Barnatan; and cellists Bion Tsang and Sterling Elliott. Highlights include masterpieces by Beethoven, Brahms, Fanny Mendelssohn, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky; music by important 20th-century composers, such as Mieczysław Weinberg, Rebecca Clarke and Amy Beach; and a selection of lesser-known works handpicked for the festival, including neglected pieces by Mel Bonis, Charlotte Sohy, and Moritz Moszkowski.

For those who can't attend in person, all 12 mainstage concerts will be livestreamed through SCMS's state-of-the-art Virtual Concert Hall; the content will also be available on-demand following the festival. Featuring six camera angles, live intermission interviews with SCMS musicians and hosts from Classical KING, Seattle's premier classical music radio station, this digital experience brings the magic of chamber music straight to the viewer's home. Available worldwide, the Virtual Concert Hall has reached more than 40 states and 12 countries to date.

"I want every single program to be the kind of concert that if I saw it listed I would say 'I have to go to this!'," says James Ehnes, the Gilbert Omenn and Martha Darling Artistic Director of SCMS. "We have an incredible collection of the world's greatest musicians coming to Seattle to play works that are close to their hearts. Each program is designed to show off the range of what chamber music can communicate, and the incredible artistry of our players."

On July 20, SCMS proudly presents the world premiere of Martin Kennedy's Verses for Piano Quintet, the 2025 piece commissioned by the SCMS Commissioning Club, which supports the creation of a new chamber piece every year. In different programs there will also be music by contemporary composers Ethan Soledad and John Novacek. Soledad's piano quintet Poems from Angel Island was co-commissioned by SCMS, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and Chamber Music Northwest. It will be performed on July 27. Novacek's Music for 8, a string octet, was co-commissioned by SCMS, Schubert Club, Colorado College, and Festival Mozaic. It will be performed on July 17.

In addition to the concert hall performances, audiences are invited to enjoy outdoor concerts in a relaxed setting at two stunning parks - Bellevue Downtown Park (July 12) and Seattle's Volunteer Park (July 19) - including a community play-along one hour before each concert. The festival opens with a series of 18 concerts running June 20-July 3 aboard The Concert Truck, taking the joy of live music throughout the Seattle metropolitan area. Locations include Seward Park, Alki Beach, and the Bellevue Botanical Garden (all locations and dates will be announced soon).

A highlight of the festival is Tasting Notes, returning this year on July 25, and hosted by James Ehnes and J. Kenji López-Alt. Tasting Notes brings together Seattle's best chefs and a selection of the world's greatest classical musicians for live music and cooking demonstrations in the Taper Auditorium at Benaroya Hall.

"I'm very proud of the balance of these programs, which is always a goal for me," added Ehnes. "Each represents the very best of SCMS, and is designed to leave our audience fulfilled, inspired, and eager to continue their personal journey with this incredible art form."

Seattle Chamber Music Society: 2025 Summer Festival

The World's Largest Chamber Music Party: June 20-August 1

Benaroya Hall (Nordstrom Recital Hall): 200 University St, Seattle, WA 98101

• All Sunday concerts at 2 p.m.: July 6, 13, 20 & 27; pre-concerts (free) start at 1 p.m.
• All others at 7:30 p.m.; July 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 24, 29 and Aug 1; pre-concerts (free) start at 6:30 p.m.

Tasting Notes at Benaroya Hall (Taper Auditorium): July 25
200 University St, Seattle, WA 98101; 7:30pm

Community and education programs (see details below):
SCMS Center for Chamber Music: 601 Union St Ste 220, Seattle, WA 98101

Bellevue Downtown Park (Chamber Music in the Park): July 12
10201 NE 4th St, Bellevue, WA 98004 (6:30 p.m. Community Play-Along; 7:30 p.m. concert)

Volunteer Park (Chamber Music in the Park): July 19
1247 15th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112; (6:30pm Community Play-Along; 7:30 p.m. concert)

For a full list of programs, including free pre-concerts, please visit seattlechambermusic.org.

-June 20-July3-

The Concert Truck: 18 locations in the Seattle metropolitan area, including Seward Park, Alki Beach, and the Bellevue Botanical Garden. The full list of locations and dates will be announced soon. For updates, please visit seattlechambermusic.org.

-July 6-

Franz Joseph Haydn: Piano Trio No. 25 in E minor, Op. 57 No. 2, Hob. XV:12
Jeewon Park, piano; Noah Geller, violin; Efe Baltacıgil, cello
George Enescu: Violin Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 25, dans le caractère populaire roumain
Yura Lee, violin; Inon Barnatan, piano
Felix Mendelssohn: String Quintet No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 87
James Ehnes & Amy Schwartz Moretti, violins; Che-Yen Chen & Beth Guterman Chu, violas; Edward Arron, cello

-July 8-

Darius Milhaud: Scaramouche, Suite for 2 Pianos, Op. 165b
Alessio Bax & Jeewon Park, pianos
Ludwig van Beethoven: Serenade for String Trio in D Major, Op. 8
Yura Lee, violin; Beth Buterman Chu, viola; Sterling Elliott, cello
César Franck: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 14
Inon Barnatan, piano; James Ehnes & Amy Schwartz Moretti, violins; Che-Yen Chen, viola; Edward Arron, cello

-July 10-

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Sonata for Piano and Violin in E-flat Major, K. 380
James Ehnes, violin; Alessio Bax, piano
Franz Schubert: String Trio in B-flat Major, D. 581
Yura Lee, violin; Che-Yen Chen, viola; Sterling Elliott, cello
Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 26
Jeewon Park, piano; Amy Schwartz Moretti, violin; Beth Guterman Chu, viola; Edward Arron, cello

-July 12 (Chamber Music in the Park, Bellevue Downtown Park)-

Ernő Dohnányi: Serenade in C Major, Op. 10
Andrew Wan, violin; Beth Guterman Chu, viola; Sterling Elliott, cello
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4
James Ehnes & Amy Schwartz Moretti, violin; Che-Yen Chen, viola; Edward Arron, cello

-July 13-

Franz Schubert: Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 148, D. 897 "Notturno"
Alessio Bax, piano; Andrew Wan, violin; Sterling Elliott, cello
Edvard Grieg: Violin Sonata No. 2 in G Major, Op. 13
James Ehnes, violin; Orion Weiss, piano
Mieczysław Weinberg: Piano Quintet, Op. 18
Yulianna Avdeeva, piano; Amy Schwartz Moretti & Noah Geller, violins; Che-Yen Chen, viola; Edward Arron, cello

-July 15-

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Concerto in A Major for Piano and String Quartet, K. 414
Steven Osborne, piano; Amy Schwartz Moretti & Erin Keefe, violins; Matthew Lipman, viola; Raphael Bell, cello
Amy Beach: Piano Quintet in F-sharp minor, Op. 67
Orion Weiss, piano; Stephen Rose & Andrew Wan, violins; Che-Yen Chen, viola; Edward Arron, cello
Robert Schumann: Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47
Yulianna Avdeeva, piano; James Ehnes, violin; Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola; Efe Baltacıgil, cello

-July 17-

Claude Debussy: Six Épigraphes Antiques
Steven Osborne & Yulianna Avdeeva, pianos
John Novacek: Music for 8 (SCMS co-commission)
Erin Keefe, Andrew Wan, Amy Schwartz Moretti & Stephen Rose, violins; Matthew Lipman and Che-Yen Chen, violas; Edward Arron and Raphael Bell, cellos
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 16
Orion Weiss, piano; James Ehnes, violin; Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola; Efe Baltacıgil, cello

-July 19 (Chamber Music in the Park, Volunteer Park)-

Johannes Brahms: String Quintet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 111
James Ehnes & Amy Schwartz Moretti, violins; Che-Yen Chen & Matthew Lipman, violas; Edward Arron, cello
Antonín Dvořák: Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 81, B.155
Orion Weiss, piano; Andrew Wan & Erin Keefe, violins; Paul Neubauer, viola; Raphael Bell, cello

-July 20-

Claude Debussy: Sonata for Violin and Piano in G minor, L. 140
Andrew Wan, violin; Steven Osborne, piano
Martin Kennedy: Verses for Piano Quintet (world premiere; SCMS commission)
Paige Roberts Molloy, piano; Erin Keefe & Alexander Kerr, violins; Paul Neubauer, viola; Raphael Bell, cello
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: String Quintet No. 5 in D Major, K. 593
James Ehnes & Amy Schwartz Moretti, violins; Che-Yen Chen & Matthew Lipman, violas; Edward Arron, cello

-July 22-

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Flute Quartet in C Major, K. 285b
Demarre McGill, flute; Jun Iwasaki, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Bion Tsang, cello
Paul Hindemith: Viola Sonata, Op. 11, No. 4
James Ehnes, viola; Adam Neiman, piano
Rebecca Clarke: Morpheus for Viola and Piano
James Ehnes, viola; Adam Neiman, piano
Gabriel Fauré: Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 45
Steven Osborne, piano; Alexander Kerr, violin; Meredith Kufchak, viola; Brant Taylor, cello

-July 24-

Bohuslav Martinů: Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola, H. 313
Alexander Kerr, violin; Meredith Kufchak, viola
Bedřich Smetana: String Quartet No. 1 in E minor "From My Life"
Noah Geller and Jun Iwasaki, violins; James Ehnes, viola; Brant Taylor, cello
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Trio No. 6 in E-flat Major, Op. 70, No. 2
Adam Neiman, piano; Tessa Lark, violin; Bion Tsang, cello

-July 25-

Tasting Notes

Join Seattle's best chefs and the world's greatest classical musicians for live music and cooking demonstrations by hosts Kenji Lopez-Alt and James Ehnes. For one night only, Renee Erickson, the James Beard Award-winning chef, and chefs Lee Kindell of MOTO pizza; Shota Nakajima of Bravo TV's Top Chef and the Food Network's Tournament of Champions; Kelly Van Arsdale of Spinnaker Chocolate; and Kevin Smith of Beast and Cleaver, will join musicians James Ehnes, Tessa Lark, Adam Nieman, Jun Iwasaki, Joan DerHovsepian, Bion Tsang and Brant Taylor, on stage at Benaroya Hall for a unique live experience that explores the parallels between food and music.

-July 27-

Johannes Brahms: Cello Sonata No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99
Mark Kosower, cello; Max Levinson, piano
Ethan Soledad: Poems from Angel Island (SCMS co-commission)
Tom Poster, piano; Tessa Lark and Elena Urioste, violins; Joan DerHovsepian, viola; Julie Albers, cello
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50
Adam Neiman, piano; James Ehnes, violin; Bion Tsang, cello

-July 29-

Moritz Moszkowski: Suite for Two Violins and Piano in G minor Op. 71
James Ehnes and Tessa Lark, violins; Max Levinson, piano
Fanny Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 11
Tom Poster, piano; Elena Urioste, violin; Mark Kosower, cello
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 3
Noah Bendix-Balgley, violin; Joan DerHovsepian, viola; Julie Albers, cello

-August 1-

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