Newport Classical Music Festival’s Chamber Music Highlights: Junction Trio, Spektral Quartet, Black Oak Ensemble
Junction Trio (Stefan Jackiw, Conrad Tao, Jay Campbell)
Sunday, July 3, 2022 at 8pm
Black Oak Ensemble
Wednesday, July 6, 2022 at 8pm
Spektral Quartet (Final Performance Together)
Sunday, July 10, 2022 at 8pm
The Breakers | 44 Ochre Point Ave. | Newport, RI
Tickets & Information: newportclassical.org/music-festival
Newport, RI – Three stellar chamber ensembles –– Junction Trio (July 3), Black Oak Ensemble (July 6), and Spektral Quartet (July 10) –– are coming to Newport next month to perform at The Breakers (44 Ochre Point Ave.) as part of the 2022 Newport Classical Music Festival (formerly Newport Music Festival), which runs from July 1-17, 2022.
On Sunday July 3, 2022 at 8pm, the Junction Trio, a super-group featuring notable soloists Stefan Jackiw, Conrad Tao, and Jay Campbell, will perform John Zorn’s Piano Trio; Ives’ Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano; and Ravel’s Piano Trio in A minor, M. 67. Violinist Stefan Jackiw is recognized for musicianship that combines poetry and purity with an impeccable technique. Conrad Tao, who appears worldwide as a pianist and composer, has been dubbed a musician of “probing intellect and open-hearted vision” by The New York Times. Cellist Jay Campbell has been described by The New York Times as “electrifying,” for approaching both old and new works with the same curiosity and emotional commitment.
On Wednesday, July 6, 2022 at 8pm, Black Oak Ensemble, named for the tree found in the group’s home state of Illinois, will make its Newport Classical debut with a performance of selections from Silenced Voices, their 2019 debut recording released on Cedille Records. The string trio boasts three of Chicago’s most enterprising and dynamic chamber musicians –– GRAMMY-nominated violinist Desirée Ruhstrat, cellist David Cunliffe of the Lincoln Trio, and violist Aurélien Fort Pederzoli, co-founder the Spektral Quartet. Silenced Voices includes inspired and uplifting works by six promising, early 20th century Jewish composers originally from Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and the Netherlands. In today’s context, the works evoke a sadness of lives lost and potentially unfulfilled, yet there is joy, community, and a familiarity to be found in each composition. At 3pm on July 6, audiences are invited to join a moderated conversation at Temple Shalom, in collaboration with the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. President & CEO Adam Greenman will lead a thoughtful discussion with Holocaust Scholar Barbara Wahlberg and the musicians of the Black Oak Ensemble. Admission to the discussion is free with advanced registration.
On Sunday, July 10, 2022 at 8pm the multi-GRAMMY-nominated Spektral Quartet (Clara Lyon, violin; Theo Espy, violin; Doyle Armbrust, viola; and Russell Rolen, cello) will give the last performance of their final season together, having announced that 2021-2022 would be the group’s farewell concert season. In Newport, they will perform a historically and culturally diverse concert featuring music by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Miguel Zenón, Tomeka Reid, Philip Glass, and Debussy. Spektral Quartet is widely praised for illuminating the connections between beloved works in the canon and fresh new repertoire by living composers in its innovative programs. The quartet, which served as Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of Chicago’s Music Department from 2012–2020, has performed in several noteworthy venues, including The Kennedy Center, Miller Theater, Library of Congress, and with NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts. While they are an internationally regarded ensemble, Spektral Quartet also is committed to supporting the work of composers local to their home of Chicago, IL.
For its 54th season, Newport Classical Music Festival presents 24 concerts over 18 days and returns for the first time since 2019 to the stunning interiors of Newport’s historic mansions and venues including The Breakers, Blithewold Mansion, The Elms, Castle Hill Inn, Chinese Tea House, Great Friends Meeting House, King Park, Newport Art Museum, Norman Bird Sanctuary, Redwood Library & Athenaeum, and Emmanuel Church.
Newport Classical has a rich legacy of musical curiosity, presenting the American debuts of over 130 international artists and rarely heard works. Since its founding in 1969, the organization has produced more than 3,000 concerts and hosted more than 1,200 musicians and singers. This year’s festival includes music by more than 40 women composers.
For the full Newport Classical Music Festival schedule, visit: www.newportclassical.org/music-festival
(Read Newport Classical’s full Health & Safety Policy)
Concert Details
Junction Trio
Sunday, July 3 at 8pm
The Breakers
Tickets: $95/$80/$60/$50
Stefan Jackiw, Violin
Conrad Tao, Piano
Jay Campbell, Cellist
JOHN ZORN Piano Trio
IVES Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano
RAVEL Piano Trio in A minor, M. 67
*Program subject to change
Three renowned visionary artists of the next generation combine talents in this eclectic new program celebrating the piano trio. Violinist Stefan Jackiw, recognized for musicianship that combines poetry and purity with an impeccable technique, joins pianist Conrad Tao and cellist Jay Campbell. Tao, who appears worldwide as a pianist and composer, has been dubbed a musician of “probing intellect and open-hearted vision” by the New York Times, who called Campbell “electrifying” for approaching both old and new works with the same curiosity and emotional commitment.
Black Oak Ensemble: Silenced Voices (Newport Classical Debut)
Wednesday, July 6 at 8pm
The Breakers
Tickets: $95/$80/$60/$50
This concert is dedicated to the Bazarsky Family Foundation in recognition of their generous support of Newport Classical.
Desirée Ruhstrat, Violin
David Cunliffe, Cellist
Aurélien Fort Pederzoli, Viola
DICK KATTENBURG Trio à cordes
SÁNDOR KUTI Serenade for String Trio
HANS KRÁSA Passacaglia & Fuga for String Trio
GIDEON KLEIN Trio for violin, viola, and cello
PAUL HERMANN Strijktrio
GÉZA FRID Trio à cordes, Op. 1
*Program subject to change
Black Oak Ensemble, a string trio boasting three of Chicago’s most enterprising and dynamic chamber musicians, makes its Newport debut at The Breakers with an evening of inspired and uplifting works by six promising, early 20th century Jewish composers originally from Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and the Netherlands. In today’s context, the works evoke a sadness of lives lost and potentially unfulfilled, yet there is joy, community, and a familiarity to be found in each composition.
Join us at 3pm for a moderated conversation at Temple Shalom, in collaboration with the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island. President & CEO Adam Greenman will lead a thoughtful discussion with the musicians of the Black Oak Ensemble. Admission is free with advanced registration.
Spektral Quartet
Sunday, July 10 at 8pm
The Breakers
Tickets: $95/ $80/ $60/$50
Clara Lyon, Violin
Theo Espy, Violin
Doyle Armbrust, Viola
Russell Rolen, Cello
FANNY MENDELSSOHN HENSEL String Quartet in E-flat Major
MIGUEL ZENÓN Esquinas
TOMEKA REID Prospective Dwellers
PHILIP GLASS String Quartet No. 2, “Company”
DEBUSSY String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10
*Program subject to change
Multi-Grammy nominated Spektral Quartet is widely praised for illuminating the connections between beloved works in the canon and fresh new repertoire by living composers in its innovative programs – which is just what they’ve done in curating this evocative program spanning several centuries and continents.
About Newport Classical
Newport Classical is a premier performing arts organization that welcomes people of every age, culture, and background to intimate, immersive musical experiences. The organization presents world-renowned and up-and-coming artistic talents at stunning, storied venues across Newport – an internationally sought-after cultural and recreational destination.
Originally founded in 1969 as Rhode Island Arts Foundation at Newport, Inc. and previously known as Newport Music Festival (NMF), Newport Classical has a rich legacy of musical curiosity presenting the American debuts of over 130 international artists and rarely heard works and is most well-known for hosting three weeks of concerts in the summer in the historic mansions throughout Newport and Aquidneck Island. The organization has produced more than 2,000 concerts and hosted more than 1,000 musicians and singers. In 2021, the organization launched a new commissioning initiative – each year, Newport Classical will commission a new work by a Black, Indigenous, person of color, or woman composer as a commitment to the future of classical music.
Newport Classical is proud to be an essential pillar of New England’s cultural landscape, and to invest in the future of classical music as a diverse, relevant, and ever-evolving art form. Newport Classical’s four core programming initiatives – the iconic summer Music Festival taking place across Newport; the year-round Chamber Series at the organization’s home base Newport Classical Recital Hall at Emmanuel Church in downtown Newport; the free family-friendly Community Concerts held in green spaces around Aquidneck Island; and its newly expanded Music Education Residency program – illustrate the organization’s ongoing commitment to presenting “timeless music for today.”
