Chamber Music North

June 15, 2008

What do you do when you retire? Maybe relax, kick back in the hammock, play a round or two of golf.
Or, if you’re classically trained cellist Debra Fayroian of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, move to the Grand Traverse area and start a new music series.
“The goal’s simple,” said Fayroian. “Great chamber music in the Grand Traverse area. I want to enhance what is already here.”
In her mind, “what is already here” includes an appreciative audience ready for great music and venues perfect for chamber music. Those venues include concert halls, churches, and other community buildings in towns across the region.
Fayroian sees her role and that of the music she’s championing as something that can have a positive effect on all those who partake of it. “Great chamber music enhances the quality of life,” she said.
Fayroian should know. In addition to her work with the DSO, for the last three years she has been music director for the Manitou Music Festival. While she enjoyed the opportunity to bring a variety of music to the area, Chamber Music North gives her the chance to do so exclusively with her first love, chamber music.

A LITTLE MENDELSSOHN
For Traverse City audiences, their next opportunity to enhance life comes on June 22 at Milliken Auditorium, when Fayroian is joined by Annie Chanex Boyle on violin, Steve Larson on piano, and soprano Nicole Philibosian. They will be performing the music of Felix Mendelssohn at Milliken Auditorium, part of the “Sundays at Three” series.
The eclectic New Music Detroit performs there as part of the series on July 6. Gina DiBello, violin; Ian Ding, percussion; Adrienne Rönmark, violin; Erik Rönmark, saxophone; and Robert Tye, electric guitar, will play Karen Tanaka’s “Nightbird,” for saxophone & electronics; Steve Reich’s “Violin Phase,” a classic work of early minimalist phase music; and works by John Cage and Andrew Rzewski.
Those eschewing the big city will have their chance too. The Village Series takes chamber music to outlying areas for evening shows. On June 20, the brass quintet Brassissimo! will perform at the Glen Lake Community Reformed Church, while the Mendelssohn show will be repeated there in September. Two towns south, the Mills Community House in Beulah will host the woodwind group Trio Soufflage (bassoon, flute and oboe), augmented by a guest clarinetist, on July 20. On August 3, Duo Diorama, consisting of violinist Minghuan Xu and pianist Winston Choi, will perform there.

YEAR-ROUND
Favroian is excited to present the variety of shows in the different settings. “I’ve found a new neighborhood with an appetite for premier chamber music,” she said. “Right now it’s still in its infancy. After a year of presenting concerts, we’ll see. I think the growth will be slow and certain.”
Unlike other concert programs, Fayroian says she intends to make Chamber Music North a permanent, year-round program. “We’re getting the support of some great venues, great restaurants for receptions. The Grand Traverse Regional Foundation has been a great partner. Interlochen Public Radio has done interviews.”
But Fayroian isn’t content to merely host concerts. She wants to take the music to all levels. “We want to work with the schools, hold master classes and clinics. Music can accelerate learning,” she said.

For additional information, including dates, venue locations and tickets, log onto chambermusicnorth.com.