Summerfest Chamber Music Ensemble
Summerfest Kansas City opened its 2026 season of chamber music concerts in a program entitled “Ragtime and Ravel” Saturday night July 18 at Grant Recital Hall on the UMKC campus.
There is something special about chamber music, that marvelous style featuring a single player per instrumental line. The Summerfest performers, regional professionals active in a variety of ensembles and educational institutions, are among the best musicians in the area. Over the years Summerfest has demonstrated a propensity for very creative programming and crisp performances. You can count on an intriguing potpourri of music, featuring well-known composers and works alongside selections you will rarely hear live or on recordings.
The evening opened with the Oboe Quartet in B-flat Major by Johann Christian Bach, one of the composer sons of Johann Sebastian. The work was played by oboist Celeste Johnson, violinist Neil Samples, violist Jessica Nance and cellist Alexander East. As Johnson noted in opening the concert, chamber music is often like a conversation among performers, and in this conversation, each of the musicians had an equal voice.
The brief two-movement work featured a buoyant opening that was both tuneful and attractive. It was followed by a complex rhythmic passage that felt somewhat bogged down and laborious both times it appeared in the sonata form movement. The second dancelike movement was in a graceful triple meter with accented downbeats and sensitive phrasing.
Next were two rags by American composer William Bolcom. Originally written for piano in the 1970s and 1980s, they were later arranged for string quartet. The first, “Graceful Ghost,” was delightfully performed by violinist Anne-Marie Brown with violinist Samples, violist Nance and cellist East. Strongly syncopated and highly rhythmic, the pizzicato (plucked) strings were not always together at the start, though they tightened as the piece progressed. The second rag, “Incineratorag,” offered a rollicking, boisterous sound. The ensemble displayed effective use of dynamics and strong rhythmic accents. The central section contained very different harmonies than one would expect in a rag, but certainly interesting. The performers produced a very nicely rendered string sound in ragtime style.
The Suite for Wind Trio by Alexandre Tansman followed, performed by oboist Johnson, clarinetist Jane Carl and bassoonist Joshua Hood. Born in Poland, Tansman moved to Paris in his early twenties where he composed in a neoclassical style in the early decades of the 20th century. The work opened with mournful, slightly dissonant sound played with a rich, beautiful tone. Melodic phrases passed among the performers with ease, and the blend was impressive. The second movement featured playful, pointed rhythms with phrases often begun in one instrument and completed in another. The transitions were seamless and highly effective in this performance.
The third movement was called “Aria,” and was a lovely, moving work played with warmth and lyricism. Joshua Hood employed a rich, resonant sound on the bassoon. The finale was highly rhythmic, with crisp articulations, but not as interesting melodically as the preceding movements. At the end, Tansman inserted a slow hymnlike passage that was attractive and showed off the marvelous blend of the performers.
The Summerfest players saved the best for last, closing with a breathtaking performance of Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet in F Major. Composed in 1903, the work is one of the most popular string quartets of the 20th century. The familiar opening was very well blended and balanced, and the performers (the same ones that played the Bolcom rags) displayed impeccable intonation. The multiple tempo changes were maneuvered perfectly. Violinist Anne-Marie Brown and violist Jessica Nance displayed special warmth and rich tone, but all performers were extraordinary.
The marvelous second movement alternated strong pizzicatos with bowed passages, and the plucked strings were played with such strength and fervor that the performers had to retune their instruments after playing. The third movement exhibited a rich and dreamy sound tinged with romantic passion. Cellist East was very resonant in his brief solo passages and violinist Brown displayed crystal clear tone in the highest register.
The quartet played the final movement’s restless opening theme in rhythmically aggressive fashion and was very impressive with its tight control and shifting moods. Throughout the entire composition, the performers played with extraordinary energy and precision and an outstanding sense of ensemble.
There is one more performance of this program on Sun., July 19 at 3 p.m. at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Kansas City, MO. The two upcoming weekend feature different programs presented by Summerfest: “Creation of the World” on July 25 and 26, and then “Nocturnes, Promenades and Roses” on August 1 and 2. Tickets and more information about these events can be found at www.summerfestkc.org.
This concert was reviewed on Saturday, July 18, 2026.
