Concerts in the Barn hosts its seventh and penultimate weekend of free chamber music concerts held in its iconic barn in Quilcene on Aug. 26 and 27.
Featured guest artists are members of the Fulton Street Chamber Players — violinist Cordula Merks, violist Rachel Swerdlow and cellist Walter Gray — along with guest artists Aglika Angelova (piano), Christo Kasmetski (violin), Jon Green (bass) and Sammy Lesnick (clarinet).
The artists will perform Johannes Brahms’ celebrated “Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115” and Franz Schubert’s beloved “Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667,” popularly known as “The Trout.”
“This will be the twelfth performance of ‘The Trout’ at the Barn,” festival director Leigh Hearon said. “The first was in 1984, the opening season of what was then the Olympic Music Festival, performed by the Philadelphia String Quartet with guest artists pianist Ricklen Nobis and Ring Warner on bass.”
The line-up for “The Trout” is completely different, Hearon noted, but includes several artists who have long histories with the barn. SSO members Rachel Swerdlow and Walter Gray have performed at Concerts in the Barn several times. They’re joined by Green, who recently retired from the SSO, and Merks, who was SSO’s first assistant
concertmaster and now is concertmaster of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.
Submitted photo / Sammy Lesnick
“Many concertgoers will remember pianist Aglika Angelova,” Hearon said, “who first performed at the barn in 1998 and for the next eight seasons before moving to Chicago. She now lives in Hamburg and has an active concertizing schedule throughout Europe.
“Our sixth artist this weekend is newcomer Christo Kasmetski, principal second violin at the Gärtenplatz Theatre Orchestra in Munich.”
Sammy Lesnick, who debuted at the Barn in 2012, returns this season to perform the deeply introspective clarinet role in Brahms’ “Clarinet Quintet in B minor.”
About the concerts
These and all other concerts are free to the public. Concertgoers are encouraged to reserve their place in the barn or on the lawn in advance through TicketStripe; walk-up patrons are also welcome and will be seated in the barn according to space.
(To access the TicketStripe site, select “Free Tickets Required”at concertsinthebarn.org or “Concert Reservations” under the “Programs & Donors” tab.) Barn audience must wear masks during the performance.
Patrons also are welcome to sit on the lawn and are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs or blankets for seating. Amplifiers surround the barn so that outside patrons hear the performance wherever they choose to sit.
Submitted photo / Aglika Angelova
The farm opens to visitors at noon each concert day. At 1 p.m., the barn doors open so that barn patrons can reserve their seats on pews on the main floor or in the hay loft balcony.
This year, Concerts in the Barn now offers a farm animal tour following each concert. Tours start by the Festival information kiosk, and includes visits to the farm’s new-born lambs and sheep flock, pygmy goats, rabbits, poultry, and resident horses.
Concertgoers are encouraged to pack a picnic lunch; the farm has picnic tables to accommodate all picnickers and sells cookies, ice cream, coffee, and flavored sparkling water on site.
A wine and cider stand will be open on Saturday and closed on Sunday, but patrons are free to bring their beverage of choice on site. Free bottled water also is available.
Patrons with mobility issues are encouraged to call the festival office at 360-732-0732 before the day of the concert to make sure their needs will be accommodated.
Visit concertsinthebarn.org to learn more about the season.
For more information, call Hearon at 360-732-0732.
