ChamberFest West Festival 2026

Experience all 5 concerts and bring a guest to opening night!

Ambassador Passes include a complimentary guest ticket to our opening night concert, Pangaea at the Bella Concert Hall - so you can introduce a friend to ChamberFest West, and a $47.50 charitable tax receipt. Thanks for your support!

Check the concert descriptions to learn more about each performance, and our website for a list of 2026 musicians. Full artist bios and more to come!

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Ambassador Pass charitable tax receipts are issued post-event.

Five concerts for the price of four!

Check the concert descriptions to learn more about each performance, and our website for a list of 2026 musicians. Full artist bios and more to come!

ChamberFest West opens its fifth season to a world without borders. This celebratory program journeys across continents, beginning with African Classical Music featuring master kora player Tunde Jegede and the vivid storytelling of Chinese folklore, followed by the hypnotic Piano Phase by American minimalist Steve Reich and the high-octane, dance-charged virtuosity of Matthew Hindson’s Rush. The program concludes with Johannes Brahms’s Sextet in G major—often called his most ethereal large-scale work—unfolding with deep romantic lyricism and a rich, enveloping warmth.

Program:

TUNDE JEGEDE (b. 1972)

Moon Waters

Tunde Jegede, Kora

TRADITIONAL (arr. Yang Bao Zhi, b.1935)

Ambush on All Sides

Blake Pouliot, violin | Zoltan Fejervari, piano

STEVE REICH (b. 1936)

Piano Phase for Two Pianos

Roman Rabinovich, piano | Zoltan Fejervari, piano

MIGUEL DEL ÁGUILA (b. 1957)

Clocks, Op. 58 (No. 1)

for piano quintet

David McCarroll, violin | Kerson Leong, violin

Njord Fossnes, viola | Brook Speltz, cello | Zoltan Fejervari, piano

MATTHEW HINDSON (b. 1968)

Rush

for piano trio

David McCarroll, violin | Brook Speltz, cello | Zoltan Fejervari, piano

- Intermission -

JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)

String Sextet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 36

Blake Pouliot, violin | Diana Cohen, violin

Pearl de la Motte, viola | Njord Fosnes, viola

Oliver Herbert, cello | Clancy Newman, cello

300 Years of Groove

Violin phenom Kerson Leong opens with a burst of brilliance, leading a seamless, no-intermission journey from the radiant clarity of Johann Sebastian Bach through the shimmering virtuosity of Francisco Tárrega and Eugène Ysaÿe, while Charles Ives’ bold, experimental Piano Trio introduces unexpected twists along the way. The energy spills into Clancy Newman’s electrifying arrangements of Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk and Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah for cello choir, before culminating in Ernő Dohnányi’s Sextet—a vibrant blend of Romantic sweep, wit, and a touch of shadow beneath its luminous surface.

Program:

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685-1750)

Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006

Prelude

Kerson Leong, violin

FRANCISCO TÁRREGA (1852-1909)

Recuerdos de la Alhambra

Kerson Leong, violin

EUGÈNE YSAŸE (1858-1931)

Sonata No. 5, Op. 27, No. 5

Danse rustique

Kerson Leong, violin

CHARLES IVES (1874-1954)

Piano Trio, S. 86

Anthony Marwood, violin | Clancy Newman, cello | Zoltan Fejervari, piano

MARK RONSON (b. 1975) (arr. Clancy Newman)

Uptown Funk

Clancy Newman, cello

LEONARD COHEN (1934-2016) (arr. Clancy Newman)

Hallelujah

for three cellos

Clancy Newman | Brook Speltz | Oliver Herbert

ERNŐ DOHNÁNYI (1877-1960)

Sextet in C Major, Op. 37

Diana Cohen, violin | Jennifer Stumm, viola

Brook Speltz, cello | Jay Shankar, clarinet

Nikolette LaBonte, horn | Roman Rabinovich, piano

Friction & Sparks

This program moves between elegance and intensity. Franz Danzi’s Wind Quintet is genial and playful, its textures light and full of charm, while Dmitri Shostakovich’s late Violin Sonata cuts deeper—spare, intense, and haunting in its stark introspection. After the break, Venezuelan-French composer Reynaldo Hahn’s Piano Quintet surges with passion, offering dramatic fervor, evocative colors, and a sweeping sense of release.

Program:

FRANZ DANZI (1763-1826)

Wind Quintet, Op. 56, No. 1

Christie Reside, flute | Ben Price, oboe | Jay Shankar, clarinet

Nikolette LaBonte, horn | Antoine St-Onge, bassoon

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)

Violin Sonata, Op. 134

Anthony Marwood, violin | Roman Rabinovich, piano

- Intermission -

REYNALDO HAHN (1874-1947)

Piano Quintet in F-sharp minor

David McCarroll, violin | Diana Cohen, violin

Jennifer Stumm, viola | Oliver Herbert, cello | Zoltan Fejervari, piano

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Date: Fri Jul 17th, 2026 @ 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Location: Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall, Rosza Centre, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta

NEW WORLD

From the Catalan Baroque virtuosity of José Plà and Juan Bautista Plà to the imaginative colors of Gryphonsong by “brilliant and compelling” Vincent Ho, this program explores musical horizons. Aaron Copland’s Pulitzer Prize–winning Appalachian Spring celebrates the American pioneer spirit with themes of hope, love, and community, leading to Antonín Dvořák’s String Quintet in E-flat major—shaped by his travels to the New World and created in a particularly joyful, optimistic frame of mind.

Program:

JOSÉ PLÀ (c. 1728-1762) & JUAN BAUTISTA PLÀ (c. 1720-1773)

Trio Sonata in D minor

Allegro molto - Andante - Allegro assai

Ben Price, oboe | Kerson Leong, violin | Oliver Herbert, cello

Chris Sies, percussion | Roman Rabinovich, harpsichord

VINCENT HO (b. 1975) 

Gryphonsong  

Anthony Marwood, violin | Clancy Newman, cello | Roman Rabinovich, piano 

AARON COPLAND (1900-1990)

Appalachian Spring (1944)

Christie Reside, flute | Jay Shankar, clarinet | Antoine St-Onge, bassoon

Blake Pouliot, violin | David McCarroll, violin

Kerson Leong, violin | Diana Cohen, violin

Njord Fossnes, viola | Pearl de la Motte, viola

Brook Speltz, cello | Oliver Herbert, cello

Nathan Farrington, double bass | Zoltan Fejervari, piano

- Intermission -

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK (1841-1904)

String Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 97 (B. 180)

Anthony Marwood, violin | David McCarroll, violin Jennifer Stumm, viola | Njord Fossnes, viola Oliver Herbert, cello

GRAND FINALE — Schubert’s “Trout”

We close our season with a buoyant program, beginning with Joseph Haydn’s sparkling, extroverted Piano Trio in C major, followed by the wit and drive of Sergei Prokofiev’s sardonic Quintet, then the raw, high-energy sound of Jörg Widmann, one of today’s most versatile and compelling musical voices. The festival ends with Franz Schubert’s iconic “Trout” Quintet—radiant, generous, and full of life—a final celebration of pure, shared joy!

Program:

JOSEPH HAYDN (1732-1809)

Piano Trio No. 43 in C Major, Hob. XV:27

Blake Pouliot, violin | Oliver Herbert, cello | Zoltan Fejervari, piano

SERGEI PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)

Quintet, Op. 39

Ben Price, oboe | Jay Shankar, clarinet | Diana Cohen, violin

Njord Fossnes, viola | Nathan Farrington, double bass

JÖRG WIDMANN (b. 1973)

180 Beats Per Minute

for string sextet

Kerson Leong, violin | Diana Cohen, violin

Njord Fossnes, viola | Pearl de la Motte, viola

Brook Speltz, cello | Clancy Newman, cello

- Intermission -

FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828)

Piano Quintet in A Major, "Trout," D. 667

Kerson Leong, violin | Jennifer Stumm, viola

Brook Speltz, cello | Nathan Farrington, double bass | Roman Rabinovich, piano

Join us on the front lawn at cSpace for a free concert showcasing some of our amazing festival musicians. Bring a blanket or chair, relax in the setting sun, and savour some sublime music. 

Tickets are not required for this event.

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PROGRAM

(outdoors on the artPark lawn; bring a blanket or lawn chair)

For more information, please check the event out here: https://www.showpass.com/communityconcert2026/