Kammermusik Players

kammermusik players

Kammermusik Players is Shenandoah Conservatory's elite chamber music ensemble comprised mostly of advanced instrumental graduate students and some outstanding undergraduate instrumental students. The ensemble performs a wide spectrum of repertoire, from works written for small, mixed instrumental forces (one player per part) to a more complex repertoire for chamber orchestra.

During the past few seasons, the Kammermusik Players has performed works such as Brahms' Serenade No. 1 in D (in the original nonet version) Messiaen's Quartet for the end of time, Stravinsky's A Soldier's Tale (in a fully-staged production), and Octet for Wind Instruments, Martinu's The Kitchen Review and Nonet, Mahler's Symphony No. 4 (in the chamber ensemble arrangement by Erwin Ratz), Beethoven's Septet and William Walton's Façade.

Kammermusik Players has also collaborated with SU's Chamber Choir in performances of Bach's B Minor Mass, Mozart's Requiem and Purcell's Dido and Aeneas (in a concert performance of the opera) for the Conservatory's annual Bach/Handel Festival.

Performances of repertoire that have required larger forces have included Mozart's Symphonies nos. 31, 36 and 41, Beethoven's Symphonies nos. 1, 2 and 3, and Richard Strauss' Metamorphosen for 23 solo strings.

Most performances take place in Armstrong Concert Hall on main campus and in local churches in the city of Winchester as part of the Bach/Handel Festival. In the fall of 2004, Kammermusik Players was invited to perform Walton's Façade at the annual Virginia Music Educators Association's Conference and it has appeared at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

For a comprehensive listing of performances please visit SU's "Calendar of Events" site.

Membership in the ensemble is by invitation only and is open to qualified graduate students and exceptional undergraduate students (music majors only). Auditions for placement consideration into the ensemble take place the week before classes start in late August. Ensemble placement materials are generally posted during the summer months. To learn more about Kammermusik Players, contact Associate Professor of Music Jan Wagner at (540) 665-1291 or jwagner@su.edu.

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