Coming up in Philly music: Falling in love with chamber music

I’ve introduced several people to chamber music over the years and they’re often surprised by its intensity and impact. It’s the best way to introduce young people to the classical-music tradition, in my opinion. Chamber music gives them a close-up look at the skills of the performers and the interplay of the instruments. For young people who’ve grown up on popular music, quartets and trios resemble the kind of groups they’re used to.

Mimi Stillman’s Dolce Suono Ensemble is conducting a three-year program designed to introduce chamber music to a larger audience, with financial support from the William Penn Foundation. It’s called Fall for Chamber Music and it presents inexpensive events in popular sites like the main library on Logan Circle. The next event will take place at the Christ Church Neighborhood House on January 30. The audience will hear a world-class flutist, Mimi Stillman, play the Mozart flute quartets with members of the Jasper String Quartet, the Ensemble in Residence at Temple University’s Center for Gifted Young Musicians. The program will include coaching sessions with students from Temple’s Music Preparatory program.

Dolce Suono recently conducted an online "Chamber Music Top Twenty" poll. Mozart’s Flute Quartet in D tied for first place with Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp (my personal favorite). The veteran listeners who attend this program will hear favorites that deserve their popularity; the newcomers will be exposed to music that has charmed audiences for two centuries. Both groups will probably learn a few things during the coaching sessions.

Dolce Suono Ensemble will present Fall for Chamber Music on January 30 at 7pm at Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. American Street, Philadelphia (behind Christ Church, as you face the church on 2nd Street). Tickets are $15 and they’re available at www.dolcesuono.com/events, and at the door. Christ Church Neighborhood House is a community center that offers subsidized space for community events. Christ Church Neighborhood House is ADA-accessible.