Chamber Music continues for a 69th season!
Presented in cooperation with University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music, Peter Witte, Dean
Since its founding in 1956, Friends of Chamber Music has brought world-class classical musicians to Stockton to the delight of audiences from around the Central Valley. From presenting established artists to highlighting up-and-coming musical talents, the range of concert programming we’ve offered over the years has made a positive impact on the state of the arts in our community. We firmly believe that our 69th season continues that work, and we’re excited to share the lineup of the new season with you!
Season Tickets Now Available – Click Here!
Telegraph Quartet
September 14, 2025
Last seen with FOCM in 2023, the Telegraph Quartet formed in 2013 with an equal passion for the standard chamber music repertoire and contemporary, non-standard works alike. Described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “…an incredibly valuable addition to the cultural landscape” and “powerfully adept… with a combination of brilliance and subtlety,” the Telegraph Quartet was awarded the prestigious 2016 Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award and the Grand Prize at the 2014 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition.
A fervent champion of 20th- and 21st-century repertoire, the Telegraph Quartet co-commissioned John Harbison’s String Quartet No. 6 and gave its West Coast premiere in the fall of 2017 on San Francisco State University’s Morrison Artists Series. The Telegraph Quartet premiered Richard Festinger’s third string quartet, Icarus in Flight, a musical representation of climate change data from the year 1880 to projected simulations of 2080. The Quartet gave the world premiere of Robert Sirota’s String Quartet No. 3, “Wave Upon Wave”, at Weill Recital Hall for their Carnegie Hall debut in 2018, sponsored by the Naumburg Foundation. In 2022, the Telegraph premiered Robert Sirota’s Contrapassos with soprano Abigail Fischer, featuring libretto by Stevan Cavalier and commissioned by Sierra Chamber Music Society.
In August 2023, the Telegraph Quartet released its latest album Divergent Paths, the first in a series of recordings titled 20th Century Vantage Points, on Azica Records. This first volume features two works that have never been recorded on the same album before: Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet in F Major and Arnold Schoenberg’s String Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 7. Through this series, the Telegraph Quartet intends to explore string quartets of the 20th century – an era of music that the group has felt especially called to perform since its formation.
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Neave Trio
October 5, 2025
Since forming in 2010, GRAMMY®–nominated Neave Trio has earned enormous praise for its engaging, cutting-edge performances. New York’s classical music radio station WQXR explains, “‘Neave’ is actually a Gaelic name meaning ‘bright’ and ‘radiant’, both of which certainly apply to this trio’s music making.” Gramophone has praised the trio’s “taut and vivid interpretations,” while The Strad calls out their “eloquent phrasing and deft control of textures,” and BBC Music Magazine describes their performances as balancing “passion with sensitivity and grace.”
Neave has performed at many esteemed concert series and at festivals worldwide, including Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 92nd Street Y, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Norfolk and Norwich Chamber Music Series (United Kingdom), Zeeuwse Concertzaal (The Netherlands), and the Samoylov and Rimsky Korsakow Museums’ Chamber Music Series in St. Petersburg (Russia). The trio has held residency positions at Brown University, University of Virginia, Longy School of Music of Bard College, San Diego State University as the first-ever Fisch/Axelrod Trio-in-Residence, and the Banff Centre (Canada), among many other institutions.
The Neave Trio’s newest album, La Mer, was released in 2025 on Chandos Records and features French-inspired works including Camille Saint-Saëns’ Trio No. 2, Mel Bonis’ Soir et Matin, and Claude Debussy’s La Mer in a piano trio arrangement by Sally Beamish. The Strad called the performance “beguiling,” noting that “the playing is as idiomatic as it is virtuosic.”
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Seraph Brass
November 2, 2025
Returning to FOCM for the first time since 2020, Seraph Brass was founded by trumpet soloist Mary Elizabeth Bowden with a mission to showcase the excellence of women brass players and highlight musicians from marginalized groups, both in personnel and in programming. Winners of the American Prize in Chamber Music, the group has been praised for its “beautiful sounds” (American Record Guide), “fine playing” (Gramophone), and “staggeringly high caliber of performance” (Textura). In addition to performances and residencies, Seraph performs as a 10-piece ensemble, as soloists with symphony orchestras and wind bands, and in collaboration with other chamber artists.
Seraph Brass performs a diverse body of repertoire, ranging from original transcriptions to newly commissioned works and core classics. The group has commissioned pieces by Grammy award winner Jeff Scott, as well as Jennifer Jolley, Joseph Hallman, Catherine McMichael, Marcus Grant, and Rene Orth. The pieces by Orth and McMichael are featured on Seraph’s Silver Medal Global Music Award-winning debut album Asteria. The group regularly participates in commissioning consortiums, recently supporting works by Kevin Day, Mischa Zupko, Sara Jacovino, and Lillian Yee. Seraph recently commissioned and premiered Jennifer Jolley’s Dust for brass quintet and wind ensemble, which was performed with various ensembles across the US. Other concerto performances have included Rick DeJonge’s Prelude and Fantasy, James Stephenson’s Dodecafecta, Suite from Mass by Leonard Bernstein and Anthony DiLorenzo’s Chimera.
Members of Seraph Brass are passionate about music education, and hold teaching positions at the University of North Texas, Shenandoah Conservatory, Texas State University, and Texas Lutheran University. In each of their tours, the group works to provide educational outreach to local schools, and they also offer a variety of entrepreneurship and career development workshops, in addition to traditional brass pedagogy and technique classes.
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TRIO 180
February 15, 2026
Trio 180, the faculty piano trio-in-residence at the University of the Pacific’s Conservatory of Music, is dedicated to its roles as performer, proponent of new music, and educator. In addition to giving concerts and master classes throughout the United States, the trio has been featured on concert series in Mexico and Canada. This talented ensemble includes celebrated concert violinist Ann Miller, renowned cellist Vicky Wang, and award-winning pianist Sonia Leong.
Trio 180 performs a wide range of music from the Classical era to the present and is an active advocate of new music. The trio was awarded a Barlow Grant in 2006 to commission eminent composer Chen Yi’s first piano trio, Tibetan Tunes. The trio also premiered Eric Wood’s Elgin Movements (2022), Robert Coburn’s a depth of silence (2018); Robert Greenberg’s 180 Shift (2013); Reinaldo Moya’s Gothic Sea (2011, in honor of Trio 180’s tenth anniversary); Francois Rose’s Gently, Wild Rose Petals (2008); Derek Jacoby’s Trio No. 2 (2008); and Allan Crossman’s Icarus (2005). The trio has also recorded works by Jorge Liderman (Suite del Sur; Sidewalk recorded on Albany Records), and Cindy Cox (Wave).
The trio mentors young musicians and chamber music groups at the University of the Pacific’s Conservatory of Music, where all three members are on faculty. In addition, Trio 180 frequently performs at elementary and high schools throughout California, presenting varied and interactive programs designed to challenge and engage young students.
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Erinys Quartet
April 19, 2026
Named for the Erinyes (a.k.a. the Furies) from the Greek tragedy Oresteia by Aeschylus, and with roots in Estonia, Lithuania, Greece, the United States and Finland, the Erinys Quartet was founded in 2018 at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki where they worked closely with cellist Marko Ylönen. Since Autumn 2023 Erinys has been the Nina von Maltzahn String Quartet-in-Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
At the Bad Tölz International String Quartet Competition in 2023 they were awarded the Audience Prize Award of the City of Bad Tölz, as well as the Esterházy Foundation Special Prize for best interpretation of a Haydn string quartet. They also won the Bronze Medal at the 2024 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition.
In the 2025 season the Erinys Quartet will present concerts throughout the United States and Europe, including debuts at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland. They will also be giving concerts around the United States as part of Curtis on Tour performing with pianist Michelle Cann, violist Roberto Díaz, and cellist Peter Wiley.
In addition to their studies at Curtis with the Dover Quartet, Erinys is pursuing a diploma in chamber music at Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain under the tutelage of Professor Günter Pichler of the Alban Berg Quartet.
FOCM is thrilled to be presenting this exciting young group to Stockton audiences!
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