Chamber Concert Series
The Chamber Concert Series concerts focus on talented individuals and string quartets. Launched in the winter of 2018-19, the Chamber Concert Series features high school string quartets performing alongside professional quartets. The Chamber Concert Series provides an opportunity for talented high school students to perform in front of a live audience in a real concert hall – outside their home town. This experience is a marvelous learning and growth opportunity, a wonderful addition to the student’s resume, brings recognition in their local community, and strengthens and sustains these important high school string orchestra programs.
Motel rooms and meals are provided for the students, their teacher, and the professional musicians.. The Festival also makes a small donation to the high school’s music “booster club” and the professional musicians are given a small stipend.
While there are many excellent classical music performances available along the Oregon central coast, attendance at these concerts requires the purchase of a ticket. This limits access to cultural experiences for many. The Festival provides the Chamber Concert Series to improve the community’s access to cultural experiences.
Newport is recognized throughout the Pacific Northwest as a center for excellence in classical music. The Festival’s Chamber Concert Series provides the Newport area community and the central Oregon coast with greater access to professional classical music experiences by providing this Concert Series free of charge to the public.
The Chamber Concert Series is sponsored by: Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund, Chambers Family Foundation, and Lincoln County Cultural Coalition.
The Lincoln County Cultural Coalition envisions a vibrant cultural life for all citizens. It shall engage citizens from all parts of the county to create and celebrate a dream of lifelong cultural experiences for all.
The Chamber Concert Series is held Sunday afternoons at 2:00 PM in the
Atonement Lutheran Church in Newport – 2315 N Coast Hwy.
All concerts are FREE admission with donations accepted at the door.
2025 Chamber Concert Series
January 12, February 9, March 16 and April 13
To see previous concert info & videos click here
Sunday February 9
Guest Artists: String Quintet students from University of Portland
Student Musicians: Piano Trio South Eugene High School
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No.1 Op.11 Adante Cantabile
Manuel Ponce (arr. Jascha Heifetz): “Estrellita”
Christopher Ducasse: Souvenir
Antonin Dvorak: String Quartet No. 12, Op. 96 “American” Fourth Movement: Finale: Vivace ma non troppo
The University of Portland (UP) String Quintet is comprised of UP students, who are all part of the UP orchestra and chamber ensembles. Brought together by their love of music, each individual brings forth a wide range of talent and interests. Marshall Zhang, first violinist, organized the quintet for his senior recital.
Marshall Zhang (1st Violin)a senior from Tamuning, Guam. He is currently pursuing a double major in music and computer science. He has been playing the violin for 15 years. He was part of the Guam Symphony Orchestra and played with the Honors Performance Series in Sydney, Australia in high school. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his friends, playing tennis, and skiing.
Emily Todd (2nd Violin)is a sophomore from Camas, Washington. She is currently pursuing a double major in music and civil engineering. In addition to playing with the UP chamber and symphony orchestras, she participates as an alumni violinist with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. When not practicing, she can be found baking or long-boarding.
Rowan Lowery (Viola) is a sophomore from Newburg, Oregon. He is currently pursuing a double major in music arts administration and theater sound design. He has been playing viola for 15 years. In his free time, he enjoys rock climbing, photography, and exploring nature.
Ian Carlos (1st Cello) is a junior from Hayward, California. He is currently pursuing a degree in electrical engineering with a minor in music. He has studied cello for 12 years as a student of Allen Gove, Joey Hebert, Dr. Hannah Harrington, and most recently Heather Blackburn. He has received recognition and awards from the East Bay Youth Orchestra, the California Orchestra Director’s Association, and the California Music Educators Association. He serves at his home parish in the music ministry and has volunteered his music talents with Melody Connects (a non-profit providing music mentoring to students) and the Golden Gate Boys Choir. When not practicing, he can be found tinkering with robotics and playing video games.
Laney Mohr (2nd Cello) is a junior from Seattle, Washington. She is currently pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering with minors in music and physics. She has been playing the cello for 11 years. In addition to her music career and academic pursuits, she also conducts personal research in the medical field.
Student Musicians:
South Eugene HS Piano Trio – Nina Vivek, violin; Pearl Carter, cello; Zoe Kramer, piano
Mendelssohn’s Piano trio No. 1 in D minor Op. 49 movements 1 and 2
Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires movement 4. Invierno Porteño
The South Eugene Piano Trio has been playing together for the past year and are a group dedicated, young musicians from South Eugene. Each member has over 10 years of music experience and shares a passion for music in their community. In addition to playing as a piano trio, the members also participate in school orchestras, youth symphonies, chamber music institutes, and have competed at the state level in solo competitions and honor ensembles.
Zoe Kramer, Piano, is a student of Dr. Brian Hsu at the University of Oregon and has been playing piano for 11 years. She is the first prize winner of the Gottlibe, Chase, and Brown competitions, as well as the Maryland piano state solo competition. In addition to piano Zoe enjoys swimming, hiking, and traveling.
Pearl Carter, Cello, has been playing cello for 12 years and studies with Anne Riddlington, the principal cellist of the Eugene symphony as well as the Corvallis symphony. In addition to cello, Pearl plays piano and is an avid member of the Celeste String Quartet. Apart from music she leads the Feminist Student Union at South Eugene High School and volunteers at Women’s Advocacy Council for Youth.
Nina Vivek, Violin, has been playing for over 10 years and studies with Lillie Manis in Eugene. She has competed in multiple violin competitions and placed 3rd in the OMEA competition in 2023. Nina also is an active member of the Celeste string quartet and is a captain of the South Eugene girl’s tennis team. In addition to violin, Nina plays viola and participates in many clubs such as Rotary and Bridge USA.
Sunday March 16
Guest Artists: Sequana String Quartet graduate students from University of Oregon
Student Musicians: Quartet Forest Grove High School
Sunday April 13
The final 2025 concert of the 2025 season will feature a special performance with members of the Newport Youth Symphony of the Oregon Coast (NYSOC) along with Newport Symphony Orchestra members.
Previous Concerts
Sunday January 12
Guest Artists: Castor String Quartet students from Oregon State University
Student Musicians: LaFontaine Quartet students from Corvallis
Guest Artists:
Castor String Quartet – Violins: Lucy Lin/Matthew Zheng, Viola: Viola Stark, Cello: Andrea Sullivan
The Castor String Quartet will be performing selected works of Joseph Haydn, Felix Mendelssohn, Giacomo Puccini, Edvard Grieg, and Franz Schubert. The program finale will have the Castor String Quartet joining the La Fontaine String Quartet creating an octet to perform Jean Sibelius’ “Andante Festivo”.
Castor String Quartet is a Corvallis-based group that was established through the music program at Oregon State University. The quartet has performed throughout Oregon at private events, weddings, and recitals, and numerous times for the OSU Foundation President’s Dinner at the Portland Art Museum. Apart from their involvement in chamber music, the members are active participants in the Corvallis-OSU Symphony.
The ensemble features Lucy Lin who started playing violin at age seven and grew up playing in the Corvallis Youth Symphony. She has participated in the Interlochen Advanced String Quartet and Tanglewood Young Artist Orchestra summer camp programs while in high school. Lucy graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science from OSU.
A native Oregonian from Salem, Matthew Zheng is studying Bioengineering and Violin Performance at OSU. He has performed as a soloist with the Corvallis-OSU Symphony numerous times and is currently studying with Jessica Lambert.
Viola Stark is originally from Halle, Germany, but grew up in Corvallis and has been involved in music since the age of four (4). She is pursuing a double major with honors in Mechanical Engineering and Music, with a minor in Viola Performance. Viola has been featured as a soloist with the Corvallis-OSU Symphony and currently teaches violin, viola, and cello through the Corvallis Youth Symphony Association (CYSA) elementary string program.
Another Corvallis native, Andrea Sullivan was four when she began studying cello with Ann Grabe. Andrea has appeared as a soloist with the Corvallis- OSU Symphony five (5) times, including two performances at children’s concerts as an elementary school student. She currently studies with Anne Ridlington and is getting both a Bachelor of Science in Audio Engineering and a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance.
Student Musicians:
La Fontaine String Quartet – Violins: Theo Ueng/Emma Nguyen, Viola: Andy Wang, Cello: Mirabelle Chen
The La Fontaine String Quartet will be performing selected works of Joseph Haydn, Joachim Raff, Antonín Dvorak, and Franz Schubert. The program finale will have the Castor String Quartet joining the La Fontaine String Quartet creating an octet to perform Jean Sibelius’ “Andante Festivo”.