Chamber Music Performance at JAMI Amphitheater

The September Chamber Music Concert will feature musicians that will musically light up the stage at the JAMI Amphitheater. Bringing the rich music of Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms will be violinist Cordula Merks, cellist Evan Kahn, and pianist Brenda Tom Vahur. The concert will be Sunday, September 12, 2021 at 2 pm, on the outdoor stage adjacent to Gualala Arts Center. The program is scheduled to include the Trio No. 1 in d minor by Mendelssohn, and the Trio No. 1 in B Major, Opus 8 by Brahms.

Violinist Cordula Merks is the Concertmaster of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. Previous positions include First Assistant concertmaster of the Seattle Symphony and concertmaster of Germany’s Essen Philharmonic, Bochum Symphony and Bergische Symphony. She has also served as guest concertmaster for many orchestras, including the Houston Symphony, American Ballet Theater at the Met, Dresden Philharmonic, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Portuguese National Opera. When not playing in the orchestra, Cordula enjoys playing as a soloist and as a chamber musician and has performed in the US, Israel and all over Europe. Cordula was born in Germany and spent her childhood in Holland. She started playing the violin at the age of 6 and was accepted to study at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague at the age of 12.

Praised for her “…breathtaking…” and “…captivating…” performances and for her “…great expressiveness…”, pianist Brenda Tom Vahur has distinguished herself as an artist of passion and integrity. Her diverse career reflects her versatility as a soloist as well as a chamber musician. A strong advocate of new works, Vahur is the pianist for Earplay, celebrated new music ensemble in San Francisco. She has performed as soloist with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Pittsburgh Ballet Orchestra, the California Symphony and Sacramento Symphony, among others. She received her training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music studying under Mack McCray and Beatrice Beauregard.  

Native to Los Angeles, cellist Evan Kahn has been praised as “a cellist deserved of serious listening” for bringing his “electrifying … nuanced and colorful” style to all of his collaborations, from concerti to chamber music to contemporary performances. Intensely passionate about new music and music of non-Western cultures, he has commissioned and premiered over 60 works by composers from around the world, including his father’s Cello Concerto. Kahn holds principal positions in four orchestras — principal cello in Symphony Silicon Valley, principal cello in Opera San Jose, principal cello in San Jose Chamber Orchestra, and assistant principal in West Bay Opera, and as a soloist, he has performed with many more.

Tickets are $25 and are available at the Dolphin Gallery (707-884-3896) and at Gualala Arts.