Chamber Players
Joining the quartet (consisting of violinists Kati Kyme and Lisa Weiss, Anthony Martin on viola, and cellist William Skeen) will be fellow PBO member and internationally acclaimed oboist Marc Schachman. Their performances of Haydn’s String Quartet in C Major for Oboe and Strings and Mozart’s Quintet in C Minor for Oboe and Strings gives the audience a chance to hear and appreciate the Baroque oboe. This precursor of the modern oboe, with just three keys and larger bores, dates from mid-17th-century France. Known as a hautbois (a word that will strike a chord with crossword-puzzle–lovers everywhere), it rapidly became a permanent fixture in orchestras and a primary melody instrument in early military bands. Although Schachman’s oboe only dates from 1977, it was modeled on the instruments made by a noted 18th-century oboe maker, Thomas Stanesby.
The Great Hall at Kohl Mansion, a Tudor-style estate in Burlingame, is a warm and inviting room for audiences and an acoustically splendid environment for chamber music in general. A free preconcert talk by musicologist Kai Christiansen will be held in the Kohl Mansion Library at 6 p.m. (the concert follows at 7), and as with all such events, there’s a postconcert reception where the musicians and concertgoers can meet and mingle.
Attending the concert also provides a chance to contribute to the unique Adopt an Instrument program. Music at Kohl Mansion, the group behind the music, is once again partnering with the Bay Area nonprofit organization Music in Schools Today. Concert attendees can contribute to the musical education of public school children throughout the area by either donating or pledging instruments they no longer use to the program.
A chance to hear great music played on out-of-the-ordinary instruments, learn more about music and the musicians, and help others ... it’s the perfect holiday season event.