Concert Notes
These concert notes are provided by Artists and Musicians

Use [Back] to return to this Table of Contents

Meeting the Moment: An Adventure across Eras and Cultures

Meeting House Chamber Music Festival 2026

(Save PDF-format poster for printing)

Orleans, MA, April 30. The Meeting House Chamber Music Festival has announced its 52nd summer season, continuing its remarkable tradition as Cape Cod’s most enduring and artistically vibrant summer music series. The Festival’s Artistic Director and Pianist Donald Enos has designed a season program that is exceptionally panoramic and fresh, with some of the world’s greatest composers across three centuries speaking with clear and stirring voices to audiences at this moment in time. Outstanding performers from the region and around the world will join Enos in presenting a seven-concert season from June 22 through July 27, 2026. All concerts take place at The Church of the Holy Spirit, Episcopal, 204 Monument Road, Orleans, MA, and begin at 7:30 PM. Seven-concert season subscriptions: $105 ($15/concert). Single tickets:  $25 at the door. Free admission for those under 18.

Cornerstone works—such as Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in C minor, Brahms’s Trio in C Major, Mozart’s Trio in C Major, K.548, and Saint-Saëns’s Piano Quartet in B-flat—anchor the season with repertoire representing the height of the chamber music tradition. Donald Enos has designed each summer evening of music to nevertheless feel unmistakably of the moment, as he invites audiences to hear chamber music past and present not as a museum art, but as an adventure. To accomplish this, he has moved even more boldly than ever into new musical territory.

The season line-up includes works spanning more than three centuries—from the Baroque brilliance of a Vivaldi concerto to vivid contemporary voices—and spotlighting music that is seldom heard in mainstream concert series. Early and Classical-era foundations appear in figures such as Alessandro Rolla, a pivotal transitional composer between Mozart and the Romantic generation, while the 19th century is represented by the virtuoso lyricism of Vieuxtemps and the richly crafted but underperformed Romanticism of Herzogenberg. The 20th century unfolds in remarkable stylistic variety: Françaix’s sparkling wit, Hindemith’s intellectual rigor, Martin’s refined modernism, Ginastera’s electrifying rhythmic drive, and the distinctive national voices of Tsintsadze and Tcherepnin, each blending folk elements with modern technique.

Equally compelling is the presence of recent and living composers, including Lynne Plowman, Jung Sun Kang, and Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, whose works expand the Festival’s sound world through new cultural perspectives, contemporary idioms, and imaginative instrumental writing. The virtuosic harp showpiece by Henriette Renié further broadens the palette, highlighting an instrument rarely featured at center stage.

The season opens on June 22 with a program spotlighting the expressive possibilities of the French horn, featuring Clark Matthews alongside Enos, and music by Schumann, Hindemith, Scriabin, Françaix, and Ewazen. Subsequent concerts bring together an exceptional roster of Festival favorites and distinguished guest artists, including violinists Joyce Hammann, Katie Lansdale, Irina Muresanu, Laura Manko Sahin, and Heather Goodchild Wade; cellists Sergey Antonov, Leland Ko, Megan Koch, and Matthias Naegele; harpist Elisabeth Remy Johnson; and violist Danielle Farina. Ensemble highlights range from intimate duo and trio works to expansive piano quartets by Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Saint-Saëns.

A centerpiece of the season arrives on Thursday, July 2, when internationally renowned cellist Amit Peled, one of the Festival’s most beloved long-time guest performers, returns for a special recital with Donald Enos. A tradition eagerly anticipated by Festival audiences, Peled’s program is always virtuosic and filled with deeply personal insight. This year he and Donald Enos will present compositions by Beethoven, Samuel Barber, and the four-time Emmy Award nominated and Grammy-winning composer, Sharon Farber. 

For ticketing and detailed program information, please visit www.meetinghousemusic.org.

06-22 - Clark Matthews

The season opens on June 22 with a program spotlighting the expressive possibilities of the French horn, featuring Clark Matthews alongside pianist and festival director Donald Enos, with music by Schumann, Hindemith, Scriabin, Françaix, and Ewazen.

An exhilarating premiere with the French horn front and center in all its richness, agility, and expressive power! Horn virtuoso Clark Matthews and pianist/artistic director extraordinaire Donald Enos will take us on a journey from the Romantic warmth of Schumann’s Adagio & Allegro to the sparkling wit and color of Jean Françaix’s Divertimento. Along the way, we'll find the evocative forest imagery of Bozza’s En forêt, the lyrical intimacy of Scriabin’s Romance, and the rhythmic vitality of contemporary master Eric Ewazen’s Horn Sonata.

The Artists: Clark Matthew, horn; Donald Enos, piano

07-06 - Elisabeth Remy Johnson, Katie Lansdale

The internationally acclaimed musician and native Cape Codder Elisabeth Remy Johnson—Principal Harp of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra—has worked with some of the world's greatest artists—from Yo-Yo Ma to Stevie Wonder. Now, in her latest collaboration, she has commissioned a solo harp piece from the award-winning composer Lynne Plowman. Plowman's music is described as "thrilling" and "highly original" and, in addition to Elizabeth Remy Johnson, her commissioners/collaborators include the Welsh National Opera, Glyndebourne, and the Royal Shakespeare Company. We will be treated to this new composition and much more when Elisabeth teams up with top violinist and educator Katie Lansdale and artistic director/pianist Donald Enos for the Festival's fourth concert on Monday, July 6!

The Artists: Elisabeth Remy Johnson, harp; Katie Lansdale, violin; Donald Enos, piano

07-13 - Heather Goodchild Wade, Megan Koch

Clarity, intensity, and sweeping emotion define this all-trio program. The radiant balance of Mozart contrasts with the youthful urgency of Shostakovich, while Haydn adds wit and momentum. Anchoring the program is Brahms' expansive, richly textured C Major Trio—a work of warmth, grandeur, and deep expressive power.

The Artists: Heather Goodchild Wade, violin; Megan Koch, cello; Donald Enos, piano

07-23 - Award Winner Leland Ko

Cellist Leland Ko, who will join the Festival on Thursday, July 23, has just won third place—out of some 60 competitors from around the world—in the international QUEEN ELISABETH COMPETITION. This brilliant young artist has performed to international acclaim and garnered top prizes in the Concours Orchestra Symphonique de Montreal and the Walter W. Naumburg International Cello Competition, among other prestigious awards. In the Festival's sixth concert, Leland and his cello will engage in a captivating musical conversation with star violist, teacher, and recording artist Danielle Farina.