The Harmony Chamber Music Festival had a fantastic second year – we will keep this ball rolling!
Scheduling such an event and trying to be ‘in addition to’ and not ‘in conflict with’ other excellent local youth music programs means we spend a lot of time searching for weekends that work for both the Youth Chamber Music Weekend and the Youth Chamber Music Competition. This year we managed to plant the weekend intensive exactly when the Bellingham High schools had their orchestra tour weekend. As is the case with many accidents, something revealing usually appears. This year we learned what a wonderful festival this is for middle school and advanced elementary students! Our region has a decent amount of musical opportunities for High school students – but a bit less for the younger kids.
Youth Chamber Music Weekend
The 2026 Youth Chamber Music Weekend took place on April 18th & 19th. Thirty-four students, a majority of whom were in the younger category joined us for the weekend. What a delight to see these students work hard all weekend and present their achievements in our culminating performance. The students participated in 9+ hours of coached rehearsals, practiced stage presence skills, performed for and encouraged each other. To give their musical brains a break, we added time for alternate ‘brain on fire activities’: an Improvisation Session led by Jonah Godines, a WCC jazz student, and a Juggling Session led by Chuck Johnson, founder of Seattle’s SANCA, School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts.
Our coaches did a fabulous job inspiring the students to expand their chamber music skills through listening, watching, and trusting each other. Beyond just learning to play the music, students learn how to think of themselves as a real team. They learn how to walk on and off stage together, synchronize their bows, acknowledge the audience, and announce their ensemble name and the piece they will share in their performance. All of this is part of the growing ‘team’ feeling of a chamber ensemble.
We even had a small wind ensemble this year! Help us spread the word to young wind players. We want them to be a part of our musical family.
We added a Harmony Chamber Music Festival Orchestra this year to allow all our students to play together. They were led by our fabulously energetic coach, Lenelle Morse. The feedback on this experience was extremely positive!
Pay-What-You-Can Tuition Levels
We are serious about ensuring that all accepted students can attend the festival regardless of financial reality. Building more equity into our society benefits all of us. Our pay-what-you-can tuition levels allowed 50% of 2026 HCMF students to attend on reduced or full tuition scholarships.
Youth Chamber Music Competition
Our 2026 Youth Chamber Music Competition live round featured six ensembles adjudicated by pianist Jeffrey Gilliam and cellist Christine Lee. These wonderful adjudicators worked with the ensembles to refine their chamber music skills and encourage their continued joy of collaborative music making. It was a joy to watch and listen to their amazing musicianship.
Congratulations to all of our Youth Chamber Music Competition Finalists!
The English Trout Quintet – $1000 Jeremy Berry prize
Elsa Jonson, violin
Dex Hong, viola
Zander Tran, cello
Kaden Schmidt, bass
Maria Horja, piano.
The Robins Trio – $500 Quist Violins prize
Annie Robins, violin
Zion Robins, cello
Poppy Robins, piano.
The Turina Quartet – $250 Bellingham Windworks prize
Parker Tran, violin
Sylvie Jones, viola
Ryan O’Connell, cello
Ema Horja, piano
The Little Loud Musicians – $250 BCMS prize
Lucia Mañalac, violin
Logan Humphrey, cello
Miko Meyer Loewen, piano
Magical Mystery Musicians – finalist
Aubrielle Blum, flute
Uli Spoerl, cello
Poppy Robins, piano
The String Thing – finalist
Lyllea Liu, violin
Lucia Mañalac, violin
Faeth Liu, viola
Thank you again to our HCMF 2026 donors Karen and Don Berry, Leslee Probasco, and Evelyn Ames; our sponsors Quist Violins & Bellingham Windworks; and a special thank you to Whatcom Community College, our venue sponsor, for the perfect space to hold this festival!
Look out for the announcement of our 2027 Harmony Chamber Music Festival!
