Our Donors

The Louise Farrenc Nonet Level

$10,000 +

Nineteenth century French composer, Louise Farrenc, was a trailblazer of her time who cleverly navigated the the all male world of Classical music as a composer and a pianist. Her 1849 Nonet for Strings and Winds gained her so much fame that her salary was raised to match her male colleagues at the Paris Conservatoire.

• Eric Jenkins & Susan Smith
• Garland Richmond & Richard Stattelman

The Schubert Octet Level

$5,000 – $9,999

Arguably one of the most sublime chamber music works ever composed, the Schubert Octet features two violins, viola, cello, bass, clarinet, bassoon and horn. Schubert was influenced by Beethoven’s Septet of nearly the same instrumentation, but his pairing of instrumental timbres and long fluid melodies make this piece stand out as a masterpiece.

The Ludwig Van Beethoven Septet Level

$2,500 – $4,999

Beethoven’s Septet in Eb Major for clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello, and double bass was one of his most popular works during his lifetime.  Beethoven inspired many other composers to write for this instrumentation including Spohr, Schubert and Farrenc.

• Don & Karen Berry
• Elka Karl & Peter Spoerl
• Deborah Oksenberg & Serge Lindner

The Brahms Sextet Level

$1,000 – $2,499

Brahms’s name is nearly synonymous with chamber music. After having written several works for string ensemble and piano and strings, he composed two sextets for two violins, two violas and two celli that show off his stunning contrapuntal style and his use of rich harmonies. Brahms composed these stunning works in his youth when he was still learning how to compose for string ensembles.

• Minda Rae Amiran
• Bob Weeks

The Mozart Quintet Level

$500 – $999

Although Mozart composed six quintets for strings alone, one of his most admired works is the Clarinet Quintet, K581, composed in 1789 for clarinetist Anton Stadler. In his letters, Mozart wrote to Stadler: “Never should I have thought that a clarinet could be capable of imitating the humas voice as it was imitated by you.”

• A Longoria & Jeff Hall
• Marcy & J Montgomery
• Cliff Smith
• Lindsey& Jan Vereen
• WECU

The Dvorak Quartet Level

$250 – $499

During his time Dvorak set a new standard for string quartet literature. He composed 15 quartets that are essential to the quartet repertoire, the most popular being the “American Quartet”.  This work was composed during his residency in the United States and the work captures the spirit of American music at the time.

• Philip Buri
• Kathy & Bruce Gustafson
• Charles Johnson & Jo Montgomery
• Kathy & Charles Halka
• Michael Jay & Mary LeDonne
• Robert Judd
• Mark & Nancy Korenkiewicz
• Erika Shepard in Memory of Barbara Logan
• Richard & Nancy Robblee
• Joel & Mary Pat Thuma
• Dewey & Dan White

The Clara Schumann Trio Level

$100 – $249

Clara Schumann was one of the first acknowledged female superstars of the Romantic period. She made a name for herself on the concert stage as a concert pianist, but also was an amazing composer. Her Piano Trio in G Minor, is a beautiful work that she composed while on the road seeking help for her husband Robert’s medical conditions.

• Kathy Diaz
• Arthur Lee Kirk
• Kay Reeder
• Katelyn Steen
• Tom Surrat
• Virginia Tucker
• Beth & Kit Vonnegut
• Geoffrey Weeks

The Beethoven Duo Level

~ $99

In addition to writing some of the most iconic symphonies, Beethoven’s chamber music output was stunning. His Eyeglasses Duo for viola and cello was given this bizarre title because both he and his cellist needed to wear eyeglasses to see the music.

• Dylan Carrol
• Roger Clark
• Stacie & Tim Erfle
• Mae Mae Gong
• Linda Hughes
• Margaret Killough
• Michael Kogan
• Mary Langholz
• Karissa Loewen
• Cindy Mangsen & Steve Gillette
• Sandra Payton
• Grace Phelan
• Leslie Rigg
• Arthur Robinson
• Lori Van Rubens
• Herbert Dar Satos
• Howard & Jill Teasley