This year’s 16th Summer Chamber Music Weekend with Roy Bogas and Friends feature Roy’s core group consisting of violinist Cordula Merks (concertmaster of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra and assistant concertmaster of the Seattle Symphony) violinist Amy Hiraga, violist Nancy Ellis, and cellist Peter Wyrick, all three members of the San Francisco Symphony where Peter Wyrick is Associate Principal Cellist.

Roy Bogas, pianist, is also Principal Solo Pianist of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra and Artistic Director of the MasterGuild Series in Oakland, as well as of our Summer Festival of Chamber Music.

Of note in the programs this summer are: the Double Concerto for two violins and orchestra by J.S. Bach, solos by Cordula Merks, playing the Ravel sonata, and Peter Wyrick playing Beethoven’s late sonata in C, Op. 102, No. 1, and the monumental Piano Quintet by the French composer César Franck.

The Franck work is not heard very often, Bogas says, partly because of its difficulty and partly because of the demanding requirements of its dramatic content. It will be heard on the Saturday program. Sunday’s program will conclude with the ever popular Piano Quintet by Robert Schumann.

Thanks to the efforts of local music lovers in our community, world-class performers have become a regular occurrence at Gualala Arts Center. Many prominent musicians travel long distances to play for Gualala audiences, providing easy access to some of the world’s most amazing music.