Music flooded Graves Hall as students, faculty, and families gathered for the Winter Term performances of the Academy Chamber Music Society on February 17. Consisting of groups ranging from two to five students, the concert offered student musicians the opportunity to experiment with and challenge themselves with contrasting musical styles.
Holly Barnes, Instructor in Music and Director of Performance, described the preparation process for the concerts. She conveyed how students are intentionally grouped together based on skill level and by request.
“The groups rotate [each] term… We have two [concerts] every term, so we have six a year… I try to give everybody a varied experience. Sometimes, kids request to play with other kids, I try to honor that. Occasionally, kids will say, ‘I really want to play this piece, could we program it?’ and I try to honor that as well. But, beyond that, I just look at who we have; I put them together in groups; and I try to pick repertoire that I feel like would challenge them at the level they’re currently at,” said Barnes.
The exciting and diverse repertoire of songs listed on the program brought in a large audience. Attendee Eliza Francis ’26 highlighted the variety of pieces that were played.
“I really enjoyed the diversity in acts. It was really cool that there was both string and voice. I’m a harp student myself, so I loved seeing Jess [Li ’24] perform [harp]; that was awesome… I believe the [violin] duo with Karen [Wang ’24] and Claire [Wang ’26] was pretty remarkable. I was very taken aback, particularly in the second piece they did. I just thought it was excellent,” said Francis.
She continued, “[The room] was pretty crowded, but I think that’s a good problem to have because that means a lot of people were enthusiastic about the performance.”
Before the concert, Chamber Music Society members put in a great deal of practice and commitment to their groups. Performer Patrick Xu ’27 echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the amount of work the musicians put in outside of rehearsal times.
“As a group, we would meet once a week for the eight weeks prior to the performance, and individually, we would have to practice basically every day, so that we would be prepared [to] make a lot of progress because the piece is quite long. We only had eight rehearsals, so we have to go to each rehearsal ready,” said Xu.
Such concerts not only provide a haven for those wandering outside but also opportunities for students wishing to further their musical and collaborative abilities. According to Barnes, this balance between the individual and the group is what sets chamber music apart from other performance types.
“I think the joy of this kind of music is that it’s not quite solo, but it’s not orchestral. So, everybody gets a moment to shine. [It takes a] sort of communication to play chamber music. There’s no conductor, so they really have to learn to communicate with each other. I think that’s really a great learning experience. [It] makes each player a better player in their own personal playing, a better orchestral player, and a better chamber musician,” said Barnes.
