A dozen of the city’s classically proficient wind and string musicians will perform Wednesday under the baton of maestro Joel Bein, playing four works by European composers representing musical eras ranging from the 17th through the 20th centuries.
“Step into the lush and sonorous texture of chamber winds,” reads the announcement for the New Orleans Chamber Players concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, at the New Marigny Theatre.
The works include three movements of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Cello Suite No. 1 on Bassoon,” Carl Maria von Weber’s “Concertino for Oboe and Winds,” Charles Gounod’s “Petite Symphonie” and George Enescu’s “Dixtuor for Winds” Movement No. 2.”
A trumpeter with a master’s degree in wind conducting from the University of Michigan, Bein founded the New Orleans Chamber Players in 2018, and one of the ensemble’s first concerts, titled “Flowing Winds,” was staged that year to a sold-out audience on the lawn of Longue Vue House and Gardens.
“My background is in winds,” Bein said. “I fell in love with the sonority and resonance of chamber winds in particular. There’s this sort of niche repertoire of masterpieces from the great composers to more contemporary masterpieces.
“It’s very intimate to conduct from that size. It’s just large enough where a conductor can bring value but still small enough — eight to 12 musicians — for a collaborative, two-way conversation.”
Although chamber ensembles often perform without a conductor, Bein said that his presence directing the musicians lends a “personal touch” to their performances.
“We can beautifully connect with the composers’ intentions with this music and then add in our own life experiences. That’s what I think music is about — it’s expressing the human experience beyond just the notes on the page,” Bein said. “What’s a lamentation or a sadness that I’ve experienced that I can generate and draw from in my own experience? Hopefully, I can convey something that’s meaningful and beautiful through my conducting that collaborates with the musicians to create something that wouldn’t otherwise exist.”
Soloists for the performance are Maya Stone on bassoon and Virginia McDowell on oboe. Other performers include Ji Weon Ryu and Erin O’Shea on flutes, Roy Park and Bixby Kennedy on clarinets, Josiah Bullach and Max Paulus on French horns, Casey Kearney on oboe and English horn, Abigail Walker on bassoon, Jeanne Jaubert on cello and Russell Thompson on bass.
“This is an incredible group of musicians,” said Bein, who noted that he has worked with about most of them in past performances. “I’m very excited to be working with them all because there is so much talent among them,” he concluded.
‘Singing Winds’
WHO: New Orleans Chamber Players, conducted by Joel Bein
WHAT: Performance of the works of four European composers by a New Orleans-based chamber music ensemble