Performances not only activities at festival

The Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival has its feet planted firmly in the past, present and future.
On stage, the eighth annual event was a triumph of artistry. But along with five public performances, there were plenty of other activities keeping musicians and organizers hustling between March 4 and 11.
The music of the past was well-represented in a Russian-theme program that by no means stuck only to its thematic core. The present and future came in a variety of audience and financial endowment building events and educational activities. And there were bits of fun thrown in along the way, too.
Every morning started with an open rehearsal in which members of the public got to watch the musicians work through each piece, changing and recasting ideas and focusing the playing to polished precision. It's one thing to see a performance on stage, but quite another to see the exacting work that goes into such apparently effortless showmanship.
The morning of March 8, elementary to high school students from as far away as Nogales - most of them music students - packed the TCC Music Hall for excerpts from the previous night's performances. Clearly they loved the energy of the playing, and especially the lively commentary of St. Petersburg String Quartet second violinist Ilya Teplyakova, violist James Dunham, oboist Allan Vogel and clarinetist Igor Begelman - commentary that put a human face on the superhuman music- making that followed. The quartet played a special Shostakovich polka as an encore - a work filled with hilarity that transcended any linguistic barriers. On all counts, this show was a hit.
That night saw a private dinner party at the home of Arizona Friends of Chamber Music president Jean Paul Bierny for the musicians, sponsors and the numerous volunteers who kept things moving like clockwork. Every year Bierny has a secret guest musician play. This year it was flamenco guitarist Gino d'Auri, whose fiery modal improvisations captured the Gypsy soul with passionate expression.
On March 10, oboist Allan Vogel and violinist Peter Zazofsky worked with members of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and talented University of Arizona students, offering their observations, criticisms and suggestions. That evening, the Arizona Inn was the site of a gala fund-raiser that included an hourlong show of fare not played on the concert stage. The music ranged from a delightful Rossini duet for cello and bass to an exquisite Saint-Saens sonata for oboe and piano to clarinetist Igor Begelman's arrangement of three Gershwin piano preludes. Each table had one or more musicians on hand to interact with the appreciative guests.
As much as the work on the stage, these endeavors ensure not just the continuation of a Tucson festival that has earned its international place, but also the flowering and proliferation of all kinds of related musics in our community. Moreover, the educational events bring a new generation into the fold as they offer it powerful life experiences.