at St. Augustine's Episcopal Church
6th Street and Maine Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C.

(Across from Arena Stage, where Maine Avenue turns into M Street SW.
Click HERE to see a map.)

Admission free, donations accepted to benefit Waterfront Village.


The One Hundred Ninety-Fourth Concert

Sunday, November 26, 2023 at 5:00pm

MASTERPIECES AND ADAPTATIONS

Featuring:

Sophie Shao, cello

supported by

Luke Wedge, violin

Danielle Hahn and David Ehrlich, piano

The Program:

On the program will be complete readings of Schubert’s Arpeggione and Franck’s violin sonatas (moved, respectively from viola and violin to cello); and evocative movements of Beethoven’s Archduke Trio and Brahms’ G Major violin sonata.


Biographies of the Musicians

Sophie Shao, a most versatile and passionate visitor from New York, has a pedigree a country mile long. A native of Houston, Texas, she began playing the cello at age six as a student of Shirley Trepel, then passing through heavy-duty studies at Curtis and Yale, and followed by an apprenticeship with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Winner of the prestigious Avery Fisher career grant and top prizes at the Rostropovich and Tchaikovsky competitions, she graduated into a worldwide career; in fact, a phone call a few mornings ago was frim Paris. Her travels have taken her literally around the globe, producing performances the New York Times has noted as “eloquent, powerful” and the Washington Post called “deeply satisfying.”

Not only has she appeared as soloist to critical acclaim throughout the United States, from New York to California; she’s played to star-struck audiences from Lucerne, Switzerland; to the BBC Concert Orchestra in the UK; to Suntory Hall in Tokyo. And premiered Howard Shore’s cello concerto and Richard Wilson’s “The Cello Has Many Secrets” with the American Symphony.

While she rates among her great loves the complete Bach Cello Suites and the Beethoven Triple Concerto from the standard repertoire, Sophie’s dedication to music of our time leads her to promote the music of little-known composers such as Adolphus Hailstork, Tan Dun, and Shih-Hui Chen, which she performs with her “Sophie Shao and Friends” chamber groups which have toured from Vermont to Arizona.

Currently, she’s on the faculty of University of Connecticut and plays on a cello made by Honore Derazey from 1855 once owned by Pablo Casals.

A seasoned performer and arts professional, Danielle DeSwert Hahn has collaborated as a chamber musician and opera pianist throughout the United States and Europe. Formerly principal pianist of the Baltimore and Washington Concert Opera companies, she’s also worked with the Washington National, New Orleans, Kentucky, Indianapolis, Chautauqua, Portland, and Sarasota Opera companies, and plays regularly as a member of the North Carolina Symphony and has recorded with New Music Raleigh.

Ms. Hahn’s latest project, the Living Art Collective Ensemble (LACE), is a fluid group of musicians committed to bridging the gap between the visual and performing arts, and bringing issues of cultural relevance to light within the context of engaging performances.

Luke Wedge is principal second violinist with the Air Force Strings of the United States Air Force Band. Originally from Hutchinson, Kansas, his Air Force career began in 2003, and he currently serves as music director for the Air Force Strolling Strings. A graduate of the University of Kansas, he received his Master of Music from Northwestern, where his primary instructors included Ben Sayevich, David Perry, and Gerardo Ribiero. He’s performed with the National Symphony, Chicago Sinfonietta and the Ravinia Festival Orchestra, in concert in Washington, Chicago, Kansas City, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina.

David Ehrlich, the director, learned the piano at the age of six from his father, Richard. Though his life’s work was in the retail business, he never lost touch with performing music, as both pianist and singer. Today he polishes his skills annually at the chamber music workshop in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; he also sojourned in Spartanburg, South Carolina; Lexington, Virginia; and Lyndonville, Vermont.


About Us

The Southwest Chamber Players is a loose aggregation of dedicated amateur musicians who have performed at Saint Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Southwest Washington, D.C., for the past twenty-five years. These concerts mark our second return to the performing stage from a five-year exile resulting from the demolition of the old church, and the scourge of the coronavirus.

Formed in March 1997, SWCP has presented concerts of fine chamber music nearly each month since. Including every one of the orchestra’s instruments as well as singers of every voice range, our repertoire extends from Bach and Telemann through Prokofiev and Barber, with heavy emphasis on the works of the great composers of the classical and romantic eras.

None of the performers are paid -- we’re all virtual amateurs, and no required dollars change hands for these concerts.

This website, www.southwestchamberplayers.org, lists a fair sampling of past concert programs as well as biographies of many of the performers. We’re happy to welcome new friends, and to that end, we encourage you to entrust us with your e-mail addresses by sending a message to david@southwestchamberplayers.org.


Concerts past:

August 25, 2023
March 31, 2023
December 22, 2022
April 1 & 3, 2022
December 20, 2019
August 30, 2019
April 19, 2019
December 20, 2018
August 30, 2018
March 30, 2018
December 20, 2017
August 25, 2017
March 31, 2017
April 18, 2014
March 27, 2014
February 28, 2014
January 10, 2014
December 19, 2013
November 8, 2013
October 9, 2013
August 22, 2013
June 11, 2013
May 24, 2013
March 19, 2013
December 20, 2012
November 15, 2012
October 16, 2012
September 20, 2012
June 12, 2012
April 24, 2012
March 30, 2012
February 28, 2012
January 31, 2012
December 20, 2011
November 8, 2011
August 11, 2011
June 14, 2011
May 10, 2011
April 12, 2011
February 24, 2011
August 17, 2010
June 22, 2010
May 25, 2010
April 2, 2010
December 22, 2009
November 24, 2009
September 24, 2009
July 21, 2009
July 2, 2009
May 1, 2009
April 29, 2009
April 10, 2009
February 12, 2009
December 18, 2008
November 11, 2008
July 31, 2008
June 17, 2008
May 6, 2008
March 28, 2008
March 21, 2008
January 29, 2008
December 14, 2007
November 27, 2007
September 18, 2007
August 14, 2007
July 26, 2007
June 19, 2007
May 3, 2007
April 9, 2007
April 6, 2007
February 27, 2007
December 19, 2006
November 14, 2006
October 19, 2006
September 26, 2006
September 23, 2006
August 24, 2006
July 13, 2006
June 12, 2006
May 25, 2006
April 27, 2006
March 30, 2006
January 10-31, 2006
December 20, 2005
November 17, 2005
October 16, 2005
September 15, 2005
August 18, 2005
July 21, 2005
June 16, 2005
May 24, 2005
April 28, 2005
March 31, 2005
February 22, 2005
February 3, 2005
December 22, 2004
November 11, 2004
September 21, 2004
August 26, 2004
July 20, 2004
June 17, 2004
May 20, 2004
April 22, 2004
April 1, 2004
February 24, 2004
January 15, 2004
December 18, 2003
November 11, 2003
November 2
October 31
September 16, 2003
August 21, 2003
June 12, 2003
May 22, 2003
April 22, 2003
March 25, 2003
February 27, 2003
February 6, 2003
January 9, 2003
December 19, 2002
November 19, 2002
October 22, 2002
September 11, 2002
August 15, 2002
July 11, 2002
June 21, 2002
May 21, 2002
April 25, 2002
April 4, 2002
February 21, 2002
January 22, 2002
December 20, 2001
November 14, 2001
October 10, 2001
September 25, 2001
August 22, 2001
June 14, 2001
May 24, 2001
April 26, 2001
April 5, 2001
March 15, 2001
February 15, 2001
January 17, 2001
December 20, 2000
November 14, 2000
November 9, 2000
October 5, 2000
September 13, 2000
August 16, 2000
July 20, 2000
June 14, 2000
May 10, 2000
April 5, 2000


For more information,or to add your address to our postal mailing list, email David Ehrlich at david@southwestchamberplayers.org or call him at (202) 484-6354.