{"id":116718,"date":"2025-08-12T15:29:28","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T19:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=116718"},"modified":"2025-08-13T08:00:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T12:00:02","slug":"preview-innerchamber-announces-season-16-concert-lineup-for-2025-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/08\/12\/preview-innerchamber-announces-season-16-concert-lineup-for-2025-26\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | INNERchamber Announces Season 16 Concert Lineup For 2025\/26"},"content":{"rendered":"
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L-R: Composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor in 1905 (Public domain); violinist and INNERchamber Artistic Director Andrew Chung (Photo courtesy of the artist); Portrait of Turlough Carolan, from R.B. Armstrong “The Irish and Highland Harps”, Edinburgh, David Douglas, 1904 (Public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

INNERchamber Artistic Director Andrew Chung announced the lineup for the organization\u2019s 16th Season, which kicks off on September 28. The six-concert season takes place at Factory163 in Stratford, Ontario, with delectable meals available as well as the music.<\/p>\n

Two of the concerts will also be made available through Video On Demand (VOD), recorded by Mike Fisher of Stream Studio. The VOD stream will be available on the Wednesday following the live event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is such an exciting time of year for us at INNERchamber! We have sprinkled the seeds of programming for the season, and while we wait and watch how these concert programs will grow and develop, we are finally ready to share these plans with you!\u201d says INNERchamber Artistic Director Andrew Chung<\/strong> in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have so much to be grateful for, and I never take it for granted \u2014 we get to produce a thriving concert series created by and for our community with an enthusiastic audience that understands the importance of bringing people together to share our humanity and our music. We are looking forward to connecting the community through music once again in Season 16.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at what\u2019s in store.<\/p>\n

INNERchamber\u2019s 16th Season<\/h2>\n

Season Opener: Beyond Limits (September 28, 2025)<\/h3>\n

This concert pairs Beethoven\u2019s String Quartet Op. 59, No. 1, an expansive work from his middle period, with Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer\u2019s String Quartet No. 11. It\u2019s a showcase of the range of the string quartet.<\/p>\n

Performers: INNERchamber String Quartet<\/p>\n

From the Salons of Paris (November 30, 2025)<\/h3>\n

This concert takes its inspiration from the Parisian salons of the early 20th century, with music, storytelling, and songs. Singer and actor Derek Kwan (fresh off performing in Stratford\u2019s musical theatre offerings this season) is the audience\u2019s guide through the Salons of Paris, including Germaine Tailleferre\u2019s String Quartet, Francis Poulenc\u2019s La Dame de Monte Carlo, Oscar Wilde\u2019s The Nightingale by Laura Burton and many more.<\/p>\n

Performers: Derek Kwan; Anna Ronai, piano; INNERchamber String Quartet<\/p>\n

Typeface: A Concert of Characters (February 1, 2026)<\/h3>\n

Typographer and design instructor Chris Moorehead, together with the INNERchamber Ensemble, takes the audience on a musical and dramatic search for that \u201cperfect\u201d character. The full program will be announced closer to the date.<\/p>\n

Performers: Christopher Moorehead, narrator; INNERchamber Ensemble: Andrew Chung, violin; Ben Bolt-Martin, cello; Anna Ronai, piano<\/p>\n

In the Steps of O\u2019Carolan (March 1, 2026)<\/h3>\n

Blind Celtic harper, composer and singer Turlough O’Carolan is considered by many to be Ireland’s national composer. He was born in 1670, and lived to the age of 68, he spent the last 50 years of his life travelling the entire length and breadth of Ireland with a trusted guide, playing his own compositions as well as traditional music. Fiddler\/violinist Dan Stacey has long been fascinated with O\u2019Carolan and his work, and he joins the Ensemble to tell the story of this composer and his music.<\/p>\n

Performers: Cedric Smith, narrator; Dan Stacey, violin; INNERchamber Ensemble: Andrew Chung, violin; Ben Bolt-Martin, cello; Julia Seager-Scott, harp<\/p>\n

Reverence (April 12, 2026)<\/h3>\n

This collaborative concert has springtime and reverence for the planet as its theme, including new works by composer Spy D\u00e9nomm\u00e9-Welch, who also co-curates the program. Dr. Spy D\u00e9nomm\u00e9-Welch (Algonquin-Anishnaabe) is a multi-disciplinary artist and scholar, Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Arts, Knowledge Systems and Education \u2014 Critical Policy, Equity and Leadership Studies at the University of Western Ontario.<\/p>\n

Performers: Narrator TBA; INNERchamber Ensemble: Liesel Deppe, flute; Andrew Chung, violin; Ben Bolt-Martin, cello; Graham Hargrove, percussion<\/p>\n

Season Closer: Imagining Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (May 24, 2026)<\/h3>\n

Composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor\u2019s music was unique, blending elements of late Viennese Romanticism with those of North American Black music as it was around the turn of the 20th century. Actor Roy Lewis uses a mash-up of fact and fiction, prose and poetry to illuminate Samuel Coleridge-Taylor\u2019s life and times.<\/p>\n

Performers: Roy Lewis, narrator; INNERchamber Ensemble: Peter Shackleton, clarinet; Charmaine Fopoussi, piano; Andrew Chung, violin; Judith Davenport, viola; Ben Bolt-Martin, cello<\/p>\n

The INNERchamber String Quartet performs the Adagio from Mendelssohn’s String Quartet Op. 44, No. 3. Performed live at Factory163 in Stratford, Ontario, September 22, 2024, with Andrew Chung and Julie Baumgartel, violins, Judith Davenport, viola, and Ben Bolt-Martin, cello:<\/p>\n