Violinist Rebecca Hang and cellist Brian Schuldt, two of the members of the Felici Piano Trio (along with pianist Steven Vanhauwaert), are the artistic directors of the festival. Schuldt says that the festival originated in a single concert the Felici Piano Trio played during the summer of 1999. 'The next year they said, hey, could you organize two? And we said, yeah, even three. At some point, I think it was 2003, our festival became its own thing.'
The concerts are each centered around a title and a theme. 'Those titles are a little bit sometimes tongue-in-cheek,' says Hang, 'or a little whimsical. But they do give us a portal into what we can expect from the content of the music.'
One example is the concert titled 'Mountain Escape' on Friday, July 24. 'Of course, Mammoth is a mountain escape, and we can celebrate it on that level,' says Hang. 'But when you look at the composers on the program, and we have Gustav Mahler, Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms. When you explore the relationships of these three artists to the mountains, and what being in nature and in the mountains meant as a source of inspiration, but also as a sanctuary, as an emotional and spiritual sanctuary, you get these three highly diverse works that make a great program together.'
Other 2026 concert themes include 'Enchanted Forests,' 'Traveling Shoes,' and 'Love Story.'
The performers of the 2026 Unbound Chamber Music Festival include the Felici Piano Trio and over twenty other musicians, with performers drawn from major orchestras, ensembles, and teaching institutions. 'We try to facilitate new collaborations,' says Hang, 'and the relationships that are being built in this special place, and also with our audiences.'
The Unbound Chamber Music Festival takes place at Cerro Coso College in Mammoth Lakes, with six concerts July 15-26. chambermusicunbound.org for tickets and information.
–
Support for Arts on the Airwaves comes from the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency that provides public funding and support to artists and organizations, that benefit Nevadans in cities and rural communities statewide. More at NVArtsCouncil.org.
