Camerata Pacifica Kicks Off 2024-25 Season with All-French Chamber Program

Camerata Pacifica will kick off its 2024-25 season with an all-French chamber program, featuring three virtuosic artists and a powerful repertoire of bold pieces. Considered to be one of the nation’s leading chamber ensembles, the Santa Barbara–based chamber collective aims to perform dynamic and memorable performances for a live, dynamic 21st-century audience.

Camerata Pacifica has been renowned for its versatility and musicality, performing programs that highlight the wide range of chamber music repertoires. Artistic Director Adrian Spence describes France as “a center of music and culture for centuries, with Ravel and Debussy among the country’s most well-known composers.” The mutual admiration and competition between Ravel and Debussy during their acquaintanceship helped fuel the creation of their respective compositions, which will be featured in the repertoire set to be performed.

The program opens with Sonata for Violin and Cello, composed by Maurice Ravel with melodies dedicated to fellow French composer Claude Debussy. The sonata will be followed by Debussy’s Images, Book II. The performance will conclude with Ravel’s Piano Trio in A Minor.

The three virtuosos are violinist Paul Huang, cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia, and pianist Gilles Vonsattel. All three performers have been hailed for their artistry and skill. Huang is Camerata Pacifica’s Bob Christensen Chair in Violin, and the recipient of the 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant and the 2017 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists. Cañón-Valencia was named a 2022 BBC New Generation Artist, and a silver medalist and “Audience Favorite” at the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2019. Vonsattel serves as the Principal Pianist for the chamber group, and has been described by the New York Times as “a pianist well worth watching.”

The season opener runs from September 15-20, and will take place at four Southern California venues. Each venue was specifically chosen for its small and intimate size in order to enhance the personable nature of chamber music.

The first performance will be on Sunday, September 15, at 3 p.m. at Thousand Oaks’ Janet and Ray Scherr Forum (2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks).

The group will then perform on Tuesday, September 17, at 7:30 p.m. in San Marino at The Huntington’s Rothenberg Hall (1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino).

The next concert is on Thursday, September 19, at 8 p.m. in Downtown Los Angeles at Zipper Hall, The Colburn School (200 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles).

The final performance will bring the group back home to Santa Barbara on Friday, September 20, at 7 p.m. at Santa Barbara’s Music Academy of the West (1070 Fairway Rd.).

Tickets are $75 at The Huntington, Music Academy of the West, and Zipper Hall; $80 at Janet and Ray Scherr Forum. To purchase tickets and learn more, visit the Camerata Pacifica website.