(Spotlight Chamber Players (L-R) Stephen Platt, Ezra Oncken, Nicolas Oncken and Emily Whitney | Photo courtesy of High Desert Chamber Music)
High Desert Chamber Music (HDCM) announces their 12th Annual Gala will be held on Saturday, November 9, at 6pm at Bend Golf Club. Bob Shaw from the KTVZ Newschannel 21 Team returns as this year’s gala emcee, and the evening will include a performance, dinner and silent auction with donations from over 100 local businesses and organizations. The performance will feature recipients of their Educational Outreach program, the Spotlight Chamber Players.
The Spotlight Chamber Players program provides a high level of weekly chamber music instruction with HDCM Executive Director and professional violinist Isabelle Senger, as well as select visiting artists. Auditions are held annually in the fall. This year’s Spotlight Chamber Players program features a new string quartet. The students selected are Nicholas Oncken (violin), Ezra Oncken (violin), Emily Whitney (viola) and Stephen Platt (cello).
“This annual event is critical for our fundraising goals,” states Senger. “Support from this evening allows us to continue offering all our Educational Outreach programs at no cost to students, families and schools in Central Oregon.”
High Desert Chamber Music’s Educational Outreach includes performances and Q&A sessions at local schools, public master classes and the Spotlight Chamber Players chamber music training program. Past graduates of the SCP program have gone on to pursue music performance degrees at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and others.