Production Details

The Chamber Music Society of San Francisco will perform selections from Beethoven's effervescent String Trio in G Major, Op 9 No 1 and Dohnanyi's rich and vibrant Serenade, Op 10.

The Chamber Music Society of San Francisco is dedicated to bringing chamber music masterworks to diverse audiences. CMS is passionate about concertizing in intimate settings, creating close connections between performers and listeners, and cultivating a relationship between music and audiences that extends beyond the perimeter of the concert hall. CMS founding members are: Natasha Makhijani, Jory Fankuchen, Clio Tilton, and Samsun van Loon. Collaborations have included artists such as Kay Stern, Stephen Prutsman, Jean-Michel Fonteneau, and Jodi Levitz.

Artist Biographies

Jory Fankuchen (Violin)
Violinist and violist Jory Fankuchen has built a reputation as an engaging performer of many genres, as well as a passionate pedagogue. In response to this versatility, the San Francisco Examiner recently raved, Mr. Fankuchen's "flamboyant" performance "created the illusion that Eugene Ysaye had been born in Argentina, possibly in a bed next to Jean Sibelius." His ensembles include the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the Magik Magik Orchestra, Squid Inc, the Musical Art Quintet, the Chamber Music Society of San Francisco, and he appears as a regular guest with the New Century Chamber Orchestra. Jory has appeared as soloist with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, the Berkeley Symphony, at the Tanglewood Music Center, and has the distinction of performing on Jascha Heifetz's Guarneri del Gesu violin at the Legion of Honor. Chamber music has always been the driving force behind Jory's passion for music. He has performed in concert with artists such as Robert Mann, Joseph Silverstein, Joel Krosnick, Bonnie Hampton, Mark Sokol, and Ian Swensen. As first violinist of the Kailas String Quartet, he performed throughout North America, winning first prize in the Chamber Music International Competition, and silver at the National Fischoff Competition. Jory serves on the faculty of the the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, Young Chamber Musicians, and has been a visiting lecturer at Cornell University. He holds a B.M. from the San Francisco Conservatory, and an M.M. from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Ian Swensen and Lucy Chapman, respectively. joryfankuchen.com

Clio Tilton (Viola)
Violist Clio Tilton delights in the diversity and excitement in her career. Seeking to share her gifts both through teaching and performing, she can be heard around the Bay Area in a wide range of groups: early music ensembles, symphony orchestras, chamber groups, and rock bands. Clio performs regularly as a substitute with the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the San Francisco Contemporary Players, Oakland Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, American Bach Soloists, and as well as other regional orchestras. She performs on both modern and baroque viola at Carmel Bach Festival. Sought after as a chamber musician, Clio has performed with the Friction Quartet, Classical Revolution, and is a founding member of the Chamber Music Society of San Francisco. She has recorded for Time Warner with the Camerata de Lausanne, and has also been heard in recordings with Shajarian, Geographer, and Meklit. Clio completed Oberlin's double degree program in viola performance and comparative literature. Clio completed Oberlin's double degree program in viola performance and comparative literature. After earning her master's at Juilliard, she was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study orchestral and baroque performance in Switzerland. During her two years studying in Lausanne and Geneva, Clio performed with Swiss ensembles such as l'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Sinfonietta de Lausanne, and the Camerata de Lausanne. Chamber music has always been, and continues to be, a central part of Clio's musical pursuits. She spent three formative summers at the prestigious Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival in Blue Hill, Maine during college, and has coached chamber music with the Juilliard String Quartet, Misha Amory of the Brentano Quartet, and Sylvia Rosenberg. During her time at Juilliard she was a member of the award-winning Calla Quartet. In Europe she performed at the THY festival, and most recently has become passionate about finding ways to share chamber music with audiences on a deeply personal level through her work with the Chamber Music Society of San Francisco. Learn more about Clio at www.cliotilton.com.

Samsun van Loon (Cello)
Cellist Samsun van Loon has been critically praised as a "promising talent" with "the rhetorical polish of a skilled storyteller." He studied as a quartet cellist at seminars with the Alexander, Miro and Takacs quartets, and his passion for chamber music has led him to recently participate in the Academie Musical at Morges, Switzerland, Thy Chamber Music Festival in Denmark, as well as New York's Arcos Orchestra's Germany tour and recording of the music of Swedish composer Anders Eliasson for the Neos label. While studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Jean-Michel Fonteneau, he received the conservatory's chamber music honors award, as well as the M. Alan Neys Award for first prize at the Pacific Musical Society's annual competition. Recent concert appearances include the series at Old Saint Mary's, Old First Presbyterian Church, Legion of Honor, as well as a duet with Cambodian dancer Chary Burt at San Francisco's annual Ethnic Dance Festival. Samsun currently resides in San Francisco and in addition to maintaining a private teaching studio he is a regular faculty member at Lake Tahoe's Zephyr Music Camp, Cazadero Music Camp, and San Francisco's Community Music Center. In addition to the Chamber Music Society of SF he is a member of the conductorless chamber orchestra One Found Sound.