The Marvelous Mr. Mendelssohn Opens Chamber Music Rochester's 50th Season
Chamber Music Rochester opens its 50th Anniversary Season on Sunday, October 18, 2026, with The Marvelous Mr. Mendelssohn at Beston Hall, Nazareth University. Eight string musicians perform music by Strauss, Martínez Campos, and Mendelssohn. A free pre-concert talk starts at 2:30 p.m., the concert begins at 3:00 p.m., and single tickets are $35. The free preconcert talk begins at 2:30 p.m., and the concert begins at 3:00 p.m. No musical background is needed.
Eight musicians will walk onto the Beston Hall stage on October 18, and no one will stand in front of them to conduct.
They will guide each other instead, through breath, a lifted bow, a glance across the stage. One musician's nod cues the next entrance. That kind of listening, visible and immediate, is what opens Chamber Music Rochester's 50th Anniversary Season, a milestone that belongs as much to the patrons who have been coming since the first season as to whoever walks in for the first time on October 18.
Fifty seasons ago, someone in Rochester had an idea: bring world-class musicians into a room small enough to watch them think. That idea became a tradition, and The Marvelous Mr. Mendelssohn is where the next fifty seasons begin.
Three Works, Three Generations of String Music
The program moves in one direction: forward. It opens with the polish of a Romantic sextet, passes through the pulse of a composer writing today, and lands on the joyful sprawl of a piece written by a sixteen-year-old who would go on to become one of the most celebrated composers of his century.
Richard Strauss: Capriccio Sextet
Strauss wrote this sextet to open Capriccio, his final opera and a story about whether words or music matter more in art. The sextet answers the question before a single word is sung. Six players trade one melodic idea back and forth, and the conversation never quite settles. That's the point.
Listen for the way a single line moves from one musician to the next. The sound is polished. It never sits still.
Javier Martínez Campos: Serenata para Cuerdas
Serenata para Cuerdas brings a living voice into the afternoon. Martínez Campos, a Spanish cellist and composer, writes with a vibrant lyricism that sits naturally between Strauss and Mendelssohn, coming from someone shaping the string repertoire right now instead of two centuries ago.
A familiar name helps you find your way into a program. A living composer shows you where the music is headed next.
Felix Mendelssohn: Octet
The afternoon builds to the piece this concert is named for. Mendelssohn finished his Octet in October 1825, at sixteen years old, for an ensemble of four violins, two violas, and two cellos, a combination no one had written for quite that way before. The Los Angeles Times has called it "the most impressive work of art ever produced by anyone so young."
The group expands from six players to eight. That size lets the music swing between an intimate exchange and something that sounds almost orchestral. Individual voices race each other, answer each other, and then all eight lock into the same phrase at once.
Two centuries later, none of that confidence has faded.
Every piece on this program has a story behind it, and you don't have to already know those stories to enjoy the music. The free pre-concert talk at 2:30 p.m. tells you what to listen for in plain language before a single note is played, so the Octet's opening surge or the Strauss sextet's circling melody lands the way it's meant to, whether this is your first concert or your fiftieth.
Featured Musicians
The eight string musicians featured on the official concert page are:
Violin: Juliana Athayde, Liana Koteva Kirvan, Jeanelle Thompson, and James Zabawa-Martinez
Viola: Marc Anderson and Rebecca Christainsen
Cello: Garri Hovsepyan and Joseph Johnson
Athayde also serves as one of Chamber Music Rochester's two co-artistic directors, alongside oboist Erik Behr.
Erik Behr Talks With “Mendelssohn” Himself
Before the ensemble plays a single note of the Octet, co-artistic director Erik Behr steps on stage for a conversation that's never happened before, live, in front of the audience.
Mendelssohn died in 1847. He's brought back for this one conversation using AI, appearing on screen across from Behr. What Mendelssohn says isn't a script pulled from the history books. It's built to imagine what the sixteen-year-old composer might tell us about the piece that made him famous, before eight musicians prove it live.
Close Enough to Watch the Music Take Shape
Beston Hall sits inside the Glazer Music Performance Center at Nazareth University, a 550-seat room built specifically for the acoustics of ensembles like this one. Every seat puts you close enough to see a bow lift before a phrase begins, and to feel the room respond when all eight instruments land together.
Close enough to feel every note.
That closeness changes what a concert is. The music isn't arriving from a distant stage. Eight people are making it a few feet away from you, and for about an hour and forty-five minutes, you're part of the room they're making it in.
The Marvelous Mr. Mendelssohn: Who This Afternoon Is For
Come if you've never been to a chamber concert before:
- You don't need to recognize a single composer on the program.
- You don't need to dress up. Come exactly as you are.
- The free pre-concert talk at 2:30 p.m. walks you through what to listen for, no background required.
This is the seat curiosity earns you. Nothing else.
Come if you've been with Chamber Music Rochester for years:
- This is the season you helped build, its 50th.
- You'll hear the Octet performed by local, professional musicians, the same caliber of artist that's defined this series since 1977.
- Bring someone who has never been. You already know why they should come.
Getting Started: A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Arrive
Your first concert should feel easy, not like a test. A few practical notes.
No dress code exists. Jeans, a sweaterdress, whatever you wore to work, all of it belongs here.
Late arrivals aren't locked out. If traffic on East Avenue runs long, ushers seat latecomers between pieces, not in the middle of one.
The pre-concert talk is free and included. It starts at 2:30 p.m., thirty minutes before the music, and needs no ticket beyond the one you already have.
Students and children attend at no cost. Visit the welcome table when you arrive to claim a seat.
Curious what a first chamber concert actually feels like beforehand? The guide for first-time attendees answers the practical questions before you walk in.
Beston Hall sits at 4245 East Avenue, on the Nazareth University campus, with parking available near the Glazer Music Performance Center. Give yourself a few extra minutes if this is your first visit to campus.
Ready to Hear the Octet That Made Mendelssohn Famous?
A fiftieth season opens once. Reserve your tickets for October 18, and you'll be in the room while eight musicians build something in real time that will never come together quite the same way again.
The Marvelous Mr. Mendelssohn is generously sponsored by Larry and Elizabeth Rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where is The Marvelous Mr. Mendelssohn?
The concert is Sunday, October 18, 2026, at Beston Hall in the Glazer Music Performance Center at Nazareth University. The address is 4245 East Avenue, Rochester, New York 14618. The free preconcert talk begins at 2:30 p.m., and the concert runs from 3:00 to about 4:45 p.m..
How much are tickets?
Single tickets are $35. Students and children attend free by visiting the welcome table when they arrive, no advance ticket required for them.
What music is on the program?
Richard Strauss's Capriccio Sextet, Javier Martínez Campos's Serenata para Cuerdas, and Felix Mendelssohn's Octet in E-flat Major, performed by eight string musicians with no conductor.
Do I need to dress up for a chamber music concert?
No. Chamber Music Rochester has no dress code. Come exactly as you are, whatever that means for you that afternoon.
What happens if I arrive late?
Ushers seat latecomers between pieces rather than mid-performance, so a delay on East Avenue won't cost you the whole first half.
Is the pre-concert talk a separate event, or is it included?
It's included with your concert ticket at no extra cost. The talk starts at 2:30 p.m., thirty minutes before the music, and requires no musical background.
What is the conversation with Mendelssohn, and is it real?
Co-artistic director Erik Behr has a live, on-stage conversation with Mendelssohn, brought back for the evening using AI and appearing on screen. Mendelssohn died in 1847, so this is an imagined recreation, not real footage, picturing what he might say about the Octet just minutes before the audience hears it performed live.
Concert Information
Concert: The Marvelous Mr. Mendelssohn
Date: Sunday, October 18, 2026
Preconcert Talk: 2:30 p.m.
Concert: 3:00 p.m. to approximately 4:45 p.m.
Location: Beston Hall at the Glazer Music Performance Center at Nazareth University, 4245 East Avenue, Rochester, New York 14618
Single Tickets: $35
Students and Children: Free admission by visiting the welcome table
Sponsor: Generously sponsored by Larry and Elizabeth Rice