Pleasanton Chamber Players

The Pleasanton Chamber Players is an idea that grew out of the encounters of several professional musicians living in Pleasanton and some spontaneous brainstorming during meetings of the Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council. Founder and artistic director Dominique Piana, having experienced the life of a touring musician before moving to Pleasanton, thought it important to create a “classical music scene” right at home, community based yet professional in outlook and quality.

Chamber music, which - contrary to the orchestra or the chorus – features one instrument or voice to a part, is the ideal medium to convey all that is precious about art music, from the beauty of individual expression to the serendipity of finding harmony together. It is also obvious that those on stage are not the only performers involved: the audience performs the delicate task of giving value to the sound made, in some ways serving as a catalyst for artistic communion.

Originally launched in May 2003, the Pleasanton Chamber Players performed at Trinity Lutheran Church and Lynnewood United Methodist Church, both in Pleasanton. In 2006 and 2008, they were presented in concert by the Civic Arts Program of the City of Pleasanton at Amador Theater. They are now ensemble-in-residence at the new Firehouse Arts Center in downtown Pleasanton.

A loosely knit group of string and wind players, pianist, harpist, singers and percussionists, the musicians involved have sought out unique works by famous composers as well as the hidden treasures to be found in the far away corners of music history, often presenting works with unusual instrumentation that bring different insights and pleasures than the traditional repertoire.

Here is a list of composers featured so far, in no particular order:

the Central European classics Bach, Mozart, Beethoven , Schubert, Weber, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Dvorák, Liszt, including lesser known Wagenseil, Hoffmann, Spohr, Bruch and Kempter;
French school Berlioz, Dubois, Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Ravel, Chaminade, Fauré, d’Indy, Massenet, Ibert, Rohozinski, Ravel, Ropartz, Ganne and the Belgian Jongen
clarinet composers Crusell and Baermann
harp composers Bochsa, F. Hummel, Holy, Tedeschi, Tournier, Grandjany
cello composers Klengel and Fitzenhagen
flute composers Kuhlau, Gaubert and Alwyn
Italians Rossini, Bellini and Respighi
Americans Foote, Gershwin, Menotti, and Heggie
Spanish and South American de Falla, Turina, Ginastera and Golijov
the Russian Glinka, Shostakovich and Russian-American Michelson

For more information on upcoming programs, contact Dominique.