Date Friday June 05, 2026
Time 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Venue The Barn Gallery
Location 3 Hartwig Lane (off Bourne Lane at Shore Road), Ogunquit, Maine, 03907
Category Live Performance Ogunquit Chamber Music Festival
Price $25 ($30 at door)

Premiere performance of transcribed Rossini overture.
Wine reception to meet the artists following the concert.

Free parking at the Barn Gallery, with overflow parking available.

TICKETS: $25 in advance, $30 at the door (cash or checks only). Tickets may be purchased online now — or in person beginning on May 8 at the Ogunquit Town Hall, 31 School Street; Cricket’s Corner, 41 Shore Road; or the Ogunquit Welcome Center, 20 Shore Road.

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A Concert Extraordinaire is planned to celebrate Ogunquit Performing Arts’ 30th Annual Chamber Music Festival including an 8-member ensemble of piano and strings, and a premiere performance of newly transcribed overture by Rossini.

In recent years, OPA’s Chamber Music Festival has featured an ongoing partnership with Boston Chamber Music, which every year puts together a special trio or quartet for the Ogunquit concerts, unique to OPA.

This year, in celebration of 30 years of OPA Chamber Music Festivals, pianist/leader Randall Hodgkinson has brought together an ensemble of eight musicians (piano and seven strings), for a concert extraordinaire.

Their program will include the premiere performance of the brilliant overture to Rossini’s opera, Semiramide, transcribed by Hodgkinson especially for this occasion, and the first-ever transcription for this group of instruments!

The program will also include Mozart’s lyrical Concerto in A, K. 488, and Brahms’ warm, orchestral String Sextet in Bb, No. 1, Op. 18.

The Program:

Rossini: Overture to Semiramide for piano and string ensemble, transcribed by Randall Hodgkinson.

This popular Overture is celebrated for its dramatic tension and brilliant climaxes, often performed as a standalone concert piece. Composed in 1823, Semiramide opens with a 12-minute orchestral showcase of suspense, melodic richness, and Rossini’s signature crescendo techniques. Although it contains material from the opera, this bright Overture hardly suggests the blood and gore of the story that follows!

Mozart: Chamber version of Concerto in A, K. 488 (arranged for string quintet and piano)

One of Mozart’s finest and most lyrical concertos, this 1786 work is admired for its lyricism, emotional range, and formal perfection. It is a staple of the classical piano repertoire, frequently performed by major pianists and orchestras worldwide. Critics often single out the second movement as a sublime exemplar of Mozart’s genius for expressing deep feeling with utmost simplicity and grace.

Brahms: String Sextet in Bb, No. 1, Op. 18

The Sextet is notable for its symphonic sound, with Brahms utilizing the two cellos and two violas to create rich, dark timbres. Written in 1860, it is a masterpiece of chamber music, blending youthful romantic lyricism with mature classical structure, and is renowned for its warm, orchestral textures, tender melodies, and the expansive emotional arc across its four movements.

The Players:

Randall Hodgkinson, piano
Omar Chen Guey, violin
Alice Hallstrom, violin
Mark Berger, viola
Peter Sulski, viola
Nicholas Johnson, cello
David Russell, cello
Nathan Varga, bass