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Standouts among the many performances by the gifted student participants included an intense, passionate version of the Allegro and Lento Maestoso from Dvorák's Trio in E minor, Op 90 (Dumky) by pianist Weiyin Chen (a keyboard dynamo), violinist Luis Esnaola, and cellist Michael Block; bassoonist Maria Jeleztcheva's gracious rendering of two movements from François Devienne's Quartet No 2 (with a fine string contingent); a bright toned rendition of John Harbison's tartly atonal Quintet for Winds; Violist Joanna Patterson's impassioned, rich toned playing in the opening movement of Smetana's Quartet From My Life; Elliot Carter's witty version of atonality in Etudes and Fantasies with brilliant oboe solos by Meaghan Walker; a taut interpretation of the Allegro moderato from Schubert's Trio in B flat, Op 99 by a brilliantly gifted Juilliard threesome -- violinist Emily Ondracek, cellist Grace Kwon, and pianist Skookkyung Cho; pianist Cong Fan's brilliant articulation in the Fugue and Scherzo from Dimitri Shostakovich's Quintet in B flat, Op 67; and a warmly passionate version of the Andante ma moderato from Brahms's magisterial Sextet in B flat, Op 18.

The Sarasota Music Festival provides a unique concert atmosphere for artists and audiences alike. It was a joy to hear many rarely played works in outstanding performances. The superb chamber music gatherings (in suitably intimate surroundings) by faculty and students at this festival are eloquent testimony to the transformative power of music!