A year as Basically Beethoven

A year ago - June 2024 - we changed our logo and “doing business as” name to Basically Beethoven. Our transition from Fine Arts Chamber Players has proven to be more than just a name change.
 

This past year has been defined by musical diversity, a standing-room-only performance, and a deepened connection with our community. From October through May, we've presented seven remarkable concerts that showcase not just the breadth of our programming, but our commitment to making chamber music accessible, exciting, and relevant to today's audiences as well as providing a third space for our patrons in an ever-remote world.

Basically Beethoven Hallam Concert 2024-2025

 

Our season opened in October with Christopher McGuire's "Bach, Brazil, and The Beatles" concert. Joining forces with pianist Steve Harlos and cellist Carol Harlos, this performance embodied everything our new identity represents: classical excellence meeting contemporary relevance. The program's journey from Vivaldi's baroque precision through The Beatles' timeless melodies to the sultry rhythms of Antônio Carlos Jobim and Luis Bonfá demonstrated that great music transcends boundaries and eras.
 

November brought us the innovative MAKE Trio, with guest clarinetist Stas Chernyshev. Their lovely program - including a composition by and remarks from FACP/BB education alum, composer Quinn Mason, reminded us why chamber music remains popular today as one of the most personal and affecting art forms.
 

Our January concert with the Lakeway Chamber Players String Quintet featured Debussy's shimmering string quartet alongside Schubert's sublime cello quintet. Every note of this performance reminded us why these masterworks continue to move audiences more than a century after they were written. Lakeway Chamber Players’ main players Andrew Pearce and Sari Pearce (cello and violin) hail from Austin, but collaborate with Dallas players for our concerts. This special relationship has helped us reach other musicians across Texas and, hopefully, will yield even more opportunities in the year to come.
 

February delivered our standing-room-only concert of the season - a testament to both our growing reputation and the magnetic artistry of pianist Andrey Ponochevny. His interpretation of selections from Rachmaninoff's Preludes and Études-Tableaux was nothing short of mesmerizing. We also want to thank Phil Gibbs and Collora Piano for loaning us a gorgeous piano for the occasion!
 

In March we welcomed the SEUM Chamber String Quartet, who brought us Smetana's first string quartet, “In My Life,” and Borodin's String Quartet No. 2. This performance was billed in Korean as well as English as we work to invite all of our Dallas community to our concerts.
 

April's return of the Lakeway Chamber Players, this time in piano quintet formation, gave us César Franck's emotionally charged piano quintet paired with Beethoven’s “Harp” string quartet.
 

Our season culminated in May with The Charles Barr Memorial Concert, an event that perfectly encapsulates our values. This annual tribute to Dallas bassist Charles Barr represents our commitment to both honoring musical legacy and nurturing emerging talent. This year's featured artist, cellist Alexander Jaime, delivered an English/Spanish bilingual recital that bridged languages and generations, performing Beethoven and Brahms and introducing us to contemporary composer Andrea Casarrubios.
 

All told, 1246 people attended these 7 professionally played and curated concerts for free. But moreover, we've created a space where classical music feels alive and relevant, where audiences discover connections between Bach and The Beatles, Beethoven and Casarrubios, where young artists find platforms to share their voices, and where Dallas residents can meet fellow chamber music-lovers and musicians.

Basically means to us means "fundamentally" and "essentially." We are essentially about great music, fundamentally committed to excellence, and inherently dedicated to proving that chamber music can be both erudite and accessible.
 

Music Education

We're proud to announce that one of our Music Residency students was featured on NPR’s From the Top. This program is America’s largest national platform celebrating young classically-trained musicians and is broadcast on WRR in Dallas, Saturdays at noon.

Basically Beethoven's Music Residency program entirely subsidizes professional teaching artists in Dallas schools that lack robust music programs. Students take private or group lessons in voice, violin, and piano at no cost to them or to the school district. Everything is paid for by people like YOU – our generous donors and grantors.

Tinashe McGowan has been studying piano with Basically Beethoven Teaching Artist John Tatum for years, including weekly private lessons sponsored by FACP/Basically Beethoven patrons and donors, such as Virginia & Robert Dupuy, whose dedicated donation is invaluable to the program’s success.

His performance of Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20 by Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) opens the broadcast. You can listen to his performance and interview here.

 

We also attended and produced a recital at David W. Carter High School for about 13 of our music students, who are also attending music events and evaluations at the University Interscholastic League (UIL) this week.

 

Our young violinists at Uplift Atlas also had a recital in May. These young violin players learn valuable skills in reading music, group participation, music theory, listening, and performance. All inherent in our music education and transformative for young lives.

 

July: Basically Beethoven Festival 2025

 

This festival we are very excited to feature several present master’s students, a former Music Residency student, and Basically Beethoven Teaching Artists in our “Rising Stars” slots that open each concert, as we focus on bringing awareness to Basically Beethoven’s exceptional music education program.

 

This July on Sundays 13, 20, and 27, beginning at 2:30pm at Moody Performance Hall will complete our first full year as Basically Beethoven.

 

Sunday, July 13, 2025 

2:30pm - Rising Stars - SMU Opera and Musical Theatre MFA students Bradley Ritschel, bass-baritone, and Grace Monsanto, mezzo-soprano with Kara Solis, collaborative pianist

3:00pm - Featured Performer Liudmila Georgievskaya, piano. Visit her website here: www.liudmilageorgievskaya.org

 

Sunday, July 20, 2025

2:30pm - Teacher Feature - This year, we are celebrating two of our Teaching Artists - Crystal Haynes, soprano, and Kenoly Kadia, piano - both of whom have completed terminal degrees in their respective disciplines and have returned to Dallas to perform and teach. Both are BB Teaching Artists at Carter High School, and both are alumni of Basically Beethoven music education programs.

3:00pm - Lakeway Chamber Players & Friends (Filiip Fenrych, violin, Anastasia Markina, piano, and Andrew Pearce, cello) performing Brahms' Piano Trio No. 1 in B major & Schoenfeld's "Café Music"
 

Sunday, July 27, 2025

2:30pm - Rising Star - Tinashe McGowan, piano. We are thrilled to welcome this newly graduated FACP/BB piano student whose exemplary skills and performance were featured on NPR’s From the Top and won him a place at the prestigious San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

3:00pm - Featured performance: all-local Dallas ensemble performing Nielsen’s Serenata in vano for mixed quintet, and Beethoven's Septet, Op. 20 - composed before even his first symphony!
 

The name Basically Beethoven has given us permission to be playful while remaining serious about our art, to be contemporary while respecting classical traditions, and to be inclusive while maintaining our commitment to excellence. We're excited to continue building on the almost 45 years of Fine Arts Chamber Players, and this new identity as Basically Beethoven, bringing more diverse programming, supporting more emerging artists, and creating more moments where music transcends expectations and touches hearts.
 

Here's to a year that has been basically perfect in all the ways that matter most.

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Thank you to Fanchon & Howard Hallam, Capital One, The City of Dallas Office of Arts & Culture, TACA - The Arts Community Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, Moody Fund for the Arts, DART, Individual Donors like You, and to Sammons Center for the Arts, Moody Performance Hall, and Central Commons, who rent to us at reduced nonprofit rates.

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A huge shout-out and thank you to our stellar Board of Directors, whose behind-the-scenes steadfast support make it all possible.