A Night Under the Stars
NCMS 2025-6 Season Opening Gala
The Nashville Chamber Music Society opened its 2025–26 season with their gala “A Night Under the Stars” on August 23, 2025, at Riverside Revival in East Nashville’s Inglewood neighborhood. The fundraising event featured a silent auction and a cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres, followed by a concert performed by NCMS musicians.
Established in 2020, the NCMS is led by Founder, Artistic Director, and President Mary Grace Bender (see MCR’s 2023 piece on Bender at “Marygrace Bender and the Nashville Chamber Music Society”). The organization’s board members include Laura Klepper, Robert Bender, Jennifer Yeager, and Brandon Jang. Additionally, the success of NCMS is largely attributed to its Financial Advisor and Treasurer, Blake Waggoner, and its Secretary and Media and Marketing Coordinator, Danielle Maeng. Other organization leaders include Charissa Leung, Adult Chamber Music Workship Coordinator; Susan Yang, Director of Artistic Operations; Hannah Sorrells-Tyler, Opus Project Leader and Program Writer; and Brendan Jacklin, Director of Programming.
The gala offered supporters the opportunity to witness and recognize the organization’s growth since its inception in 2023. The atmosphere was consistently friendly and warm, fostering a strong sense of community among the attendees. The musicians not only showcased their talents but also made everyone feel like part of the family. For those who haven’t attended before, NCMS’s new season features a variety of concerts that emphasize a communal atmosphere. An important note: The NCMS took a moment to thank the evening’s hosts and generous donors to the organization, Bob and Kathy Olsen.
The musicians delivered a light but exquisite program. The first performer was Susan Yang, who is also an Assistant Professor in the Practice of Piano and the Director of the Community Scholars Program at Vanderbilt University. She played Claude Debussy’s (1862–1918) “Clair de Lune” from the Suite Bergamasque (1890–1905). Yang’s expressive performance beautifully captured the essence of “Clair de Lune,” which is connected to an early twentieth-century surreal interpretation of the commedia dell’arte.[1]
Additionally, in an earlier piece for soprano titled “Pierrot,” (1881) Debussy partially based the melody on the then-popular folksong “Au Clair de Lune,” which also inspired his later piano composition.[2] This connection adds a historical layer to Yang’s performance, which evoked “Clair de Lune’s” dreamlike ethos, prioritizing sensory experience, or impression, rather than a logical storyline.
Next, violinist Charissa Leung, accompanied by Yang, performed Jascha Heifetz’s 1923 arrangement of Manuel Ponce’s Estrellita. In keeping with the evening’s “A Night Under the Stars,” the elegant performance of Estrellita—or “Little Star”—was poignant to the evening’s theme. Ponce (1882–1948) composed music that merged Western art traditions with Mexican national musical styles. Violinist Heifetz sketched his arrangement of the song on a cocktail napkin upon hearing it sung in 1923 while on tour in Mexico City. He later performed Estrellita in the 1939 film They Shall Have Music (Archie Mayo).[3] In Ponce’s original song, the singer addresses a star in the night sky, confessing their love for a someone beloved. The singer asks “Estrellita” to give them a sign to indicate whether the beloved reciprocates their love.[4] Leung and Yang gave a stunning performance of Heifetz’s adaptation, eliciting in listeners the heartfelt sentiment of the original song. This piece, a love serenade, is sure to evoke feelings of romance and emotional engagement.
Virtuoso flutist and composer Franz Doppler (1821–1883) wrote numerous pieces featuring two flutes, including Andante et Rondo for Two Flutes and Piano, which he initially intended to perform with his brother, Karl. Both brothers went on to achieve reputable musical careers after gaining fame as a touring duo.[5] NCMS flutists Molly Barth—also Associate Professor of Flute at Vanderbilt—and Danielle Maeng, with pianist Derek Hartman, gave an exceptional and fun performance of Doppler’s Andante et Rondo. Highly virtuosic, Barth and Maeng wove their musical lines together with great finesse. The silent communication between them, evident in their eye contact, underscores the profound personal connection that forms between musicians who play together, as Maeng highlights in her program note. Barth and Maeng’s performance was a true highlight, their personal connection adding a layer of depth to their collaboration.
The last two pieces on the program are what I call an NCMS “greatest hits” consisting of excerpts from some of their past special performances including from Alexander Borodin’s (1833–1887) String Quartet No. 2 and Franz Schubert’s (1797–1828) String Quintet in C Major: Borodin was only a part-time musical composer since he was primarily a medical doctor and chemistry professor. Nevertheless, many consider Borodin as one of the most original composers of nineteenth-century Russia.[6] The highlight here was the “Nottorno” (III), where the performers exercised nuanced restraint and precise phrasing. Bender on cello introduced Borodin’s opulent first theme, which was skillfully met by Leung’s entrance on violin, her upper register floating over the texture. Hannah Cornell-Tyler, on second violin, and Christopher Lowry, on viola, together provided a solid inner texture to this beautiful piece.
Lastly, another highlight was the “Allegretto” movement from Schubert’s String Quintet in C (D. 956). Composed in 1928, soon before Schubert’s death, this string quintet was the last of his instrumental works. Two cellos are better than one [wink]: featuring two cellos, the performers achieved such a rich depth to their composite sound, at times even sounding orchestral. Even with only five players, the group produced such a wide range of sonorities and moods, creating a grand and symphonic experience for the audience. Well done.
I recommend anyone to attend NCMS performances; they are some of my favorites in Nashville. You can find the NCMS event calendar and ticket information on their website at https://www.nashvillecms.org. The next event, “Bernstein and Stravinsky,” will feature some of the best string, woodwind, and brass players in the area. It will be at the Scarritt Bennett Center in Wightman Chapel on September 14, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.
[1] Roger Nichols, “Debussy’s Two Settings of ‘Clair de lune’,” Music & Letters 48, no. 3 (July 1967): 2.
[2] Virginia Raad, “Musical Quotations in Claude Debussy,” American Music Teacher 17, no. 3 (January 1968): 2.
[3] Timothy Judd, “Manuel Ponce’s Serenade, “Estrellita”: Heifetz in Mexico,” The Listeners’ Club (August 25, 2023), https://thelistenersclub.com/2023/08/25/manuel-ponces-serenade-estrellita-heifetz-in-mexico/. Accessed August 25, 2025.
[4] “Estrellita,” Lyric Opera of Chicago (2025), https://www.lyricopera.org/shows/upcoming/2020-21/for-the-love-of-lyric-concert/program-notes/estrellita/. Accessed: August 25, 2025.
[5] “Andante et Rondo pour deux flutes et piano,” Talk Classical (June 12, 2025), https://www.talkclassical.com/threads/19th-century-flute-pieces-dopplers-andante-and-rondo-for-two-flutes-and-piano.93776/?tl=fr. Accessed: August 26, 2025.
[6] Jane Vial Jaffe, “Alexander Borodin (1833–1887),” Parlance Chamber Concerts (January 14, 2024), https://www.parlancechamberconcerts.org/individual-program-notes/alexander-borodin-(1833-1887)/string-quartet-no.-2-in-d. Accessed: August 26, 2025.
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A Georgia native, Stephen D. Turner moved to Nashville in 2023 with his partner of over thirteen years. When he isn’t hiking in the woods or enjoying the ocean, Stephen is a musicologist and tubist who teaches music at Tennessee State University.
