On Thursday, March 19, at 7 p.m., the Dietrich Theater in historic downtown Tunkhannock invites audiences to an evening of exceptional chamber music as the Northeastern Pennsylvania Chamber Music Society presents “Sound Shapes.”
Tickets are $15 for seniors and students and $20 for general admission, available at nepacms.org/event/sound-shapes-dietrich-theater/.
Sound Shapes explores musical form through color, texture, and motion. York Bowen’s “Phantasy Quintet” unfolds in one continuous, resonant line shaped by the bass clarinet. Christopher Cerrone’s “Nervous Systems” balances rugged modernist structures with fluid, wave‑like rhythms.
The program concludes with Brahms’s “Clarinet Quintet”, a masterwork that circles back to its opening theme in a beautifully crafted arc. Featured performers include Calvin Falwell (clarinet), John Vaida (violin), Arthur Moeller (violin), Amy Iwazumi (viola), and Bryan Hayslett (cello).
Clarinetist Calvin Falwell is the 3rd/Bass Clarinet/Utility with the Sarasota Orchestra and Assistant Professor of Clarinet at the University of South Florida. A core member of Network for New Music, he has performed with major orchestras including the Philadelphia, Fort Worth, Alabama, Memphis, and Florida Orchestras, and has taught internationally at leading conservatories and festivals.
Violinist and violist John Vaida maintains an active national career as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. He is the co‑founder and Executive Director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Chamber Music Society and serves on the faculties of Mansfield University, Lycoming College, and Wilkes University. His students regularly earn top honors and placements at major conservatories and festivals.
Violinist Arthur Moeller has accompanied the band Vampire Weekend on Saturday Night Live and has performed with ensembles such as The Knights, the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular Orchestra. His chamber appearances include Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall, and MoMA, and he has toured widely across the United States. A Juilliard graduate, he also works as a photographer and avid baker.
Violist Amy Iwazumi, co‑founder and chief of operations of Northeastern Pennsylvania Chamber Music Society, has performed across five continents in venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, and Suntory Hall. Her festival appearances span Aspen, La Jolla, Salzburg, Ljubljana, and Taipei, and she is a recipient of the Asian Cultural Council Fellowship, which supported a four-month cultural research residency in Japan, where she furthered her studies playing the Shamisen, a three-stringed traditional Japanese instrument, and her practice of the Omotesenke school of tea ceremony.
Cellist Bryan Hayslett is Assistant Professor of Cello and Academic Studies at Middle Tennessee State University and a section cellist with Palm Beach Opera. A champion of new music, he has commissioned and premiered numerous works, released acclaimed recordings including Cello Unlocked, and serves as Executive Director of the Bow and Bridge Society, a nonprofit supporting a global cello community.
This concert offers audiences a rare opportunity to hear world‑class artists in an intimate setting, bringing dynamic and imaginative chamber music to the heart of Tunkhannock. The Dietrich Theater and Northeastern Pennsylvania Chamber Music Society continue their shared mission of enriching the region through high‑quality arts programming and community engagement.