How SynchHaus and
Chamber Music Weekend
Came to Be. . . .
OUR TEAM
Ellen Francisco
Ellen
is the director of Chamber Music Weekend, At First Sight and
Synchronous HausMusik. There is really only one reason she takes those
roles--she is a complete chamber music addict! Actually, there's
another reason: more than she loves chamber music, she loves getting
others involved.
Ellen is a violin/ viola teacher and chamber music
coach at Southern Adventist University and in the Collegedale community. She's known for making music an indispensable part of life, available to anyone.
Click the link below to find out more about us, our team, and our events.
Jeremy Francisco
Jeremy
is Ellen's husband, music director for the East Tennessee Symphony
Orchestra, principal conductor for Chamber Music Weekend and At First
Sight, and tech guru/broadcast engineer for Synchronous HausMusik. You likely won't see him on camera, since he is operating on the other side of the equipment from us, but we couldn't do this
without him! He is the "magician behind the screen," both running the
technology, and answering the comments and questions on Zoom chat.
Bruce and Leila Ashton
Bruce is piano professor emeritus at Southern Adventist University, and a sought-after accompanist all over the region. A composer and quintessential chamber musician, he plays viola whenever piano is not involved.
Leila
is a portrait artist who donates countless hours to make our music events successful, particularly with our public interface. She has experienced the cello part on countless chamber works, and is the inspiration for the love and value of each
individual player.
Nathan Francisco
The
son of Ellen and Jeremy, Nathan takes music to its fullest. A
passionate cellist, Nathan also plays viola da gamba, double bass and
organ. He's rarely content to make music alone, constantly inviting
others to explore both new and familiar repertoire with him. Nathan is a
frequent solo recitalist and an orchestral musician, but his favorite
place is with a group of friends, making music for the love of it.
Tami King (left)
Mrs.
Tami King embodies the love of music. She is a consummate music
educator, teaching orchestra and private string lessons (and life
lessons) at the elementary and middle-schools in Collegedale, and she
also participates enthusiastically in every musical event she can. Tami
inspires students, parents and colleagues alike with her encouraging,
inclusive approach, and her passion for the value of the person.
William Navalon
William
Navalon came to our community with a wide range of musical experience.
He is a violinist and violist, and has a niche as a favorite teacher in
the area. His students find him encouraging, while upholding a high
standard of excellence. William is an insistent musician--insistent
that we need to play often!
A Letter from the Director
Dear Chamber Musician,
COVID-19 has put the pause on our in-person sessions, but that has just forced us to be more creative! That's why we have moved online, and created Synchronous HausMusik. While these sessions won't, and can't be the same as playing in the same room, they do allow us to play, in a sense, together. We meet online Thursday evenings at 7:00 p.m. (eastern time)
WHO ARE WE?
We are the members of the Ashton/Francisco family. We live in Collegedale, TN, and we love to play chamber music for any reason. Our family consists of amateur and professional musicians: a piano teacher and a portrait artist, a day-trader/symphony orchestra conductor and a violin teacher, a gifted and passionate student cellist, and a few friends. We play music for the love of it, and we play at a high level. While we are not all performing professionals, you'll find we're competent enough musicians to enjoy playing with.
Our favorite composers are Brahms, Mendelssohn and Schumann (though that is hardly a comprehensive list!). We lean heavily into the romantic era, the golden hey-day of chamber music. But we also enjoy music written earlier, and some repertoire from more recent times. We play standard literature and explore the output of lesser-known composers, too. We are a unique family, in a large part because we play chamber music together, lots!
The idea for Synchronous HausMusik came about because the other two branches of our family live in Maryland, and we needed a way to connect musically with them. Normally we meet in the summers with about 65 of our closest friends (!) for 4 ½ days of chamber music making at Chamber Music Weekend. Thanks to COVID, we had to explore other options, and that exploration opened a way to include you, as well!
Synchronous HausMusik welcomes any chamber musician who would like to play along. The core group in Collegedale plays with open mics. Due to latency issues, we ask those on the Zoom session with us to play with your mics muted. Now, you may well be thinking what we thought--is there anything rewarding to playing along with someone when they can't hear you? We took the chance, and to our delight, discovered there is!
- It's better than Music-Minus-One, because you get to hear your part as well.
- It's better than playing along with recordings, because we take readable tempos and can call out rehearsal letters if we're lost!
- It's better than playing alone.
- It's better because we offer community.
We chat beforehand, sometimes between movements, and afterward. And we connect in real time. Although you are in your own homes and we're in ours, we are doing something beautiful at the same time as other people who love this music. We're sharing the experience with you.
GIVE US A TRY
So, please take a chance on us. Synchronous HausMusik is our gift to you, a life-raft, if you will, to hang on to until we reach the shore. We haven't put a financial "gate" up, so come on in! If you can donate, please do. Think what you would have paid for your summer chamber music workshop, and donate what you think is fair. The money helps fund scholarships for our youth music workshop, At First Sight. Your registration will provide you the Zoom link.
Welcome aboard the life-raft!
Sincerely,
Ellen Francisco, the members of the Ashton/Francisco family, and Chamber Music Weekend
One of our group readings of the Mendelssohn Octet, from Chamber Music Weekend.