Hi there! Whether you’ve been around since we got started in 2016 or you’re just learning about us, we’re glad you’re here. We’re the White Spruce Chamber Players, a nonprofit chamber music collective based in Sioux Falls, SD. White Spruce is a group of music teachers and professional musicians committed to bringing high-quality chamber music to the region.
That’s a lot. Still with me?
The long and short of it is that we’re a group of musicians who like playing together and bring something fresh to the Sioux Falls arts scene. But how did we get here?
What is Chamber Music?
You’re probably familiar with chamber music even if you’re having trouble putting your finger on what it is. Chamber music is a genre of classical music for a small group of instruments. That’s not so scary, right? The best-known chamber music group is the string quartet, and although we’re sometimes a string quartet, that’s not all we are. More on that later.
Chamber music has existed for a long time and started out as music intended to be performed in the home – or chamber. Because even the big, fancy homes where chamber music got its start are smaller than say, concert halls, the groups stayed small out of necessity. Unlike in an orchestra, there’s only one player on a part and there usually isn’t a conductor. There also isn’t any standard group of instruments associated with chamber music. It can involve as few as two players and as many as a dozen or more. Most chamber music is written for the string family, but not all. Sometimes it also includes piano or winds – or no strings at all!
The Chamber Music Collective
Chamber music is a pretty broad term. Sometimes we’re a string quartet. Other times, we add a piano. Once, we even gave all the strings a break and played a piece for winds and piano. Imagine any combination of instruments and somebody has probably written a piece for that exact group. It’s all chamber music.
Because the music doesn’t always call for the same instruments, we’re a pool of musicians instead of a set group. “Chamber Music Collective” is the term for that musician pool. It’s more common to see a chamber music collective in big cities, but they’re out there. The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center is maybe the best known American chamber music collective. We’re also big fans of the Manhattan Chamber Players and the Sphinx Virtuosi. These groups have been around a while and we modeled ourselves after them.
Our Role in Chamber Music
One thing that drew us to chamber music was the fantastic repertoire. Most of the great composers have written chamber music in some form. Before we formally existed as a group, I needed some chamber music to round out my Master’s recital and I convinced some of my friends to play a few movements of Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet with me. It was a bit of a selfish move, really, because I’ve always loved the piece and it has a piano part so my husband, Brett, could play too. We had our first rehearsals in our living room, which I think is kind of poetic, and we’ve kept it going because there’s so much great music out there waiting to be played. And because we all like doing it.
We also found ourselves filling a role no one else was filling in Sioux Falls. The South Dakota Symphony has the Dakota String Quartet and the Dakota Wind Quintet, but they only play string quartets and wind quintets. The Curious Music Collective does a lot of collaboration with other artists, like dancers and actors. Our focus has become championing the chamber music classics – like Mozart and Schubert – and seeking out new and local works for small ensembles. We also want to challenge the stuffy reputation chamber music has by making it more approachable. Our concerts are short (usually less than an hour!), free whenever possible, and open to the whole family.
Since our first concert back in 2016, we’ve given an annual Fall Concert and expanded our season to include a Midwinter Concert as well. We’ve played in groups as small as two and as large as 7. Plans are in the works for a group of 13 next fall – but you’ll have to wait to find out about that one. Whether you’ve been a fan since day one (Hi, Mom!) or are just hearing about us, we hope we’ll see you at a concert this season.