The Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Players Series continues Sunday, June 7 with “Essex Piano Trio + One” at 3:00 p.m. at Christ Church in Exeter, NH.

Join the Essex Piano Trio with guest artist John Ferraro, principal clarinet with the Portsmouth Symphony, in a delightful program featuring the Quartet in E-Flat Major for Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano, Op. 1 by little known Viennese composer Walter Rabl. The first work ever written for that combination, Rabl’s Quartet won first prize in 1896 in a contest judged by Johannes Brahms, who liked it so much that he became Rabl’s mentor and arranged for the work’s publication. You will learn about the genre and form of romantic music and about Rabl’s use of four instruments (clarinet, violin, cello, and piano) to create this unique piece of music.

In 2017, three musical friends from North Shore communities – Ashley Offret, violin (Salem); David Cabral, cello (Lynn); and Beverly Soll (Rockport), having casually played together for several years formalized their working relationship, calling themselves the Essex Piano Trio to reflect the communities in which they live and work. Since then, they have become regionally known for their audience-friendly concert format of interesting music interspersed with casual commentary. Please see essexpianotrio.com for more biographical information and YouTube recordings of their performances.

Today, for the first time, the trio invited another friend to join them in an EPT+One concert featuring John Ferraro, first clarinetist of the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra, a colleague with whom EPT violinist Ashley Offret plays often in PSO. See John’s wonderful self-introduction at John Ferraro – Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra.

The concert is free and open to the public. Those who can are encouraged to make a donation of up to $40. Tickets can be reserved in advance by visiting www.portsmouthsymphony.org.

Christ Church is located at 43 Pine Street in Exeter, NH.