How SynchHaus and

Chamber Music Weekend

Came to Be. . . .

Chamber Music Weekend provides the venue for rich musical recreation, and we've done it every summer since 1998. In a few days of intense sight-reading, we throw ourselves happily into the sea of chamber music repertoire, trying to experience as much music as possible in the few days we're together. It is, for most of us, the island paradise of soul-filling in the middle of the busy year.

Then 2020 hit, and the possibility of in-person playing hit a brick wall. Everything around us shut down. So we went online. Instead of trying new (and sometimes frustrating) low-latency programs, we opted for a "home-team/away-team" approach.

The "Home Team" operates out of Ackerman Auditorium on the campus of Southern Adventist University. It consists of professional music educators and music students, centered around the Ashton/Francisco family.

The "Away Team" consists of players of all levels from around the United States. These are professionals in many walks of life, from chemists and speech therapists, to engineers and math teachers. They range from students to retirees, and hail from a dozen or more states. Some we have met in person, for others we still await that pleasure.

Now we've come to Chamber Music Weekend 2021 (our 24th year), and while we're now meeting in-person again, there are still people who aren't able to be together. We want to reconnect with you, too, so we are merging Synchronous HausMusik and the activities of Chamber Music Weekend.

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.

More about Chamber Music Weekend →

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.

More about Zoom and how to link up →

Bruce and Leila Ashton

Bruce and Leila are Ellen's parents, and to them she owes her passion for chamber music and for people.

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.

More about our family and CMW→

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!

HOW IT WORKS

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.