On September 1, 2026, WWCMF quietly celebrated New [Fiscal] Year’s Day, marking the start of our 20th season making music in the Walla Walla Valley. Not so quietly, we now kick off our 20th with a Satellite Series performance. The program features music covering a span of nearly 350 years, from the Italian baroque innovations of Domenico Gabrielli to the psychedelic immersive environments of living composer James Diaz, igniting a conversation between Ancient and Modern, classicism and experimentation. Two early Beethoven works, the devotional Romance in F for violin and piano and a rare (for Beethoven!) example of whimsy, the “Duo in E Flat for two obligatory eyeglasses” for viola and cello. Bartók’s 2nd Rhapsody for violin and piano brings the program to a folksy and dazzling conclusion.

For the occasion, we’re thrilled to introduce a new initiative: the WWCMF Artists-in-Residence program, featuring Pala Garcia (violin) and John Popham (cello). From October to May, Pala and John will work with a cohort of artists from Walla Walla University, Whitman College, and Walla Walla Community College, exploring visual, written, and multimedia art forms through the lens of music and musical process. This interdisciplinary deep dive gives artists a rare chance to expand and refine their vision over a sustained period, guided by masters of a craft other than their own. A selection of the resulting new works will be exhibited throughout the June 2027 Festival.

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Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Romance No. 2 in F, Op. 50 (1798)

for violin and piano

Adagio cantabile

Domenico Galli (1649 – 1697)

Sonata No. 5 in C minor (1691)

from Trattenimento musicale sopra il violoncello

(Musical entertainment on the cello)

I. Recitativo

II. Aria

III. Giga

IV. AdagioSu

Domenico Gabrielli (1651-1690)

Ricercar No. 7 (1689)

for solo cello

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Duo im Es-Dur mit zwei obligaten Augengläsern, WoO 32 (1796)

(Duo in E Flat with two obligatory eyeglasses)

for viola and cello

I. Allegro

II. Minuetto: Trio

James Diaz (b. 1990)

Espacio Absoluto (2025)

V. From Pink to Orange

for solo cello

Béla Bartók (1881-1945)

Rhapsody No. 2, Sz. 89 (1928)

for violin and piano

I. Lassú (Slow)

II. Friss (Fast)

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Artists: Timothy Christie, viola; Pala Garcia, violin; Feng Kang, piano; John Popham, cello