As someone who grew up in Columbus, steeped in various scenes, I found world-class varieties of every kind of music – thumping electronica DJs who toured Europe, rappers and producers who signed with the hottest underground labels, alt.country balladeers who sparked other songwriters from coast to coast, hard-grooving jazz to compete with any other scene in the country, alongside the garage-tinted rock we’re justly famous for.
The one genre I didn’t hear much of growing up – and so didn’t really get into until my 20’s – was contemporary chamber music, sometimes called new music. In the last several years, that changed in a big way and one of the groups leading that resurgence is Chamber Brews. With inventive, accessible programs mixing old and new works, and contextualizing them in places audiences might not expect, they’ve carried the torch for the sublime beauty and relevance of classical music.
Over the next three months, they’re bringing a stellar-sounding program to three venues – the Green Room at Short North Stage as part of the Johnstone Fund series on April 26, the Bexley Public Library on May 8, and Seventh Son Brewing Company (featuring a cocktail pairing) on June 26 (more information, including tickets for the Seventh Son show, is available on their website: https://www.chamberbrews.com/upcoming-events). I was lucky enough to talk to co-founder and violinist Devin Copfer and cellist Sam Johnson, outside a Clintonville coffee shop.
Richard Sanford: Talk to me a little bit about Chamber Brews. It's evolved a little bit, right?
Devin Copfer: I founded this organization with my colleague, Elisabeth Jeremica, who was our cellist, really with the nugget of an idea that this music that we love has been created to be shared. This was in 2016, 2015, and the problem that we were trying to tackle then was the narrative that classical music is dying. And now, luckily, I don't think we have that narrative anymore. I think there's been resurgence. There's a lot of new music that's been played.
But when we were really created, it was like we were trying to address problems of audience participation, audience feeling connected to this music. And why is that? Well, we have degrees in this music, and sometimes we still feel on the outside, but there's just so much wealth of knowledge and depth of feeling and opportunities for accessibility that we were like, "There's got to be something here."
RS: Right.
DC: When we started putting [programs] on, were really about connecting audiences and musicians. period. We don't need to be separate. Yes, we have studied this music, [that] doesn't make me the authority on what you like. You still have your voice, your opinion, and we're going to present this in ways that are tangible, that create threads that break down social connections as social context. But you still get to say, at the end of the day, whether or not this is for you.
Elisabeth left. Now she's in Denmark. We were working with a violinist named Tom Featherston, [as a] string quartet. And then Sam came to us, and Rachel Keplin, our violist, was there. We featured [this trio] in our program last year, very heavily. We performed a few world premieres and were able to record them as well. We should have that album coming out this year.
Sam and I had gone back and forth about [the thought that] we could hire people to play, but what would it be like if we really dug into each other's sound and that process? So that was where we came here. So now it gets to be this duo. This iteration has been really delightful.
RS: Awesome. Tell me about this series. How did you decide on the three shows you're doing this time?
DC: Yeah. We were initially approached by the Johnstone Fund for New Music, headed by Zoe and Jack Johnstone. The first grant that we requested for them was a literature project that was a collaboration with [local bookstore and publishing house] Two Dollar Radio. It was spectacular. I mean, I don't know how the audience experience was, but for me, it was spectacular. [Friends] had said, "You’ve got to find Jack and Zoe. You’ve got to figure out how to get them involved." So since then, they've been fans and have been encouraging of us and our project.
They asked us if we could be a part of their yearly Short North Stage series. [We] said yes. And that was really like, "Okay, we have a show. What's it going to be?" I really love this idea of getting the fullest, getting the most of a program that we can. To have a program that was a little bit more music centric, we're just sort of playing the music, doing a little bit of talking. That doesn't always allow us to spread our wings the way that we want to.
Sam Johnson: We were talking about, what does Chamber Brews do? And as someone who's is not a founding member of Chamber Brews, I got to witness what Chamber Brews does for a while before becoming a part of it. For the musicians, we are pulling out the story of what the music is telling, what is the music doing, and then trying to bring that to the audience verbally and by demonstration, by demonstrating excerpts and saying, "Listen for this thing. This idea represents something."
That's part of the research. The mining that we do from the score itself is like, what is this music for me, crafting a sort of story or narrative, and then sharing that with the audience. Long before I was ever a part of it, that has always been inspiring to me about what Devin does.
So, this Short North Stage green room show will be a little bit different from what we typically do, because there will be less storytelling along with the music. And that's part of the Johnstone series aesthetic, which is really fun: to be able to experience us, experience what Chamber Brews becomes when it's not exactly the type of program that we usually do.
RS: That's interesting. And in addition to being part of that series aesthetic, is that also informed by the fact that it's more of a clack box theater, we're all in theater seats watching it instead of being in a bar area or somewhere else?
DC: I think spaces that we enter have sets of expectations, especially if they've been informed by experience. And a performance series is that. It's an experience that's been had that wasn't built by us, that we then get to participate in. We want to pay homage to that and discover who we are in the context of their performance and figure out how else to reach different audiences, different members of our audience.
RS: I also think I saw you both playing at Seventh Son in the morning, on someone’s Instagram.
SJ: Yeah. We went to Seventh Son, Devin and I, to play excerpts for staff and bartenders at Seventh Son toward the inspiration of cocktail pairings with the four pieces on our program.
RS: Oh, that's interesting. It's almost like a tasting menu.
SJ: Exactly. Chamber Brews has always done this work of translation. Not that music is never fully sufficient on its own, but there is a way of connecting with and supporting a listenership or an audience. Through guiding the listening somehow by translating or creating metaphor like this music sounds happy, this music sounds like grief, this music sounds like joy. Another way of translating that then can become this music tastes like - fill the blank. We will have four different pieces and four different signature cocktails made by designed by baristas or bartenders at Seventh Son.
RS: Very cool. Do you think there are different audiences that want more of a bespoke experience versus people who are showing up to the Johnstone series who are there for the music specifically? Is there a difference there, or do you think it all kind of intertwines?
DC: I think that you could come to each show and as a set, if I were to come to each show, I would get a separate and distinct experience of each con of the program -
SJ: That feels so true. Not only for what we plan to do, but also from the many Chamber Brew shows that I had been to before being a part of it is just great diversity of experience. Even if the [music on the] program is the same.
DC: But I would also say that bespoke experience, that bespoke concert, I think there's a huge audience for that. I don't necessarily know about curating the most popular aesthetic. But I do know how it feels to be cared for. And I do know how it feels to speak to people like they're powerful.
SJ: Exactly, I think that is one of the most magical things about what Chamber Brews does is centering care for audience members and care for the music itself. If we can care deeply for presenting the music in a way that is true, authentic, and allows it to be well received, then that is also a way of caring for audience members rather than just playing the music on its own.
And I think there is a time and a place for that. It’s like this first program that we're doing, we're really leaning into the trust that the music is sufficient on its own, that we don't necessarily need to speak for it.
DC: It gets to be, and it gets to live and breathe and be its own. Yeah. And, and I think one of the other concepts that I ruminate with, and we talk about all the time is this spirit of like deep collaboration. For me that means listening to our collaborators: [whether it] is a venue, or it's a group of bartenders at Seventh Son, or it's the families that we're going to be performing for at the Bexley Library.
[Treat them] like they're our collaborators, and how do I create and present our material in a way that is like honoring the presence in our, in this space. I just love that work. I love it. When we go to perform at the Johnstone series, that to me is a deep collaboration with the Johnstones. who are like incredible stalwart voices for new music in still a classical community that is deeply rooted in romanticism.
I believe that there's space for it all. And I think what I really want to do, I want to be a part of a music scene that has institutional art, that has bespoke experiences, that has the new music, a new music hub in the Midwest, and everything in between. And I think that's what makes us all more powerful.
I think I'm so excited about this concert series, because it really does feel like three branches of our creation. We're having a deeply music centered program. We have a family movement, singing, and activities concert. And then we get to have this like, really special collaboration with these other artists that work with flavor. It's wild. It's so cool to me. I mostly selfishly feel like we design programs that I just want to go to.
SJ: Yes.
DC: And then we make them happen.
RS: That's key, right? How do you feel like you fit into the scene?
SJ: Well, I think that such an important part of the Columbus music scene for decades has been like DIY garage music. Grunge sounds, a very punk aesthetic, and we have no choice but to respond to that atmosphere of music creation. So, Chamber Brews does feel DIY. It is us doing what we want in the way we want to outside of a university or institution. We both have degrees, but neither of us is directly involved with a university.
And both Devin and I play in bands that are directly related to the DIY music scene of Columbus.
We want to continue to create grassroots [situations], make life livable for musicians who want to do it the way they want to do it in Columbus.
DC: Right. Creating that space. You know, I never want to be responsible for someone's else's career being here and creating opportunities so that people can be here, but I love being a part of what makes it exciting to live here. And if we can be in a language of possibility about that, if we can be a part of the generative space of like, oh no, no, that is not only is that possible, but like, I really want to come to that, but can you please make that so that I can go. That I think is really powerful. And I don't think it would be the same way if we both didn't have experiences of building audiences or writing music in non-classical spaces either.
I think our affiliation, our connection, our community build the building: being a part of a community, attending other musicians’ shows, writing for them, recording for them. That is this part of this creative collaborative space that I've always wanted for classical music. I've wanted that for our art so badly, and now it feels like that is what is happening, which is really exciting.
And I can say I was lucky enough to be in an ensemble when I was in high school where I got to see Eighth Blackbird perform. And I was like, what is happening in this space? And I will never forget that performance, but that was the first time where I came in contact with a part of my language, my lineage, my experience on my instrument that then brought my passion through. And I couldn't say, like I saw Eighth Blackbird and then 10 years later, I decided to form... No, it wasn't linear like that, but there's like an excitement, a rhythm and energy that is absolutely a part of [that experience].
The Johnstones are a huge part of that. And all the other scenes also do too. And I feel like for us, we get to just share our experience with whoever will listen and play like stunning music along the way. It's like, it's a dream.
RS: That's fantastic. Talk a little bit about the third venue. How did you hook up with the Bexley library?
DC: [I'm friends] with a bunch of librarians. Jeff Laser was a percussionist [who is] now at the Cuyahoga County system in Cleveland and his and my very good friend, Josh Bryant, who's the bassist in my band. Small Songs is a program coordinator at Bexley library.
When we were booking the show, when we came up with this idea for the program sparked by Johnstone Fund [and] we were like, okay, there's more here to discover. I went to that space where I was like, oh. We can be moving around here. We can share things here. We can dance and we can sing.
And this music in so many spaces is rigid. And it's inflexible and it is given to you. And that's not how I listen. It's one way that I sure, but it's not [the only way.] I listen to music laying on my floor. I listen to music while I'm doing, while I'm stretching my body while I'm like crying. When I listen to new music, it's like emotional for me.
Why not share that? And why not share that with children and families and people that would normally say that is not for me, but I have no connection point to that. I'm trying to go to Disney on Ice and where's Elsa? I think for both of us. as teachers, to be able to develop a program that is built on still our core tenants of creativity and sharing and contextualizing ...
SJ: Collaboration.
DC: Collaboration but in a space that is open for movement. We really, really purposefully set up those spaces so that when people enter, they are not bombarded with tradition in how you must be and have to be in a concert setting. And it's actually the main reason why we typically avoid concert halls and theaters.
It leaves a lot to work through logistically in sound and in space. But when you say at the beginning of the show, "Hey, if you would like to move, you can -”
SJ: Yeah, you can take pictures. You can record this. You can share this. You can whoop, you can holler. I want to hear your reaction to this. I want to know what that was like."
DC: That was what was so cool about playing for the bartenders on Thursday. They were like, "That was wild!". And I was like, "Yeah, I feel that way too". And when we're locked into how things must be and rigidity, we actually lose that reaction. And I think it's a shame. So, this space of being mobile and valuable is one of the things that I love the most about what we do, because I think people need the opportunity to be people and feel safe and comfortable. And I love that we can provide that.
RS: That’s fantastic. Could you speak a little about the program?
SJ: Wee are playing the first movement of the Duo by Zoltan Kodaly; all four movements of the Duo by Erwin Schulhoff. Adolphus Hailstork's “Evensong,” four movements from that suite of nocturnes. And then Sharon Udoh. We were able to get the Johnstone to assist us in
The title of our program is Heirloom. And it feels like Heirloom is wrapped up in collaborating. We're playing music together [but] it's so much more than that. Our idea is that Heirloom is anything, an object, a way of being in the world, an idea that is given to us in the present from some past ancestor, but then Heirloom can also be anything that we pass on to future ancestors. So, ancestors are not limited to just the past, but it's like they live in nonlinear time. And then Heirloom is also like those things, those ways of being in the world that make our lives possible.
And this is some of the story that it feels like we're picking up on from these four pieces. I was especially inspired from reading quotes of Kodaly, talking about basically all of the music that he wrote in his life, which was drawn from his travels around Central and Eastern Europe, collecting tunes, recording, and writing them down that had never been recorded before. So arguably Kodaly is the first ever ethnomusicologist.
He talks about his compositions and that he's not making any change to any of these tunes, but he's constructing an architecture and organic architecture reform in which the tunes can fit these. He talks about these tunes of the Hungarian people as these are our heirlooms. These are what the ancestors are passing on to us. And one way of him passing them onto the future is by notating them down in these gorgeous organic forms for string duo that now we play a hundred years later.
DC: Yeah. I think when I sit with Heirloom, when I sit with the idea of what this process is like for me, what occurs to me is that this music as performers becomes deeply literally embodied as it's played. I read, I listen, I play it. And I learn how it sits in my body. And as I go to play it, it's through digestion, it's through like emotional processing. What does it take for me as a person, as a performer, to take in these heirlooms, these things that have been written and then process them and then pass them, what is that process? How am I sharing my process along the way? I don't want to make decisions for people. I don't want to tell people what this heirloom is, but I think quite like you might observe an object that's sacred of your family.
You know, we only have these stories or these ideas of what occurred around them. We create meaning as a society, we create agreed upon meaning of this thing. But what is that meaning to you? And how are you then going to pass along the story of the meaning of that item to the people in your life and then to legacies to come? And when I think about pieces that were written in the 1920s versus pieces, like the Hailstork, which was written in 2011 and the Udoh, which was written this year, I cannot shake the idea that the exact worth is the same. Our processing of these world events is the same, the way that we interact with hardship, the way that we support each other in our lives, we're all just people and we have learned and shared experiences.
And so, I can't help feeling deeply connected to that music. In the same way that I feel connected to music that's written now, and that process is what I love to share. And I hope that through this processing, we get other people to interact with this music too, which is really at the end of the day, like what we're trying to have a conversation about: hey, this exists, this is something that occurs, has occurred to these artists, these creatives and you, and how are you digesting this?
SJ: You're preaching right now. There's something that's coming up for me though, around like this DIY scene. And maybe it's like the work that we do gives us access to like extremely distant time that might not be possible or isn't always possible in the work that I do in Sweet Teeth and writing band music.
When we play a piece by Erwin Schulhoff from 1920, we are able to do this enormous time travel of a hundred years and create a real relationship with this composer through our bodies. Like you were saying we're taking in this music and digesting it and moving our bodies to play the sound. And then what that does, that relationship is incredibly unique. I think part of why I play classical music is to be in community in real community with distant ancestors.
DC: Wow.
SJ: Is that something?
DC: I feel connected to that. I think as a studier, as a constant student, which I consider myself to be, I deeply enjoy learning about my instrument. It brings me great joy to process the history of it and to be what it feels like to me to be a part of a longer lasting legacy, just because I play.
And because we get to speak music into the world that did not exist before. And because we exist, music exists. [It’s] insane to me that the fact that we have continued to say yes to this project and yes to our experiences and yes to our opportunities, we're continuing to say yes to creating. And at any point we could say no, we could stop.
And that would be okay, but it feels powerful to be a part of. I don't concern myself with legacy. That feels like a conversation for not me, but I love being a member of a deep community. And that community looks like a lot of different things. It looks like studiers of the past. It looks like teachers, it looks like performers. It looks like researchers, it looks like new music. It looks like composing. It looks like recording. It looks like playing weddings. It looks like all these other things. And I deeply enjoy being a part of it.
SJ: Yeah, if legacy feels like too charged of a word for you, it's like you are, in the same way that's like Kodaly writing this piece makes our lives more possible today. Us being teachers is part of what makes other people's lives more possible in the future.
RS: Wow. If you could talk a little bit about the commissioning process for the Udoh piece? I know her vocal work, I know her Counterfeit Madison work. I know her in various bands. I don't know much about her instrumental [writing].
DC: Sharon has been a great friend to both of us for the last few years. And I suppose to talk about her instrumental writing, I’ll talk about what it's like to collaborate with her. She did not want to play with me when she first met me. I was playing at the time in a band and when she first heard me, she was like, "Yeah, I'm not into that high violin shit." And Sharon has sort of been a fixture in this scene for as long as I've been a part of it. So, you can't really know music in Columbus without knowing Sharon.
RS: Right.
DC: My husband is a saxophonist, his name is Alex Burgoyne. He had a similar thing where he was like, "Hey, Sharon, I'd love to play with you. I have some ideas for your band for Counterfeit Madison." She was like, "No, no." And he was like, "Yeah, but I really think I have some really great ideas. I'd love to share with you." And she was, she was like, "No." So, then he ended up recording himself over a track of hers and send it to her. And she was like, "Oh yeah." And then similarly, I was like, well, he’s playing with Sharon, and I want to play with Sharon.
And then I forget what the first show was that I played with her, but it was something where I got to [sight]read. She said something profane, and she was like, "What? That was awesome!" And then it was just me showing up for her - this very much feels like the scene to me - me showing up for her consistently, taking music that she had written and then preparing. I built trust with her because I took care of the music that she wrote. [Then] I started playing with her more consistently when she would write string parts to her live shows, like [her] Aretha Franklin show. I didn't play on her Nina Simone show, but my husband did.
And then she had sort of started writing for musical theater and she had been start starting to get commission more. Last year, Sam and I were thinking about a commission, and we were like, Sam was like, "We should really ask Sharon." And I was like, "Do you think she would?"
And then after [a] studio session [with Keith Hanlon at Secret Studio], We were like, "Hey Sharon, could you write a trio for us?" And she was like, "Yeah, give me three days." And I was [thinking], okay, usually composers are like, yeah, maybe in 2023. And she was like, give me a weekend. And we were like, yeah! And that, and that was dig. And that was a supremely powerful experience. I loved every second of like digging into that work.
SJ: Genius string writing. Immensely difficult and uniquely Sharon. And it sounds like her music, and it also sounds like gospel music, like Bach, like African dance. So, it's all over the place, and it's uniquely her, too. It's like, I think if you hear “Dig” and if you hear “Over,” without knowing it's Sharon, it's so identifiably Sharon.
RS: That's fascinating. And that feels to me as I hear you both talk about it feels like that ties into that same sense of care, that same dual sense of care for the audience and the music.
DC: It is. I do feel very lucky in that. I think we have figured out a way to bring our deepest thoughts and ruminations and mantras to many different aspects of our lives. And I think that I find [our] intersection of teaching and performing has been wonderful and it's been a development. I'm not the teacher now that I was 10 years ago. I'm not the teacher I was when I started, but it has also been me getting to know myself. And it's been me getting to know how I am with these people that are along with me for this ride and it's exactly the same as performing. It's like, you're here now and you're listening and what are we going to do about that? And your experience here matters. And it's not because you bought a ticket to our show.
It's because we understand that what's happening here is deeply in important and powerful work. And it's not because we're performing either. It's the whole thing. It's being in the presence of live music. It's seeing people prepare something at the highest level that they can, and then share it with you. There's a magic in hard work and in preparation and then sharing and then digesting and then community and then talking. And then, that whole thing is what I would do all day. I do that all day. And now these are our opportunities to curate an experience for people so that they can do that with us.