The Chamber Players of the Redwoods presents their final concert of the season on Sunday, May 17th at 4:00 p.m. at the beautiful Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka. As always, the mission of the Chamber Players is to present the "music of the masters," performed by a selection of talented North Coast musicians. This event promises to be a lively mixture of intimate musical performance and enthusiastic community collaboration. Concert admission is free for everyone, and donations are also gratefully accepted at the door before and after the concert.

Included on the May program is violinist Vanessa Kibbe, playing solo selections from "Partita No. 2 in D minor" by Johann Sebastian Bach; Trio Finito, performing "Piano Trio No. 21" by Joseph Haydn; North Coast Brass Ensemble playing a contemporary Isaac Smith arrangement of Robert Lowry's "How Can I Keep from Singing?" and "Three Criminal Investigations" by Zachary Smith; and Wind Energy, a wind quintet playing the three springtime movements of the "Zodiac Quintet" by celebrated local composer Michael Kibbe, as well as a "Fantasy On The Wizard of Oz," a Michael Kibbe arrangement of the original film score and songs by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg.

Vanessa Kibbe was born and raised in east San Diego County, where she started violin lessons in 4th grade. A winding path of musical training ultimately led her to violin lessons at SDSU, playing in orchestras and string quartets in the various cities where she resided with husband Michael Kibbe, and finally settling for many years in the San Fernando Valley, where she worked as a freelance violinist as well as earning a general contractor's license. She and her husband eventually retired to Humboldt to be close to family and focus on full time music-making again. Bach's "Partita No. 2" for solo violin is perhaps the most famous of the six that he composed.

Trio Finito is a cheeky name for a piano trio including violinist Julie Fulkerson, cellist Elizabeth Morrison, and pianist Felicia Oldfather. Each of these musicians has played intimate gatherings and large-scale concerts in Humboldt County for a very long time, as well as being great supporters of music and the arts. Haydn's "Piano Trio No. 21" falls right in the middle of the composer's impressive output of more than forty piano trios in total. These works sparkle with charm and ingenuity, and "Trio No. 21" is no exception.

A total of nine local brass players makes up this iteration of North Coast Brass Ensemble, including Chris Cox, Tom Hyde, and Kelly Fabian on trumpet; Ronite Gluck and Michael Robertson on horn; Dan Aldag and Phil Sams on trombone; Kearney Vander Sal on bass trombone; and Fred Tempas on tuba. Robert Lowry was a nineteenth century American preacher and composer of gospel songs and hymns. His famous tune "How Can I Keep from Singing?" was arranged in 2020 for brass ensemble by American composer, tubist, trombonist, pianist, and conductor Isaac Smith. The three movements of contemporary American composer Zachary Smith's "Three Criminal Inventions" are titled "The Heist," The Spanish Prisoner," and "The Inside Job." These titles alone are enough to pique anyone's curiosity about the musical content.

Humboldt County's own Wind Energy has a rotating slate of performers depending upon the repertoire being played. This time the configuration calls for a wind quintet, including Jill Petricca on flute; Michael Kibbe on oboe; Natalie Cucina on clarinet; Anwyn Halliday on horn; and Aaron Lopez on bassoon. Both the "Zodiak Quintet" and "Fantasy On The Wizard of Oz" are composed and arranged, respectively, by local composer, and oboist, Michael Kibbe.

Michael Kibbe has composed over 300 concert works, including six string quartets, twenty-four wind quintets, a large variety of mixed
chamber music for winds, strings, brass, harp, keyboards and percussion. His compositions have been performed throughout the United States, Mexico, Europe, Israel, and China. In addition to earning a performing degree on oboe and bassoon, Kibbe plays most of the other standard woodwind instruments, and did performing and recording work for over 40 years in the Los Angeles area. He also performed at numerous celebrity events, including the weddings for Barbra Streisand, Charlie Sheen, and Brooke Shields.

A founding member of Wind Energy, Kibbe was previously oboist and arranger with the Los Angeles based North Wind Quintet for 17 years, participating in concert performances, radio broadcasts, and hundreds of school programs, while also touring Mexico three times. He currently resides in Humboldt County and plays oboe and English horn in the Eureka Symphony, where he is also the music librarian. He is married to Vanessa Kibbe, violinist and co-founder of TBAM music festival. Their son Peter is a professional cellist in the Baltimore area, and is the managing director of the National Cello Institute.

Most of the performers in this concert are a mix of current and former music teachers and music students from Cal Poly Humboldt, College of the Redwoods, and many local schools, as well as community members who love to play their instruments and to collaborate with other musicians. Many of these players were born and raised in Humboldt, while many others moved here for work or retired here after adventures and careers elsewhere.

Chamber Players of the Redwoods Spring Concert

Date: Sunday, May 17, 2026

Time: 4:00 p.m.

Location: Christ Episcopal Church, 625 15th Street, Eureka

Price: Free - Donations welcome!

Photo #1 - North Coast Brass Ensemble, L-R: Michael Robertson, horn; Ronite Gluck, horn; Phil Sams, trombone; Kearney Vander Sal, bass trombone; Dan Aldag, trombone; Fred Tempas, tuba; Chris Cox, trumpet; Kelly Fabian, trumpet; Tom Hyde, trumpet. Courtesy Chamber Players of the Redwoods