The Crystal Chamber Soloists performed throughout the Western States during the group’s active touring period which began over 30 years ago. The group, in various forms, has been featured on several recordings, and has been widely acclaimed. Leading soloists and chamber music players from around the country, who now live in the Portland area, comprise the group. Music to be heard in the October 20 concert at the 2007 Water Music Festival includes the charming Suite for oboe, clarinet, and viola by Randall Thompson (which has been recorded by the Crystal Chamber Soloists); the beautiful and substantial Kegelstadt Trio for clarinet, viola, and piano by Mozart; plus a few surprises.

Peter Christ, oboe, has been principal oboist with the San Diego Symphony, the Los Angeles Master Chorale Orchestra, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, and most of the major motion picture studios. He has also been a regular performer with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and a soloist at the Marlboro, Aspen, Alaska, and Britt Music Festivals. He has performed over 2000 concerts with the Westwood Wind Quintet, which he founded in 1959. The Quintet has more than 15 albums on Columbia and Crystal Records, and is presently working on recording the complete 24 quintets by Anton Reicha, having finished recording 16 of them. When completed it will be in 12 volumes. Three of these volumes – containing six quintets – are now released. Others are in production. Christ is also the founder and leader of the Crystal Chamber soloists.

Richard Gellman, clarinet, performs regularly with the Oregon Symphony, Oregon Ballet Theatre Orchestra, and Portland Opera Company. During summers he performs with the Oregon Coast Music Festival. He is a music educator in the Vancouver School District and is well known as an adjudicator at solo and ensemble festivals.

Abigail Stoughton, viola, is former principal violist with the Eugene Symphony and is currently principal with the Oregon Mozart Players. She performs with the Eugene Ballet and the Amici Corvallis String Quartet.

Tessa Brinckman, flutist from New Zealand, has worked in many classical music ensembles and concert series throughout the United States, South Africa, and New Zealand.  In Oregon she has performed with the Oregon Symphony, Oregon Bach, Ernest Bloch, and Astoria Music Festivals as an orchestral player, chamber musician and soloist. She has received grants to present particularly innovative historic and contemporary chamber music programs, and performs on both modern and baroque flutes. An Oregon resident, she is Artistic Director and founder of Ensemble East West (formerly East West Continuo).  This flexible ensemble of flute, strings, harp, and koto commissions and explores traditional, new and hybrid material.   It often incorporates other artistic media from Western to non-Western classical traditions.  The ensemble made its first critically acclaimed CD in 2005, Glass Sky - Chamber Music for Flute & Stringed Instruments (North Pacific Music LD021). Brinckman’s composition for flute and string trio, “Glass Sky” (BMI), is featured in a South African documentary about Outsider artist Helen Martins, and her Owl House creation (Climax Films). 

Cary Lewis, piano, is a member of the Lanier Trio (violin, cello, piano) which tours nationally and was recently featured on NPR’s Saint Paul Sunday broadcast. The group’s recording of the complete Dvorak Trios was honored by TIME magazine as one of the ten best music recordings of any kind in 1993. With degrees from the University of North Texas as well as a doctorate and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, Lewis was a Fulbright scholar for two years in Vienna.  He recently retired from the faculty of Georgia State University in Atlanta and is now based in Portland, Oregon. In recent years he has participated in festivals in Montana, Colorado, Michigan, Hawaii, and Turkey, with additional concerts in Australia, Southeast Asia, and South America.  He is in constant demand as a collaborative pianist for soloists and chamber music, and now performs frequently for chamber music groups in the Portland area.