For classical musicians, there’s a middle ground between performing in an orchestra and playing solo. Chamber music – at its root an intimate musical experience in a small space – has no conductor making all the decisions, but does include fellow musicians.”It’s a team effort to come up with the final product,” violinist Jennifer Frautschi said. Frautschi and her new husband, horn player Eric Ruske, are part of the seven musicians to make up this year’s Alpenglow Chamber Music Festival lineup.The two met through various chamber festivals throughout the years and were just married in June. Frautschi said they don’t get to play together too often, but have a month of upcoming festivals together. Frautschi and Ruske are the only two musicians this year new to the Alpenglow festival.They are joined by veterans to the event, artistic director and cellist Edward Arron, pianist Rieko Aizawa, violinist Yehonatan Berick, Jesse Mills on violin and violist, Max Mandel.Each year the festival includes several public and private concerts.

The two soirée concerts, performed in private homes in the area, have been sold out since the beginning of August. They are the closest to the traditional chamber music experience and allow the musicians to be a little less formal with the audience, according to Arron.”We can feel their reaction because we sit so close,” he said.The concerts begin on Tuesday with a free performance at the Silverthorne Pavilion – the festival’s base. Two more public concerts for $15 are offered Friday and Monday of next week.”The free concert is something we like to do every year so we can make the music as accessible to the community as possible,” director Arron said.The program for Tuesday’s hour-long show includes many portions of pieces. Arron said this allows the musicians to offer more variety and let people hear samples of work they could hear in full at the other concerts. He described it as an exciting evening that shows the versatility of the group of musicians.

Along with the free concert, a new educational element has been added to the festival in an effort to reach out to the community, according to chairperson of the Alpenglow board Jane Mudd. Three separate musicians were brought in to conduct a workshop for music students selected by the Summit County Music Teachers League. “We want to support up and coming musicians,” Arron explained. “We want to be part of the community out here. That’s why we’re playing the free concert – everyone has the ability to come.”Leslie Brefeld can be reached at (970) 668-4626 or lbrefeld@summitdaily.com.

Tuesday, Aug. 22 – Free Alpenglow Chamber Concert at 7:30 p.m. at the Silverthorne Pavilion Friday, Aug. 25 – Alpenglow Chamber Concert at 7:30 p.m. at the Silverthorne Pavilion. Tickets available at the door for $15 general admission or $25 reserved. Monday, Aug. 28 – Alpenglow Chamber Concert at 7:30 p.m. at the Lord of the Mountains Church in Dillon. Tickets available at the door for $15 general admission or $25 reserved. Contact http://www.alpenglowmusic.org or (970) 468-4774 for tickets.