Inon Barnatan-led chamber music celebration features Renée Fleming, Alisa Weilerstein and Anthony McGill
Grammy Award-winning composer, violinist and concert curator Jessie Montgomery will exercise all three of those musical muscles when she comes to La Jolla Music Society’s annual SummerFest.
“Getting to do all those things in one festival is really fulfilling,” said Montgomery, who is this year’s SummerFest composer-in-residence. She has earned much praise for her genre-blurring works, socially inspired themes and contributions to education.
The popular chamber-music festival, which begins Friday at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, will welcome Montgomery and 80 other artists over the next four weeks.
Formerly the Chicago Symphony’s composer-in-residence, Montgomery is making her SummerFest debut. So are such notable artists as opera superstar Renée Fleming, Berliner Philharmoniker concertmaster Noah Bendix-Balgley, Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang, German-French cellist Nicolas Altstaedt and New York composer/performers Matthew Aucoin and Timo Andres.
On Aug. 7, Montgomery will be the featured artist in SummerFest’s Takeover @ The Jai. The small, cabaret-like venue is across the courtyard from the center’s larger Baker-Baum Concert Hall.
“It has become one of my favorite things to have a composer-in-residence who’s also a performer,” SummerFest Music Director Inon Barnatan said, adding that this year’s edition will also present a New York Takeover @ The JAI. “Having Jessie here is a very nice way to continue that. She’s one of the most performed American composers these days. Her music is communicative, interesting and complex at the same time.”
Montgomery, who was named 2025’s Classical Woman of the Year by the national radio program Performance Today, is looking forward to her takeover.
“I like having an opportunity to express the various parts of my musicianship,” she said, speaking from her Chicago home. “My musical life is a combination of performing, collaboration and composing. I like placing works together on a program — curation is a fun, creative part of what I do as well.”
Barnatan, an acclaimed pianist, is also adept at curating. The theme of this year’s festival is “Milestones,” exploring the defining moments in the lives of composers. The concerts will celebrate a wide range of them — from Ravel, Mahler and Shostakovich to Philip Glass, Arvo Pärt and Montgomery herself.
As is characteristic of SummerFest, there will be some unexpected collaborations and surprises, including a dance-and-violin performance and a concert featuring an onstage chef.
The festival also offers an array of free events, including open rehearsals, conversations with artists, coaching workshops and musical prelude events.
Creating opportunities
A New York City native, Montgomery started violin lessons at the age of 4 and began composing at 11. Her father, Ed, is a White jazz musician and filmmaker, her mother, Robbie McCauley, is a Black actress and playwright.
“The unique situation of having artistic parents is that you are observing people living as artists,” Montgomery said. “That gave me a lot of freedom to explore as a young person.
“I worked really hard early in life to get to where I am now, where I can curate, perform and write. I’m able to create a balance. That was an advantage I had, as a kid, seeing my parents do that very thing.”
Montgomery also benefitted from many youth-oriented music programs, including summer camps and apprenticeships. As a teen, she joined the Sphinx Organization, which encourages diversity in classical music. Montgomery has been a student, teacher, performer and participant in the many Sphinx programs, and continues her involvement today.
“For me, Sphinx is community,” she said. “It’s meeting other musicians and arts administrators who are inspired by new directions in classical music and in performing arts in general. It’s where like-minded people can brainstorm about how we want to see ourselves making art in the future.”
During her three-year tenure as composer-in-residence at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, which concluded last year, Montgomery established the CSO Young Composer Initiative. The program provides mentorship, workshops, and a performance of the young composers’ works by the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
She continues to work with a handful of students each year. She spends about six months on one composition with each student, as they prepare for their performance.
“I remember how important it was for me to have one-on-one input as a young composer,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed being a guide and sounding board for students. Being a creative person is challenging in the environment we live in right now and with all the chaos that’s happening in the world.”
Montgomery is SummerFest’s first African American composer in residence. Like Carlos Simon, Billy Childs and several other accomplished Black composers, she saw a significant increase in commissions in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder in 2020. Awareness of racial injustice was heightened, but five years later, there has been a backlash.
“it’s always been my mission is to create opportunities for people like me,” Montgomery said. “Now, with the leverage I’ve gained over the past few years, I’m focusing on how to create more spaces for upcoming artists and for other collaborative work of my own.”
Collaboration is a vital part of Montgomery’s professional life. Chicago’s Third Coast Percussion commissioned the violinist to write a piece for them, her first for percussion. The group performed “Lady Justice, Black Justice, The Song” here at The Baker-Baum earlier this year.
“I don’t have percussion instruments at home. I rely on percussionists and going to their studios to tinker,” Montgomery said. “It’s nice being in Chicago and this close-knit community of musicians. We can create these ongoing collaborative relationships pretty easily.”
Montgomery will often make space in her pieces for a cadenza, where the soloist can improvise. Once common in the days of Bach and Beethoven, improvisation is rare in today’s classical music.
On Aug. 8, Summerfest will present Montgomery’s Concerto Grosso, featuring soloist Stefan Jackiw. The two violinists have known each other since they were kids at New York state’s Meadowmount School of Music.
“Stefan is a wonderful person to do the piece,” she said. “I’m interested to see how he might interpret the improvisational passages with his own inspiration from Bach concertos or any other Baroque concerto grosso form.”
The last time Montgomery performed in this area was in 2012, but she remembers San Diego fondly through visits here with her father’s relatives. So, if she has time during SummerFest, Montgomery hopes to go to their old haunt of Mission Beach.
Bringing the House Down
For six SummerFests, Barnatan and his husband, Jason Feldman, drove cross-country from New York with their whippet, Jasper. Sadly, Jasper passed away in June, so because of that — and Barnatan’s busy schedule — airplanes will be the mode of transportation this year.
The festival will launch Friday with “Great Expectations,” presenting early, significant works by Mozart, Ravel, Rachmaninoff and Eunescu.
On Saturday, a diverse group of 10 keyboardists — including Barnatan, Aucoin, Finland’s Juho Pohjonen and San Diego’s Melonie Grinnell — will perform renowned minimalist composer Philip Glass’ Complete Piano Etudes. This concert is a part of this year’s Synergy Series, co-produced by Barnatan and philanthropist Clara Wu Tsai. It showcases top creators to collaborate across multiple genres.
The other Synergy concerts will include superstar chef J. Kenji López-Alt cooking while SummerFest musicians play Dvořák’s piano quartet. Three-time Grammy Award-winning singer Cécile McLorin Salvant will connect the dots between baroque, folk music and jazz.
Caleb Teicher, who tapped his way into SummerFest’s heart last year, will perform with noted fellow dancer Nic Gareiss and versatile violinist Tessa Lark.
Synergy’s unusual artistic adventures may stand out, but don’t lose sight of SummerFest’s raison d’être.
“The meat of the festival is the music itself,” said Barnatan, SummerFest’s music director since 2019. “It’s so hard to pick highlights, because I’m super excited about each concert.”
On Friday, Aug. 1, the focus will be on music from Nordic countries, which isn’t performed here very often. One lesser-known gem is Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s string quartet. Many people know Sibelius, but this concert will feature his rarely heard String Quartet in D Minor.
“It’s a masterpiece!” Barnatan enthused. “And we have this phenomenal piece by Finland’s Olli Mustonen, who actually came to SummerFest before my time. That piece is so exciting and we have an amazing group playing it. It’s going to bring the house down.”
On Aug. 5, soprano Renée Fleming, who attracts huge audiences, will grace the 500-seat Baker-Baum to perform Strauss’ Last Four Songs.
“Alan Gilbert will conduct for Renée,” said Barnatan, who has performed across the globe with Fleming. “That will be a very special evening.”
Barnatan expects the festival’s three Midweek Masterworks concerts to also be special. They have no intermission, highlight at least one popular piece and there’s a complimentary glass of wine afterwards. Featured artists include pianist Pohjonen, cellist Alisa Weilerstein and clarinetist Anthony McGill.
For her Aug. 7 Takeover @ The JAI, Montgomery will feature Barnatan and violinist Bendix-Balgley playing her “Peace” and Debussy’s Beau Soir. Montgomery will partner with Bendix-Balgley on a violin duo medley of pieces by her and Bartok.
“Noah’s concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic, so that’s a little bit scary,” Montgomery said. “It’ll be my first time meeting him and playing with him. I’m excited about that.”
The Summerfest finale on Aug. 23 features works by Mendelssohn, Brahms and Montgomery.
“The finale alludes to different things in SummerFest,” Barnatan explained. “Jessie’s pieces are woven in the festival. Mendelssohn’s concerto is another example of a crazy prodigy — he was only 14 when he wrote it.
“The Brahms Serenade was a milestone for him, a way to write a symphony as a young man, without actually writing a symphony because Brahms was so intimidated by Beethoven.”
Montgomery is pleased that her “Starburst” also appears on that bill.
“I’m glad that it’s going to open the finale concert,” she said. “It’s a great opener. I think it sounds a little bit like the curtain is being opened for the show.”
Concert schedule
Unless otherwise indicated below, all concerts are at 7:30 p.m. Artists, concerts, dates, and venues are subject to change.
Friday, July 25: Opening Night: “Great Expectations:” Mozart’s Divertimento in D Major; Ravel’s Ma Mère l’oye for Piano Four-Hands; Rachmaninoff’s Valse and Romance for Piano Six-Hands; and Enescu’s String Octet in C Major, Opus 7, featuring Yulianna Avdeeva, Inon Barnatan, Jennifer Frautschi, Clive Greensmith, Njioma Chinyere Grievious, Jeremy Kurtz-Harris, Yura Lee, Matthew Lipman, Nathan Meltzer, Steven Osborne, Jonathan Swensen, Jonathan Vinocour and the SummerFest Chamber Orchestra. $93-$143
Saturday, July 26: “The Glass Menagerie:” Philip Glass’ Complete Piano Études featuring pianists Timo Andres, Matthew Aucoin, Yulianna Avdeeva, Inon Barnatan, David Kaplan, Melonie Grinnell, Conor Hanick, Ying Li, Steven Osborne, and Juho Pohjonen. $95-$145
Sunday, July 27 at 3 p.m.: “Emergence:” Mahler’s Piano Quartet in A Minor; Chopin’s Nocturne in E-Flat Major and Two Mazurkas from Opus 7; Clarke’s Viola Sonata; and Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in G Minor. $63-$95
Sunday, July 27 at 7 p.m.: “New York Takeover” @ The JAI, an exploration of works by three leading compositional voices: Timo Andres, Matthew Aucoin, and Patrick Castillo. The JAI. $53-$63
Wednesday, July 30 at 7 p.m.: Midweek Masterworks: “Youthful Passions:” Beethoven’s Piano Trio in C Minor; Jörg Widmann’s 180 Beats Per Minute; Mendelssohn’s String Octet in E-flat Major. $48-$83
Friday, Aug. 1: “Northern Lights:” Nielsen’s String Quintet, Olli Mustonen’s Nonet No. 2, and Sibelius’ String Quartet in D Minor, Opus 56 “Voces intimae.” $53-$83
Saturday, Aug. 2: “Prodigies:” Handel’s Trio Sonata for Oboe, Violin and Continuo in C Minor; Mozart’s Piano Quartet in G Minor; Korngold’s String Sextet in D Major. $65–$88
Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 7 p.m.: “For the End of Time:” Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du Temps and Strauss’ Four Last Songs, featuring conductor Alan Gilbert, soprano Renée Fleming, and pianist Inon Barnatan with the SummerFest Chamber Orchestra. Livestream @ The JAI also available. Sold out; livestream $25
Thursday, Aug. 7 at 7 p.m.: Takeover @ The JAI curated by Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery. The JAI. $53-$63
Friday, Aug. 8: “Strung Together:” Jessie Montgomery’s Concerto Grosso, Ysaÿe’s Sonata for Two Violins, and Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A Major. $60-$90
Sunday, Aug. 10 at 3 p.m.: “Homage:” Purcell’s Chacony in G Minor (arr. Britten), Britten’s String Quartet No. 2 in C Major, Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir d’un Lieu Cher, and Arensky’s String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor. $60–$95
Wednesday, Aug. 13 at 7 p.m.: Midweek Masterworks: “Looking Back, Looking Forward:” Brahms’ Cello Sonata No.1 in E Minor, Koechlin’s Quatre Petites Pièces, and Glazunov’s String Quintet in A Major. $48-$83
Thursday, Aug. 14 at 7 p.m.: Synergy: “Tasting Notes:” Dvořák’s Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, featuring chefs J. Kenji López-Alt, Claudette Zepeda, Sean Sherman, and Kelly Van Arsdale; violinist Tessa Lark, violist Masumi Rostad, cellist Sterling Elliott, and pianist Inon Barnatan. $73-$118
Friday, Aug. 15: “Love Songs:” Schubert’s Auf Der Strom for Tenor, Horn and Piano, Schumann’s Piano Trio No. 3 in G Minor, Arvo Pärt’s Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten, and Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. $70-$100
Saturday, Aug. 16: Synergy: “Book of Ayres:” featuring vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, pianist Sullivan Fortner, flutist Emi Ferguson, theorbo and lute player Dušan Balarin, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and percussionist Keita Ogawa. $75-$105
Sunday, Aug. 17 at 3 and 6 p.m.: Synergy: Dance @ The JAI, featuring Caleb Teicher and Nic Gareiss. $95
Wednesday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m.: Midweek Masterworks: “Transcendence:” Penderecki’s Clarinet Quartet and Schubert’s String Quintet in C Major. $48-$83
Friday, Aug. 22: “Profound Reflections:” Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro, Shostakovich’s Viola Sonata, and Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 12. $53-$80
Saturday, Aug. 23: SummerFest Finale, “Starburst:” Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst for String Orchestra, Mendelssohn’s Concerto for Violin, Piano and Strings, and Brahms’ Serenade in D Major (Reconstructed for Nonet, 1858). $93-$143
La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest 2025
When: July 25-Aug. 23
Where: The Baker-Baum Concert Hall and The JAI at Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla
Tickets: $25 to $200 for individual tickets; six-concert flex ticket packages are available
Phone: 858-459-3728
Online: theconrad.org