The first concert in Vashon Allied Arts’ new chamber music series is coming up this weekend, when renowned Island cellists Rowena Hammill and Doug Davis will be joined by Francoise Regnat, a pianist from Los Angeles.
The trio will play compositions by Friedrich August Kummer, Beethoven, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and Gian Carlo Menotti.
They will also premiere “Music for Two Cellos and Piano” by contemporary composer Frank Campo, who wrote the piece in 2008 specifically for Hammill, Davis and Regnat.
All of the musicians have an impressive array of professional credits and honors, including positions with leading symphonies and universities.
Hammill, originally from Sydney, Australia, came to the United States to study at Northern Illinois University. She taught at that university as well, and then moved to Los Angeles to teach at California State University Northridge.
She joined Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra as assistant principal and assumed the same job at Los Angeles Opera, a position she continues to hold.
She has performed in festivals including Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, the Bach Aria Festival and on hundreds of movie and television soundtracks.
Davis, who is married to Hammill, was a scholarship student of Gregor Piatigorsky and prize winner in the first International Tchaikovsky Competition.
He held principal positions with St. Louis Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Pasadena Symphony.
Davis also played principal cello for Oregon Bach Festival and at the Bach Academy in Stuttgart.
He has played first cello for many film scores, including “Jurassic Park” and “Apollo 13.”
He currently performs as guest principal cellist for Seattle Symphony Orchestra.
Regnat, a graduate of the Paris Conservatory with first prizes in both piano and chamber music, has won multiple awards, including the Grand Prix du Disque Franz Liszt in Budapest for her recording of Liszt’s complete works for piano and violin.
Regnat has performed with Los Angeles and Santa Barbara’s Chamber Orchestras and been a faculty member at California State University Northridge since 1972.
