The Sheffield Chamber Players include (from left) violist Alexander Vavilov, violinist Sasha Callahan, cellists Leo Eguchi and Ying-Jun Wei and violinist Megumi Stohs Lewis. Tatiana Daubek photography
Chamber music encompasses vast possibilities—solo works, sonatas, trios, quartets and many other configurations. The repertory can range from Bach cello suites to “Pierrot Lunaire” or “Metamorphosen.”
But the original intent persists. Music to play in rooms.
Your rooms, or your neighbor’s rooms. Intimate spaces, for music lovers and their friends. And until the pandemic struck, those were the only places to hear the Sheffield Chamber Players.
The Sheffield Chamber Players got formed seven years ago on the house concert model. Including cellist Leo Eguchi, violinists Sasha Callahan and Megumi Stohs Lewis, violist Alexander Vavilov and various guests, the group has performed for small audiences in homes across greater Boston. Unless you are one of the group’s many hosts, or friends of those hosts, you likely haven’t heard of them.
“We didn’t set out to create a new model,” Eguchi says. “It started as, ‘Let’s get together and play music in this beautiful house.’
“It quickly became obvious that it was a direct way to bring music to people,” he says. “The gathering is the key component.”
They’ve done concerts from the North Shore to MetroWest to the South Coast. This is no wedding band looking for extra gigs: all the musicians are well-known regulars in ballet and opera pits, regional orchestras and top-flight ensembles throughout the area. A Far Cry. New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. Boston Ballet. Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra. Boston Lyric Opera. You know these players.
The repertory ranges. “We’ve got four artistic directors,” Eguchi says. “We’re eclectic. We program a lot of women, a lot of people of color, a lot of the standard rep.
“We want this not to have barriers,” he says. “Every group does house concerts, but it’s always to get something. We went on a pay-what-you-can model. Pay nothing if that’s appropriate.
“But we didn’t realize the effect, without financial obstacles. It started to take off. So making that central to the mission was kind of a surprise joy.”
The size of the network surprises as well. “We have a roster of 100 hosts,” he says. “Usually the hosts find us. Somebody comes to a concert and then imagines it happening in their own space. We work with them, prepare invites. We get 20 to 50 in the audience.
“You can fit more people in your space than you think. People invite just their own friends, or others if they’d like new friends. If someone is enthusiastic and the house can only fit 11 people, that’s fine. We’re always having those conversations.”
Of course, that was the before-days. Sheffield resorted to performing outdoors on Eguchi’s Jamaica Plain porch last summer. A online season was created for the fall, and continues this month with music by Paul Wiancko and Mozart. “While it’s better in person, we invested in some gear and moved our model online,” Eguchi says. “It’s still a host who invites all their friends, and we stream our concert.”
While the group’s overall network has grown during the pandemic, a return to in-person performances will be a return to Sheffield’s mission.
“The main focus is connecting people through music,” he says. “The community building thing is important. We are all looking forward to being in-person—it’s more effective. Where it goes will be interesting.
“Online, it went in a different direction,” he says. “Hosts were hosting all over the world. We do intend on maintaining some component of that, to stay in touch with new friends.”
The limits of the business model are still being explored. The Boston area certainly is full of starved music lovers; touring might also be part of the equation.
“We are discovering as it goes,” Eguchi says. “This is so much based on people.
“If there is a network in Chicago or someplace, we would consider going there. There’s a lot of ways that growth could happen. We’re trying to keep music alive and breathing for people.”
The Sheffield Chamber Players 2020–21 online season continues this month with a program including Paul Wiancko’s “American Haiku” and Mozart’s E-flat major divertimento for string trio. The program is available for hosting at sheffieldchamberplayers.org.
Keith Powers covers music and the arts for Gannett New England, Leonore Overture and Opera News. Artists Alone is a series about musicians and the impact of the pandemic. Follow @PowersKeith; email to keithmichaelpowers@gmail.com.