Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival Founder Aloysia Friedmann to Step Down Following 30th Anniversary Season

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Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival Announces
Founder and Artistic Director Aloysia Friedmann to Step Down
Following 30th Anniversary Season in Summer 2027 

Joshua Gindele, Founding Cellist of the Miró Quartet, 
to Serve as Artistic Director Designate in the Summer 2027 Season 
before Assuming the Role of Artistic Director in Summer 2028

 “the Northwest’s most creative chamber festival” – The Seattle Times 

www.oicmf.org

 

Orcas Island, WA (August 5, 2026) – Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival (OICMF) today announces that violinist and violist Aloysia Friedmann, who founded the Festival in 1998 and has led it as Artistic Director for nearly three decades, has decided to conclude her tenure as Artistic Director following the Festival’s 30th anniversary season in 2027.  

The OICMF Board has appointed cellist Joshua Gindele, a founding member of the Miró Quartet and part of the OICMF community since 2008, who joins the Festival’s leadership as Associate Artistic Director in the 2026 season, will serve as Artistic Director Designate in the 30th anniversary season in 2027, and assumes the role of Artistic Director in the 2028 season.  

“Founding this Festival in 1998 allowed me to build on the musical legacy of my parents while creating something uniquely my own, and guiding it for nearly three decades has been one of the great joys of my life,” said Friedmann. “In music, a transition is the passage that links two sections of a work, a musical bridge, and that is how I think of this moment. I am not stepping away from Orcas Island or from the stage; I am entrusting the artistic vision of the Festival to Joshua Gindele, whom our audiences have known and loved since the Miró Quartet first appeared here in 2008. I look forward to celebrating our 30th anniversary in 2027 and to remaining part of this community for many years to come.”

Friedmann grew up largely in Seattle and spent summers and holidays on Orcas, in Washington State's San Juan Islands, with her parents, violinist Martin Friedmann and oboist Laila Storch. Informal concerts with family and friends, among them pianist Jon Kimura Parker and cellist Desmond Hoebig, grew into a tradition, and the idea of a festival took root after her parents bought a cabin on the island in the early 1990s. In 1997, she proposed a two-day event at the 213-seat Orcas Center, offering to singlehandedly manage every detail, including fundraising, and built the fledgling festival while continuing to perform as a freelance violinist in New York, tending to donor correspondence between performances. The inaugural 1998 season sold out so quickly that a third concert was added to meet demand. Friedmann aimed to bring world-class musicians to an intimate island setting where deep friendships and meaningful artistic collaboration could flourish, a place where stunning natural beauty and a close-knit community come together to celebrate great music.

L-R: Jon Kimura Parker (husband), Aloysia Friedmann, Sophie Parker (daughter), Martin Friedmann (father), Laila Storch (mother) 

Friedmann will remain connected to the Festival as an ambassador and will continue to pursue an active performing, chamber music, and recording career. She serves as Associate Concertmaster of Houston’s ROCO, is a founding member of San Diego’s Mainly Mozart Festival, and performs frequently with the Houston and San Diego symphonies. She will also continue to perform with her husband, pianist Jon Kimura Parker, and will return to album production, revisiting the many recordings she has captured but not yet released.

Beyond the Festival, Friedmann has built a wide-ranging career as a violinist and violist. She made her recital debut at Carnegie Hall and recorded with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s alongside composer Astor Piazzolla and soprano Renée Fleming, performing under conductors including John Adams, Roger Norrington, André Previn, and Robert Shaw. She gave the world premiere of GRAMMY® Award-winning composer Jake Heggie’s Meditation with mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, and performed Morton Feldman’s Rothko Chapel on solo viola in the chapel itself. Her work ranges from baroque to Broadway, including an onstage role opposite Dustin Hoffman in The Merchant of Venice, as well as appearances with Metallica, The Who, and The Eagles, and television broadcasts on Live from Lincoln Center and Saturday Night Live. 

Since its founding, OICMF has grown from its three-day inaugural season into a two-and-a-half-week summer festival of ten mainstage concerts, complemented by masterclasses, lectures, pre-concert talks, a free Children’s Concert, a free outdoor concert on the Village Green, free Hamlet Concerts across Orcas Island, and performances on neighboring Lopez Island. More than 200 renowned musicians have performed at the Festival, and OICMF has commissioned new works from composers-in-residence including Jake Heggie, Peter Schickele (PDQ Bach), John Wineglass, and Kevin Puts. The Festival received the ASCAP/Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming in 2003, and Chamber Music America’s CMAcclaim Award in 2008. Friedmann was named a Musical America Top 30 Professional of the Year in 2018.

Joshua Gindele has performed at OICMF since the Miró Quartet’s Festival debut in 2008, and the quartet has been a fixture of the Festival ever since, with highlights including a complete cycle of the Beethoven String Quartets. He was named the Festival’s Associate Artistic Director in 2026.

“To have spent so many years on the Festival stage, surrounded by the warmth of this island community and the colleagues who have become lifelong friends, makes this moment feel less like a transition and more like a deepening,” said Gindele. “Aloysia has shaped this festival with thirty years of vision, generosity, and artistry, and I am honored beyond words to be her steward. I can think of no greater privilege than growing old in the service of this place and the people who love it, and I step into this role of Artistic Director not as someone arriving, but as someone who already feels entirely at home.”

The announcement comes as OICMF opens its 29th summer season, running August 7 to 22, 2026, on Orcas Island. The season presents five mainstage programs, each performed twice: Dueling Strings, Embraced by Schubert, Orcas~trations: Four Piano Spectacular, Intonations, and Love Triangle. Repertoire includes Jake Heggie’s Intonations: Songs from the Violins of Hope, for mezzo-soprano, violin, youth violin, and string quartet, with mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke; Schubert’s Trout Quintet; Dvorák’s American Quartet; and Brahms’s Viola Quintet No. 2. Performing artists include the Miró Quartet, violist Antoine Tamestit, and pianist Jon Kimura Parker. Free community events – Hamlet Concerts across Orcas Island, Children’s Concerts on Orcas and Lopez, and an Open Rehearsal for Seniors – round out the season. Complete programming can be found at www.oicmf.org.

About Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival
Founded in 1998, the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival (OICMF) has become one of the Pacific Northwest's premier summer music festivals, drawing audiences each August to the spectacular setting of Orcas Island in Washington's San Juan Islands. Under the artistic leadership of founder Aloysia Friedmann, the Festival presents internationally acclaimed musicians in an inspiring series of chamber music concerts that blend beloved masterworks with contemporary compositions and world premieres by award-winning composers.

Known for its exceptional artistry and adventurous programming, OICMF offers audiences an intimate concert experience where musical excellence meets innovation. Festival performances are complemented by engaging pre-concert talks featuring distinguished composers, conductors, music scholars, and nationally recognized radio personalities, providing audiences with deeper insight into the music and artists.

The Festival's commitment to community extends well beyond the concert hall through free Hamlet Concerts presented across Orcas Island, a free Children's Concert, and a free Open Rehearsal for Seniors, ensuring that music remains accessible to audiences of all ages. 

Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Salish Sea, the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival offers an unforgettable cultural experience where world-class music and extraordinary natural beauty come together – truly, Classical Music with a View. Learn more at www.oicmf.org. 

More About Aloysia Friedmann
Praised by The New York Times for her "fiery spirit," Aloysia Friedmann is a violinist and violist whose career spans the concert stage, the recording studio, and musical styles from baroque to Broadway, reinventing the role of the modern performer in the music world. She is Founder and Artistic Director of the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, Associate Concertmaster of Houston’s ROCO, founding member of San Diego’s Mainly Mozart Festival, and a frequent performer with the Houston and San Diego symphonies. 

Now in its 29th season since its founding by Friedmann in 1998, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival in Washington State has blossomed into a regional treasure, hosting the world’s top musicians and composers, presenting new works, and engaging with the entire community. The festival has received the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and a CMAcclaim Award. Following the close of the festival’s 30th anniversary summer season in 2027, Friedmann will conclude her tenure as Artistic Director. 

She serves on the board of the Houston Music Festival and is a former member of the Houston Grand Opera orchestra. A Houston performance highlight included a solo viola performance of Morton Feldman's Rothko Chapel in the chapel itself. Friedmann has taught as an Affiliate Artist of Viola and Violin at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, has coached at Rice University, and has performed with DACAMERA Houston. Friedmann was also a guest artist at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin, giving masterclasses, speaking, and performing with the Miró Quartet. 

Friedmann was the guest soloist in Seattle’s Benaroya Hall performance of the Handel-Casadesus Viola Concerto conducted by Adam Stern and appeared with Frederica von Stade in the 25th Anniversary Gala of the Noe Valley Chamber Music Series, giving the world première of Meditation by Jake Heggie. Friedmann has performed at the Seattle Chamber Music Society, the Cactus Pear Music Festival, and at festivals in Hong Kong, Ottawa, Portland, Napa Valley, Reno, Maui, San Antonio, Highlands-Cashiers, Sarasota, and Santa Fe. Her chamber music colleagues have included the Montrose Trio, the New Orford Quartet, Peter Schickele, Gary Hoffman, Jeffrey Kahane, the Miró Quartet, Cho-Liang Lin, Chee-Yun, Alisa Weilerstein, Gabriel Kahane, and Lynn Harrell. She has toured the Pacific Northwest, Vietnam, and France with her husband, pianist Jon Kimura Parker, and the two appeared on KING-FM Rhine and Danube River Cruises with Earthbound Expeditions. In December 2018, Friedmann was named a Musical America Top Professional of the Year, and she previously served as a board member of Chamber Music America.

While living in New York City, Friedmann made her Carnegie Hall recital debut and performed with many of the city's most prestigious ensembles, including the Orchestra of St. Luke's, with whom she recorded with composer Astor Piazzolla and soprano Renée Fleming; the American Symphony Orchestra; and with conductors including John Adams, Roger Norrington, André Previn, and Robert Shaw. She also served as concertmaster of The Fairfield Orchestra. 

Friedmann's crossover credits include performances with Metallica at Madison Square Garden, on "The Who Hits Back!" tour in Houston, and on The Eagles' "Hotel California" tour in San Diego. Her television appearances include several Live from Lincoln Center productions, notably one with Jessye Norman, and a Saturday Night Live episode with Luciano Pavarotti. Broadway credits include an onstage role alongside Dustin Hoffman in The Merchant of Venice, as well as hundreds of performances of Crazy for You, Candide, and A Christmas Carol.

Friedmann studied with Emanuel Zetlin at the University of Washington and with Margaret Pardee and Ivan Galamian at The Juilliard School. She plays on a Grancino violin and the ex-Rebecca Clarke Grancino viola, both made in Milan in the late 1600s. 

She is married to concert pianist Jon "Jackie" Kimura Parker, and their daughter, Sophie, is a visual artist and a graduate of Rice University. Friedmann enjoys eating great meals with her family – especially sushi – traveling, and walking their dog, Ricky. For additional information, please visit aloysiafriedmann.com. 

About Joshua Gindele
Joshua Gindele is a cellist and founding member of the two-time GRAMMY®-nominated Miró Quartet, widely recognized as one of the leading chamber ensembles of its generation. For more than three decades, he has helped define the quartet’s artistic voice while also providing sustained institutional leadership behind the scenes, guiding the ensemble through award-winning recordings, major commissioning initiatives, and long-term national and international visibility. In addition to his work as a performer, Gindele is recognized as a collaborative leader who connects artists, boards, donors, institutions, and audiences, delivering complex, mission-driven projects.

Gindele spearheaded the Quartet’s ongoing partnership with the record label PENTATONE and served as Executive Producer of the Quartet’s most recent critically acclaimed album, Hearth, as well as Producer on multiple recent releases, overseeing artistic vision, budgeting, contracting, and delivery. He conceived and led a large-scale commissioning initiative that raised $100,000 to commission 15 composers, managing all associated contracting and label coordination. He also played a key role in establishing a cross-organizational partnership with the choral ensemble Conspirare, which resulted in the GRAMMY-nominated album House of Belonging. His creative leadership extends beyond audio production: he originated, storyboarded, and produced the Miró Quartet’s Over the Rainbow video, shepherding the project from concept to publication.

Alongside his work with the Miró Quartet, Gindele maintains an active and wide-ranging performance life. He is a founding member of the Butler Trio and appears regularly as a concerto soloist with orchestras; most recently, he performed Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. His performance career also reflects a longstanding interest in collaboration across genres and artistic disciplines, including work with street dancer and choreographer Lil Buck. When based in New York City earlier in his career, Gindele was an in-demand freelance cellist, performing and recording with artists such as Sting, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, and others – experiences that continue to inform his flexible, audience-centered approach to music-making.

In parallel with his artistic work, Gindele is the founder and president of Summit Artistic Partners, through which he brings together professional performance, artistic direction, and long-term artistic vision. His work centers on creating meaningful performance experiences and collaborative programming that deepen the connection between artists, audiences, and the communities they serve. Gindele has established and maintained long-term industry partnerships that have increased arts organizations’ visibility and sustainability, including collaborations with the American Artist Project, Thomastik-Infeld, Kun Shoulder Rest, and GEWA. He also collaborates extensively with media and presenting partners, including planning album release events and developing ongoing promotional and content partnerships with Austin’s KMFA radio.

Gindele has extensive experience in nonprofit leadership and fundraising, with a longstanding commitment to donor stewardship and organizational sustainability. Together with his wife, Rebecca, he has mobilized significant funding for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and single-handedly raised $1.1 million to complete the $6 million capital campaign for the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians headquarters, where he has served for four years on the board and as Chair of Development. He has also worked closely with the Dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin on major fundraising initiatives benefiting both the university and community-based quartet programs, and maintains enduring relationships with supporters across the country who advance dozens of arts and nonprofit organizations, including the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, where the Miró Quartet serves as Quartet-in-Residence.

Frequently invited to serve as a juror, curator, and advisor for major competitions and festivals worldwide, including the Banff International String Quartet Competition and Michigan’s M-Prize, Gindele is deeply committed to mentorship and to supporting the next generation of classical musicians.

Photo Credit: Jon Kimura Parker 

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