Cal Poly Pomona's music department presents the first-ever Shpachenko & Friends Chamber Music Festival on Wednesday, Nov. 18, the start of a series of ongoing collaborations among music faculty and distinguished guest artists. Created by Music Professor Nadia Shpachenko, the festival will present quarterly chamber performances featuring Shpachenko and guest musicians.

"Chamber music is one of my greatest passions, and I am constantly looking for opportunities to collaborate with musicians and groups who share my vision and inspiration," Shpachenko says. "Last year's sold-out concert with the Biava Quartet from the Juilliard School of Music turned out to be a huge success, and it gave me the idea of starting a new chamber music festival at Cal Poly Pomona that will focus on exactly what I did last year: collaborating with distinguished artists and presenting interesting and unique chamber programs."

The Nov. 18 concert, which begins at 8 p.m. at the Music Recital Hall, will feature Shpachenko on piano, acclaimed Canadian clarinetist Jerome Summers and Grammy-nominated violist Karen Elaine. Highlights of the show are "Portraits of Pompeii," a new piece by Professor David Kopplin that was commissioned for the concert, and the premiere of Carol Worthey's "Lament" for viola and piano. The chamber group will also perform works by Mozart, Bruch and Hindemith.

Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students. They can be purchased online at https://csupomona.tix.com or at the Music Publicity Office, Building 24, room 142.

For more information about the performance, visit www.class.cpp.edu/mu/ or contact music publicist Teresa Kelly at (909) 869-3554 or tkelly@cpp.edu.