The price of your ticket includes hors d’oeuvres and drinks from the open wine and beer bar at receptions before and after the concert and during intermission.
Arts Club of Washington
2017 I Street Northwest, Washington, DC, 20006
Thursday, May 7, 2026
First Reception begins at 6:30pm Concert begins at 7:15pm
EVENT DETAILS
Johannes Brahms is often pictured with his great white beard, weathered and wizened, a portrait of Father Time himself. In this concert we place a different emphasis, luxuriating in the joviality of Brahms, his brightness and joy, and the cheer and optimism that courageously carried him throughout his life.
Described as "carefully colored" and "sensitive" by The Washington Post, pianist Christopher Schmitt was also hailed as a “formidable talent” and “mature beyond his years” by The Santa Barbara News-Press, regarding his performance of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Having completed his doctorate at The Juilliard School in 2016, he has been sponsored for concerts by The Chopin Foundation of the United States, The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation, and The Embassy Series. He performs at the festival Málaga Clasica in Spain, as well as in July of 2016 in his own concert series in Barcelona, Classics in Catalan. A collaborator with cellist Kian Soltani on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts in March 2019. Dr. Schmitt currently resides in Washington DC, and as pianist of “The President's Own" US Marine Chamber Orchestra, performs regularly in the White House and in concert halls across the Washington DC metropolitan area, leading a multifaceted career as chamber musician, pedagogue, and soloist. In 2024, he founded the Classical Arts Society of Washington, where he hopes to share the Beauty of classical music with the world through engaging public concerts, educational outreach initiatives, and the cultivation of a core community of classical music lovers.
Violist Erika Gray has performed internationally in venues such as the Sydney Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, Moscow Conservatory, Wiener Konzerthaus, and the Helsinki Music Centre. and joined the National Symphony Orchestra in May 2019 for their performances of Liszt’s Dante Symphony and Rossini’s Stabat Mater in Carnegie Hall. She has appeared at the BBC Proms on the Royal Albert Hall stage with Maestro Valery Gergiev, and performed at the Pacific Music Festival in Japan and the New York String Orchestra Seminar in Carnegie Hall. She frequently substitutes with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra and the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, and traveled to Cambodia in December 2019 as a part of Midori’s International Community Engagement Program. Erika is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Roberto Díaz and Hsin-Yun Huang.
Ukranian-born American violinist Zino Bogachek has received broad critical acclaim for his technical facility and emotional expressiveness. Known for his uncompromising individuality and wide-ranging musical interests, he has performed extensively as a soloist, recitalist and chamber music collaborator throughout the former USSR, Poland, Austria, Mexico, Italy and the U.S. His appearances as soloist have included performances with the Lviv Philharmonic, Lviv Chamber Orchestra, Centennial Philharmonic, Cape Ann Symphony, Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony, and Summer Music from Greensboro Festival Orchestra among others. A graduate of the Lviv Conservatory, he continued his studies at the Vienna Academy of Music and Boston University. Mr. Bogachek was Principal Second Violin of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra before joining the the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra in 1999.
Cellist Joseph Gotoff is recognized as a thoughtful and passionate performer, scholar, and teacher. Dr. Gotoff works closely with a number of composers working today, with premiers including Lowell Liebermann’s Piano Trio (2013) and Binna Kim’s Shibboleth for solo cello (2016). Dr. Gotoff appears frequently as a soloist and chamber musician in concert across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Recent performance highlights include a 19-city concert tour of China with the award-winning Petrucci String Quartet, of which he is a founding member, and a performance of Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the Thames Valley Youth Orchestra. He gives frequent solo and chamber recitals throughout New England, and recent concerto appearances include performances of the Beethoven Triple Concerto and Monn Cello Concerto with the New England Conservatory Chamber Players, as well as Lalo’s Cello Concerto with the Williamsport Symphony. Dr. Gotoff serves on the faculty of the Levine School of Music and Towson University. He holds a Doctorate from New England Conservatory.
