About Incessant Hum: Colorado Chamber Players

In 2020, the world has celebrated the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth. The Colorado Chamber Players pays tribute to the composer's legacy and his contribution to our world, with an original script by Jeff Neuman Incessant Hum.

Commissioned by the Colorado Chamber Players, the production is a new chamber music/theatre hybrid in honor of Beethoven. Neuman is himself profoundly hard of hearing.

Directed by Mare Trevathan, Incessant Hum explores the emotional world that Beethoven experienced, as he lost his hearing and his ability to perform as a pianist and conductor. With Chris Kendall as Beethoven and Chelsea Frye as the mysterious Elise, the Colorado Chamber Players perform excerpts from the op. 95 and 130 quartets; the Archduke Trio; Piano Sonata op. 32 and Moonlight Sonata; Violin and Piano Sonata op. 30 no. 3; and Ode To Joy from Symphony no. 9.

Join us for a re-broadcast of our performance at the Boulder Library in January 2020.

Colorado Chamber Players

Named one of the top five chamber groups in Colorado by the Denver Post, the Colorado Chamber Players celebrates its 27th Season in 2020-2021. The 27th Season will be presented in a virtual format.

The ensemble has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Chamber Music America Residency Awards (2000 and 2008). The CCP has received awards from the Argosy Foundation, Denver Mayor's Fund, Colorado Creative Industries, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, Energize Colorado, Xcel Energy Foundation, and the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD).

The CCP has a core of string quartet, double bass, piano, harp, clarinet and flute.  Favorite guest artists have included cellists Lynn Harrell and David Geber, clarinetist Derek Bermel, guitarist Sharon Isbin, violists Jesse Levine, Patricia McCarty and Roger Tapping, and pianist Jeffrey Kahane. 

Critic Marc Shulgold wrote of a performance with Lynn Harrell in 2018 (from thescen3.org):

"From the hushed opening chords, growing majestically out of silence, the ensemble played as if with a single voice, the two cellos and then two violins soaring exquisitely through the First Movement’s unforgettable theme. The gorgeous Adagio unfolded with a wisely chosen tempo – not too fast, but just slow enough to maintain momentum and keep our focus on the subtly emerging melody. The final two movements bubbled with confidence, each of the numerous transitions managed with solid control. No surprise that the audience, clearly engaged in Schubert’s heavenly music, barely made a peep during the performance."