Salon Concert featuring Robert Marcus Ensemble
The Robert Marcus Ensemble presents an evening of chamber music for woodwinds and piano at the Arts Club of Washington. The program spans works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Francis Poulenc, and the performance concludes with a reception where guests can meet the artists. The concert is part of the Arts Club’s Salon Concert Series, presented by its Classical Music Committee in an historic setting intended to evoke the eras in which the music was composed.
When: Friday, December 11, 2026
Schedule: Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The performance begins at 7:00 p.m., followed by a reception with the artists. The event is scheduled to conclude at 9:00 p.m.
Program: The Haydn selections include “Allegro con spirito,” “Chorale St. Antoni—Andante quasi Allegretto,” “Menuetto,” and “Rondo—Allegretto.” Beethoven’s Quintet for Woodwinds and Piano, Op. 16, includes “Grave—Allegro ma non troppo,” “Andante cantabile,” and “Rondo—Allegro ma non troppo.” The program closes with Poulenc’s Sextet for Woodwinds and Piano, featuring “Allegro vivace: Très vite et emporté,” “Divertissement: Andantino,” and “Finale: Prestissimo.”
Performers: The ensemble features clarinetist Robert Marcus, pianist Chengcheng Yao, French hornist Volker Treichel, flutist Eric Abalahin, bassoonist Aaron Harmon, and oboist Bryan Cook.
Robert Marcus: An Ingleside resident, Marcus has played clarinet for more than 75 years. He studied with Mitchell Lurie in Los Angeles and at the Music Academy of the West. His solo and chamber career has included appearances with the Nova Vista Symphony, Redwood Symphony, and Los Alamos Symphony, as well as performances of works by Mozart, del Aguila, John Adams, Debussy, and Luciano Berio. Over six decades, he has given frequent recitals and performed repertoire ranging from standard clarinet works to Stravinsky’s *L’Histoire du Soldat*, Milhaud’s *La Création du monde*, Schoenberg’s *Pierrot Lunaire*, and Golijov’s *Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind*.
Chengcheng Yao: Yao is a pianist whose performances include Bartók’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop and with the Chautauqua Music School Festival Orchestra under Timothy Muffitt. She has appeared in North America, Europe, and Asia at venues including Alice Tully Hall, Laeiszhalle, Steinway Hall Hamburg, the Mozarteum, Vienna’s Beethoven Center and University of Music and Performing Arts, Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts and Forbidden City Concert Hall, and the University of Toronto. She won Yale’s 2017 Elizabeth Parisot Prize and first prize in the 71st Steinway International Piano Competition, among other honors, and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.
Volker Treichel: Treichel is a French hornist with more than 40 years of experience in orchestral and chamber music. He studied at Germany’s Essen Conservatory with Professor Wolfgang Wilhelmi and later worked with Stefan Dohr, principal horn of the Berlin Philharmonic. He won first prize in the Misbin Family Chamber Music Competition in 2015 and second prize in 2017. His recent work includes a 2025 solo recital of music by Beethoven and Glière. Alongside music, he worked as an economist for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group from 1993 through 2024.
Eric Abalahin: Abalahin is a Washington, D.C.-based flutist and a member of the Capital Wind Symphony, Washington Sinfonietta, Symphony of the Potomac, and 5th Floor Wind Quintet. He has also performed with the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic, Capital City Symphony, NIH Philharmonia, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, and Arioso Chorale and Orchestra.
Aaron Harmon: Harmon is a classically trained bassoonist whose work encompasses orchestral and chamber performance, arranging, and contemporary music. He earned undergraduate degrees at Boston University and a master’s degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His previous North Carolina engagements included the North Carolina Symphony, North Carolina Opera, and Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle. He has also performed for three seasons with the Capital City Symphony.
Bryan Cook: Cook is an oboist with a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics. He performs in the Washington metropolitan area with the Prince George’s Philharmonic and Capital City Symphony and has appeared with numerous other ensembles.
Tickets: $40 per person. Arts Club members may RSVP through the club, and guests must be registered.
Attendance: Open to Arts Club members and guests.
Availability: The event page lists 30 spaces remaining.
Venue: Arts Club of Washington, 2017 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20006.
Organizer: The Salon Concert Series is presented by the Classical Music Committee of the Arts Club of Washington, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.