As part of its mission to promote excellence in symphonic music and music education, The Festival at Sandpoint is presenting the first of a chamber music series.

The concert, which will be held Thursday, Aug. 22, 6:30 p.m. at the Heartwood Center in Sandpoint, featuring the C.O.D.A Ensemble, cellist Mika Hood, and pianist Daniel Hughes. Tickets are $15 or $10 for seniors and youth (12 and under), and are available at Eve’s Leaves downtown and at the door. The program will include the newly formed C.O.D.A. ensemble (Rebecca Stamm, Angela Schauer and Mika Hood) performing “Serenade for Violin, Viola and Cello” by Ernst von Dohnanyi, and a duo performance by Mika Hood and Daniel Hughes, “Cello Sonata No.1 in E minor” by Johannes Brahms and “Sonata for Cello and Piano” by Claude Debussy.

Mika Hood has been performing for most of her life on either piano or cello. Learning from her mother, she developed a keen ear and lifelong love of music. She received a master’s degree in cello performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. While there, she studied with Emilio Colón, Helga Winold and members of the Pacifica String Quartet. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma where she studied with Dr. Jonathan Ruck.

Hood attended various chamber music festivals around the world including in Vermont and France. She has also performed in master classes with renowned musicians such as Lynn Harrell, Ko Iwasaki, The Johannes String Quartet, Koichiro Harada, Alison Wells, Julie Albers, and David Ying. Hood is the principal cellist of the Coeur d’Alene Symphony, often playing as a featured soloist. She is section player in the Yakima Symphony and also performs regularly within the Inland North-west in other various ensembles while maintaining a private studio with students throughout Coeur d’Alene and the surrounding areas.

A native of Portland, Ore., who recently moved to Sand-point, Daniel Hughes has received numerous awards in local and regional competitions, and has earned recognition for his frequent solo, chamber and collaborative performances. Select awards have included first place in the chamber division of the Oregon MTNA competition, as well as top honors in the Maude Sardam Collaborative, Lillian Pettibone, and Petri scholarship competitions.

Previously a student of Dr. Julia Hwakyu Lee of Portland State University, Daniel will continue his studies this fall at the Manhattan School of Music under Phillip Kawin.

Rebecca Stamm is a versatile musician with 20 years as a freelance artist. Rebecca began her piano studies at the age of 4 and violin studies at the age of 8. When she was 17 she won a position with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra. Rebecca received her bachelor of music degree in violin performance at Central Washington University. She went on to earn her Master of Arts degree from Washington State University where she taught piano courses and accompanied for the music department as a graduate student.

During her college education she performed as concertmaster of the university orchestras and occasionally as a featured soloist. In 2010, she was a guest soloist with the Oregon East Symphony Orchestra, playing the not-often-heard “Concert Fantasy for Solo Violin and Orchestra” by Nikolai-Rimsky Korsakov. Rebecca has played as a section member or titled chair of Oregon East Symphony Orchestra, Walla Walla Symphony Orchestra, Washington-Idaho Symphony Orchestra, and Yakima Symphony Orchestra. She is also in high demand as an auxiliary violinist for the Spokane Symphony Orchestra.

She is frequently sought as a coach and adjudicator locally and around the state. Rebecca’s other interests include theater, opera singing, visual art creation, cooking, hiking, Zumba, comedy, and embracing the quest for learning as a student of life.

Angela Schauer is a violinist and violist from Moscow, Idaho. A native of Spokane, she regularly performs as a section player of several regional orchestra, including the Walla Walla Symphony, Yakima Symphony Orchestra, and holds the position of principal violist in the Washington Idaho Symphony. As a chamber musician, Angela coordinates the Palouse Chamber Music Workshop each year at the University of Idaho, and coaches at the WSU Cougar String Camp each summer, both programs enrich the lives of high school and college students through chamber music performance and mentorship. She also attends Into the Woods Chamber Music Retreat each summer in the Portland, Ore., area. Angela has a bachelor of music degree from Eastern Washington University and Master of Arts from Washington State University.

Her primary mentors have been Philip Baldwin, Meredith Arksey and Mateusz Wolski. She is excited to be a member of the newly formed C.O.D.A. ensemble.

“Please join us for the first of a series of intimate chamber performances highlighting some of our best local and regional musicians,” said Festival Executive Director Dyno Wahl.

The Festival at Sandpoint is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is fueled by its Maestro Circle of donors and dedicated grant and sponsored funds supporting the Festival’s symphonic and educational programming.

For more information on the Festival at Sandpoint, go online to festivalatsandpoint.com or on Facebook: The Festival at Sandpoint Music Education. For more information regarding this performance contact Beth Weber at 208-771-5471.