Newport Symphony Orchestra cellists, Newberg High School String Ensemble open festival season in Newport

By Oregon Coast TODAY

Professional and student musicians will perform for free in an afternoon chamber music concert at the Atonement Lutheran Church in Newport on Sunday, Jan. 11.

As the first such concert of the Oregon Coast Symphony Festival’s 2026 season, it will feature a trio of Newport Symphony Orchestra cellists alongside the Newberg High School String Ensemble in a program spanning Baroque masterworks and popular orchestral favorites.

The cello trio includes Charmaine Leclair, Sherill Roberts and Adrienne Welsh, all members of the Newport Symphony Orchestra. Their portion of the program will feature works by Baroque contemporaries Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, including Bach’s “Gamba Sonata No. 1 in G major” and Handel’s “Sonata, Opus 2, No. 8” for two cellos and continuo.

Roberts has been a member of the Newport Symphony for 13 years and has lived in Oregon for more than 4 decades. Her career includes serving as principal cellist for both the Portland Opera Orchestra and the Oregon Ballet Theatre Orchestra, as well as faculty appointments at Linfield University, Willamette University and Pacific University.

Leclair earned a doctorate in music history and cello performance from the University of Oregon and has performed with orchestras across the country, including the Eugene Symphony, Savannah Philharmonic, Oregon Mozart Players and orchestras in South Carolina and Georgia. She joined the Newport Symphony in 2023 and also serves as the organization’s office manager.

Welsh, an alumna of Trinity College of Music, performed as a freelance cellist in London before relocating to the U.S. She returned to professional performance nearly 2 decades ago and now plays with numerous Northwest orchestras and chamber ensembles. In addition to her role with the Newport Symphony, she teaches cello and bass through the orchestra’s Family Strings program and participates regularly in community outreach.

Opening the concert will be the Newberg High School String Ensemble, led by instructor Shae Skiles on viola. Student performers include Cole Isaksen on first violin, Peter Corbin on second violin, Ella St. Cyr on cello and Augie Miele on bass. Their program will include the first movement of the “Brandenburg Concerto No. 3” by Bach, “Emperor Waltz” by Johann Strauss and selections from “Pirates of the Caribbean,” arranged by Larry Moore.

• Sunday’s concert will begin at 2 p.m. at Atonement Lutheran Church, located at 2315 N. Highway 101 in Newport. For more information, go to ocyouthsymphonyfestival.org.

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