By Gina Lanaux

Sahada Buckley has accomplished a lot in her 29 years of life. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia and a master's from the University of Wisconsin, both in Violin Performance and Music Theory. Currently, she is a member of the Illinois Symphony and the founder and Artistic Director, along with her husband, Trace Johnson, of the Eastern Shore Chamber Music Festival. “I have always dreamed of bringing classical music to Fairhope,” Sahada says. “There are musical events in the area, but one must travel to larger cities to experience live classical music. This is our third year of bringing classical music to my hometown.” 

Sahada, daughter of the well-known Chef Jules of Fairhope Chocolate, attended Bayside Academy, where she was first exposed to lessons in piano and violin. ”There were random steps along the way”, she humbly expresses. Those steps include attending the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan for 3 years of High School and joining the Mobile Symphony Youth Orchestra. ”This opened up a whole new world for me, and I found other musicians who felt the same way I did about music”. 

The most important musician she met was Trace, who was a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin, studying Cello Performance.  The couple primarily lives in Madison, Wisconsin,  while Trace performs with the Wisconsin Chamber Music Society and the Madison Symphony Orchestra, along with teaching Cello to students in the area. Together, they created the Eastern Shore Chamber Music Festival. (ESCMF)

For those unfamiliar with what Chamber Music is, Sahada explains that it is a loose definition, derived from the days when only so many musicians could fit in a room or a ‘chamber’, so to speak.  The dictionary defines it as “instrumental music played by a small ensemble, with one player to a part, the most important form being the string quartet, which developed in the 18th century.” 

Sahada tells me it is usually 9 or fewer musicians who play in an intimate concert setting. The intimate concert settings for her upcoming festival include the Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship, the Eastern Shore Art Center, St James Episcopal Church, and Saint Francis at the Point.  Musicians that she respects and has played with will be travelling to Fairhope from Connecticut, Wisconsin, Atlanta, New York, and Florida. 

“They love coming to Fairhope because of the area, but because we have 3 different concerts on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we have a lot of rehearsing to do,” I ask how this works… Sahada sends them the music in January so that they are familiar and well-prepared. The musicians arrive on Monday, and they rehearse Tuesday through Thursday and are ready to perform on Friday. They all stay, rehearse, and eat at her Mother’s home, and Sahada says the support of her mother and Fairhope Chocolate has been tremendous. 

“We do fundraisers at Fairhope Chocolate in the Fall and Spring and rely on community support, sponsors, donations, and ticket sales to carry us. We received our 501(3)c status in December, so soon we will apply for grants.”   Because of these income streams, all concerts held during the Festival are free of charge. Yes, you read that right, Free !! 

For three weeks, May 29 through June 15th, 2025, the ESCMF will present Sea Level, Chamber Music along Mobile Bay, with some Gulf Waters mixed in. With water as the primary theme, I inquired how the theme translates into the pieces they have chosen to play. (Note the titles, dates, times, and venue on the flyer included in this article)

For example, This ain't my First Shrimp Boil held on June 13th at 7:30 pm at St James Church, Sahada explains that the musical selections will be familiar pieces, some 100s of years old, that most audience members will have encountered at some point in time. “ Desert Island on June 14th at 7:30 at the Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship features our favorite pieces that we would possibly take to a deserted island. It's fun to come up with themes, sort of like a play on words,” she exclaims enthusiastically. “ I had my first violin recital at Fairhope Unitarian, so this space has a special place in my heart.”

Besides all the concerts being free, during the first two weeks, the productions are mostly 1 hour long with no intermission. In the third week, they will experiment with a longer format of about 1.5 hours with a short intermission.  As music educators, they are partnering with organizations such as Mobile Symphony Youth Orchestra Education, Fairhope Public Library, and Steinway Piano Gallery in Spanish Fort to produce educational experiences for student classical musicians. They will hold master classes and workshops in piano and strings throughout the week, and students will be featured on June 14 at 2:30 at the Eastern Shore Art Center.

The Eastern Shore Chamber Music Festival is an incredible event that will entertain, educate, and enrich classical music lovers in the Scenic 98 Coastal Area. Classical music nurtures the mind, touches the heart, and anchors us to our shared cultural roots. I am so glad that Sahada and Trace have given us this amazing opportunity to culturally connect through music. We will all be better for it!  Bravo!