Howe’s Brooklyn: Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music

It’s not often that you hear the phrase “it’s all about the viola,” but that is how WANDA FLECK described this weekend’s concert presented by BROOKLYN FRIENDS OF CHAMBER MUSIC (BFCM). Co-founder of the 19-year-old organization, Fleck explained to the Eagle, “The viola is not a prominent instrument — it’s a supporting instrument,” she said. But on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Lafayette Presbyterian Church, the viola will take center stage.

Starring on the viola (which some say is harder to play than the violin), is MELISSA REARDON, a Brooklynite who resides half of the year in Houston, where she is a member of the acclaimed Enso Quartet. She will begin the performance with a solo. Next, she will be joined by violinists AYANO NIMOMIYA and YONAH ZUR and then cellist RAMAN RAMAKRISHNAN. The finale will feature the entire quartet performing a section of Haydn’s Opus 20. Tickets are available at the door or in advance by calling (718) 855-3053.

A chamber music enthusiast, Fleck said what distinguishes BFCM is that the organization chooses the musicians and helps put a group together to perform a particular piece. She added that Bargemusic at Fulton Ferry Landing had the same approach, but the two groups were more in support of one another than locked in competition.

“When we were starting up, OLGA BLOOM [founder of Bargemusic] gave us a fundraising concert on the barge,” said Fleck. “I thought it was indicative of how people in Brooklyn treat each other.”