“Not every conductorless group can pull it off, ” remarked violinist Nadja Solerno-Sonnenberg at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall on Thursday evening.  “But we can.”

While major American orchestras struggle to maintain budgets and build audiences, the string quartet seems to be enjoying something of a renaissance in recent years.  Chicago has seen this reemergence up close: the Pacifica Quartet has revived the standard repertoire with youthful vivacity; the Spektral Quartet has reimagined the traditional concert format to contextualize modern music.  Though the quartet Brooklyn Rider is based on the east coast, its members have appeared in Chicago in various other iterations - as members of The Knights and Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, to name two.

Taking its name from the Latin word meaning “rejoice,” Gaudete Brass acknowledges the long history of brass chamber music that dates back to the time of Bach.  The quintet, however, looks to the present and future with a repertoire that embraces contemporary composers.  Gaudete’s latest release, Chicago Moves (Cedille Records), presents an array of music written by American composers in the last six years; six of the seven pieces were written for Gaudete Brass and receive their premier recording on this energetic album.

Sunday night, the Orion Chamber Ensemble performed the first show of their second concert series for the 2012-2013 season. Titled “A Night at the Opera,” The program featured an aria by Wagner transcribed for piano by Liszt and two instrumental works, a quintet and a quartet, by Carl Maria Weber and Giuseppe Verdi respectively, composers each famous for their operas.

Verdi’s  only string quartet is full of operatic drama. Opening the night, the piece was performed by violinist Florentina Ramniceanu, cellist Judy Stone, and guest violinist Stephen Boe and violist Roger Chase. The musical conversation between the four instruments was intriguing to follow.