Several local musicians have volunteered their time and talent, leaving organizers of the Ames Town and Gown Chamber Music Association in high spirits.

Musicians from the Iowa State Music Department and Ames community are joining the Town and Gown for its annual winter Musicale fundraising event.

In the past, Town and Gown organizers had to ask faculty members and various musicians from the community to play at the concert, Paula Forrest Helmuth, Town and Gown artistic director, said. But lately, the musicians are the ones who have been asking Helmuth if they can be in the program.

“The Musicale sort of allows people who don’t get to perform together very often chances to perform together,” Helmuth said. “Town and Gown is grateful to musicians who donate time and talent to this event.”

Saturday’s Musicale will include performances by the Ames Piano Quartet, the Phoenix Quartet, Basically Baroque and the Iowa State Chamber Singers.

There will also be featured musicians, including tenor Donald Simonson, baritone James Tener, clarinetist Maureen Hurd, trumpeter James Bovinette, pianist Paula Helmuth and Ames High pianist Kevin Marsinghe.

Among the several pieces being played, some performers will honor George Gershwin’s 100th birthday.

While some of the artists on this year’s program are new to the Musicale, others are veterans to the Musicale experience.

The Ames Piano Quartet, a group that consists of professors from the ISU string and piano faculty, have played at the Musicale for eight years. According to Mahlon Darlington, violinist for the group, he and his fellow string players always have a good time.

“It’s a more intimate setting than playing in a concert hall because you know everybody there,” Darlington said. “They make you feel like you’re giving them a special treat.”

While Saturday’s performance signifies another Ames Quartet performance, it will mark a debut performance of the Phoenix Quartet, a new quartet composed of members of the Des Moines Symphony.

“This is our first major gig,” violinist Larysa Kozak said.

The all-female quartet was founded in September 1997 by violist Marika Fisher-Hoyt. Since then, the group has been working to establish a reputation in the Des Moines and Ames communities.

The quartet is currently in the process of taking press pictures and deciding on a logo to fit their name.

Originally Hoyt’s idea, “[The group’s] name comes from the mythological bird, Phoenix,” Kozak said. “[Phoenix] is symbolic of certain things in her [Hoyt] life that have happened.”

Kozak said Saturday night’s performance will go well, although the group is not completely sure on certain aspects of their ensemble.

“We’re still trying to develop a group sound,” Kozak said. “It takes a while to blend as a group. The longer you play together, the more you can achieve that.”

After the concert, the audience will have the opportunity to interact with the musicians.

According to Helmuth, the idea of the musicians and the audience socializing after the concert coupled with the fact that so many different types of performers will be playing, makes the Musicale unique compared to other chamber music recitals.

“It’s musically very heart-warming,” Helmuth said. “It brings the talents of the university and the community together for one purpose — to bring talent to Ames.”

Saturday’s concert will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1015 North Hyland in Ames.

Tickets can be purchased by calling Cindy Scholten at 232-9487. All proceeds will go toward programming for the 1998-1999 concert season.