The Lowell Trio Returns to Amando's This Sunday

Janet Popesco Archibald lives in Martinez, but she spends much of her time across the Bay.  As the San Francisco Opera's principal English Horn player, she keeps up a busy schedule of rehearsals, performances, recordings and special events for the company. 

A few times a year, though, Archibald brings her talents – and a few San Francisco friends – back to her hometown.  Leading the Lowell Trio, the chamber group she founded a few years ago, she makes select special appearances at

The trio will be there this Sunday afternoon, performing a concert of opera selections, classical favorites, seasonal tunes and chamber music rarities, many of which Archibald has arranged specifically for the group.  The music starts at 3 p.m.

After the 2010 opera season – a challenging series of productions that ran from May to the start of December – you might think that Archibald would like nothing better than to take a break from performing.  But she says she always looks forward to her concerts at Armando's. 

"It's always a bit of a relief to be done with the opera season, and to look forward to doing some chamber music in town," Archibald said in a recent interview.  "And we love playing at Armando's.  It really is my favorite thing to do all year."

Archibald, who started the Lowell Trio with fellow graduates of her alma mater, Lowell High School in San Francisco, programs each Armando's concert mindful of the fact that a portion of the audience is new to classical music. 

"We know that some of the audience doesn't go to a lot of classical concerts, so we try to pick things that are interesting and accessible," she says.  This Sunday, the group – Archibald, flutist Leslie Chin, and pianist Margaret Wong Fondbertasse – will play music by Bach, Berlioz and Vivaldi, as well as a section she calls "Classical Dancing with the Stars."  What is that, we ask?  "It includes pieces like a tango by Piazzolla, which Leslie will play on alto flute," she explains.  "So much of classical music is dance-based."

When they perform, Archibald always takes a moment to introduce each piece and provide interesting bits of information – including the fact that the English Horn is neither English nor a horn (it's a member of the oboe family.)

She also likes to point out that Armando's owner Roy Jeans has been incredibly welcoming to the Lowells.  "It's great that Roy is so open to having classical music there, in addition to all the other kinds of concerts he presents," she says.  "The club is so intimate and the audience is always so appreciative.  It feels like a party every time we play there."