Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival’s Aloysia Friedmann and Jon Kimura Parker (pictured here) will lead a lively discussion from Parker’s studio at Rice University in Houston from 7–8:30 p.m. on Nov. 1 at the Orcas Island Public Library.

This is an opportunity to learn about what happens on stages from Orcas Center to Carnegie Hall. Maybe you’ve always wondered what the difference is between a violin and a viola, or what makes classical musicians different from jazz or rock musicians.

What makes some music sound sad? Or happy? Why do you need a 9-foot grand piano for a concert? If you straighten the tubing on a French horn out, how long would it be? (Would a concert pianist or a violinist know the answer to this question?)

At the last Music 101 session, Rice University cello professor and frequent OICMF performer Desmond Hoebig knocked on the studio door and joined in on the fun.

To register for the session, call Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival at 360-376-6636 or send an email to tracy@oicmf.org.

This session is free, thanks to a grant from the Gould Family Foundation.