For twelve years, David Neuman helped shape the future of CMC as a member of the board of directors. This February, he will take the stage at 544 Capp Street as a performer, continuing his long relationship with the organization he considers his “musical home.”
“As a serious amateur musician who always made room in my life for music, I wanted to participate in an organization that would help and encourage others to follow that same path,” Neuman says.
He now shares that path with the Sylvan Trio, bringing a unique program for voice, horn, and piano to the CMC community.
The Sylvan Trio brings together the unusual combination of voice, horn, and piano. For Neuman, the appeal of the group lies in the caliber and dedication of his collaborators, soprano Michelle Chang and horn player Tom Reicher.
“Both are a pure joy to make music with,” Neuman says. He describes Chang as a “very serious musician” who brings years of professional experience from Europe to her search for the “right sound color to express the meaning and emotion” of a text. Reicher, an experienced orchestral and chamber musician, provides a different kind of expertise: “He has been invaluable in finding repertory for the group that we didn’t know existed.”
The trio is motivated by a simple, shared purpose: “the pleasure we get in making music with each other, and in our desire to share that pleasure with our audiences.”
While the piano is often seen as a solo instrument, Neuman finds his primary satisfaction in the act of collaboration—specifically when working with the human voice.
“For me, vocal accompanying is very satisfying because it involves so much more than playing solo repertory,” Neuman explains. “It plays to my strengths as a musician, which are listening and fitting my playing into what others are doing.”
This requires a level of preparation that goes beyond the notes on the page. In performance, Neuman says his focus is “not so much on ‘performing’ for the audience, but on supporting the other members of our ensemble.” This involves knowing the other parts completely—words and music alike—in order to “listen carefully and respond to what they do.”
When the Sylvan Trio takes the stage on February 1, they are sharing more than a program—they are inviting the community into a “musical home” that Neuman helped build over more than a decade. “I hope the audience will enjoy hearing some good music, performed by a combination (voice, horn and piano) that is not frequently encountered,” Neuman says.
Event Details
- What: The Sylvan Trio in Concert
- When: Sunday, February 1, 2026 | 3:00 pm
- Where: CMC Concert Hall, 544 Capp Street, San Francisco
- Cost: Free (suggested donations encouraged)
- More Info: sfcmc.org/event/sylvan-trio/