For their 53rd annual summer festival, Chamber Music Northwest will flex a wide-ranging repertoire of concerts for a five-week festival that celebrates the confluence of poetry and chamber music. Highlights from the festival include a Baroque-era journey with the Oregon Bach Festival Period Orchestra, two final performances from the New York-based classical ensemble Emerson String Quartet (who will sadly disband after the 2023 season), the West Coast debut of powerhouse composer collective umama womama, and a performance of David Ludwig’s “The Anchoress," which features a rare combination of strings, piano, saxophones, woodwinds, and poetry. The festival will come to a close with a festival finale celebrating the vitality of American music from New England church hymns to trailblazing composer Amy Beach. by Audrey Vann