Harpswell musician Kathleen McNerney was on a waitlist for 10 years for her Hiniker oboe, handmade in Minnesota and boasting an extra key not available from any other oboe maker — a left-handed C sharp. She would call for an update on the instrument and end up in an hourlong conversation with Tom Hiniker himself, who only makes about six oboes each year.
Ultimately, it was worth the wait — and so is the album McNerney collaborated on with her partner, violinist Dean Stein, and visiting musicians Susan Dubois and Pamela Mia Paul. VentiCordi’s debut album of chamber music, “Pas de Trois,” will be released on March 21 by Navona Records after being delayed for years when the coronavirus pandemic interrupted recording plans.
McNerney and Stein founded VentiCordi, a chamber ensemble, in 2009. In Italian, “venti” translates to “winds” and “cordi” to “strings.”
The couple wanted to “do something different from the usual string quartets and wind quintets,” Stein says. Their walks on Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunk led to “dreaming up what its reason for being would be” and finding new repertoire that would blend winds and strings.
VentiCordi has since become known for its concert series, which includes shows in Brunswick. “We often say we’re the best-kept secret in Maine,” McNerney quips. But “Pas de Trois,” named for a trio in six movements by composer Ned Rorem, will be their first album.
McNerney and Stein are VentiCordi’s artistic directors, but they work with other musicians for concerts and recordings.
“We play with people that we love and respect and admire,” says McNerney. “I know our audience gets that sense from us — they see that we’re having fun up there.”
Live performance is all about “creating a connection between you and the audience,” Stein says. “To do that is one of the greatest things that we can do.”
“The little black dots on the page are there to guide us, but how you bring them to life — that’s completely personal,” he adds.
Pianist Pamela Mia Paul and violist Susan Dubois traveled to record “Pas de Trois” at the Berklee College of Music in Boston after the pandemic sank the group’s plans to record in Texas, where both Paul and Dubois are based.
The recording showcases pieces by composers Ned Rorem, Hans Gál, and Dorothy Howell. It would have been the first recording of all the compositions when it was scheduled to be completed, in 2019. Still, in 2025, it contains the first recordings of the pieces by Rorem and Howell.
Rorem, who was well known for vocal compositions, was playful with his titles. A “pas de deux” is a dance for two performers — the French phrase translates to “step for two.” Rorem’s “Pas de Trois” is a trio for violin, oboe and viola in six movements.
The first movement on VentiCordi’s album is called “The Palace at Four A.M.,” the last “The Nursery at Four P.M.,” and another simply “Duet for Three Voices.”
“This is so melodic,” McNerney remembers thinking while playing Rorem’s work. “It’s like we get to sing.”
McNerney moved to Maine in 2004 from Los Angeles, where she had been working as a musician for 19 years. Stein, who has lived in Maine since 1996, first visited 20 years earlier, coming from New York City to study at the Bowdoin International Music Festival. “I fell in love hard with Maine,” he says.
Both Stein and McNerney now belong to the music faculty at Bowdoin College, Bates College, and the Portland Conservatory of Music. They each have played with numerous orchestras and ensembles.
Harpswell has supported their music careers in more ways than one.
“We love living here,” McNerney says. “Our neighbors have housed our guest musicians for us. … They love coming to Maine.”
The pair wants to “continue to build the audience in Harpswell,” she says. Being a professional musician isn’t always easy, she adds, but “it keeps your focus on what’s important in life.”
Stein agrees. “We pinch ourselves and go, ‘We’re lucky to live here.'” He says they draw inspiration from the nature around them.
CD copies of “Pas de Trois” are available for preorder at VentiCordi’s website, venticordi.com; and on March 21, the album will be available on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.
CDs will be for sale at VentiCordi’s concerts on April 5 and 6, where McNerney and Stein will be joined by Paul on piano and Mark Berger on viola.
VentiCordi will perform “Pas de Trois” at the First Congregational Church of South Portland at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 5; and at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 6.
