Bay Chamber Concerts mission is to enrich the lives of the people in our community through music and this week’s concerts are no exception. On Thursday, July 31 at 7:30 p.m. the Rockport Opera House will host pianist Ran Dank and clarinetist Jose Franch-Ballester for a truly remarkable program. Romantic Music for Clarinet and Piano features works by Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Brahms and Weber.

The following evening Friday, Aug. 1 at 9 p.m., Ran Dank and Jose Franch-Ballester return, this time to Union Hall for an intimate and moving program featuring the works of Debussy, Chopin, Poulenc and John Novacek. The café style atmosphere gives viewers a chance to connect with the performers as well as the music.

Pianist Ran Dank deploys his brilliant technique with astonishing energy, intellect and intensity, captivating audiences and critics alike. In the past season of New York concerts alone, he has performed at Merkin Hall, with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Alice Tully Hall, and gained critical acclaim for his “vivacious playing” (The New York Times) of the Tobias Picker Concerto at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre. In his native Israel, Dank has been invited as soloist with the symphony orchestras of Jerusalem, Rishon Lezion, Haifa and Raanana, the Israel Festival in Jerusalem, and the Israel Conservatory of Music.

Jose Franch-Ballester, a native of Moncofa (Valencia, Spain), is one of the most promising clarinetists of his generation. In 2008 he received the highly coveted Avery Fisher Career Grant, and in 2007 he was one of a handful of participants selected for a Carnegie Hall Professional Training Workshop with Emmanuel Ax and Richard Stoltzman, and one of the year's “most prominent emerging soloists,” as selected by the American Symphony League Magazine.

Thursday night's audience will hear Robert Schumann’s Three Romances, originally written for oboe, adapted to the clarinet; Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata No. 2, Brahms’ Sonata in E –flat Major in three movements, Weber’s Grand Duo Concertant, a complex and rewarding piece demanding concerto-like brilliance from both instrumentalists.

Friday night's inspiring repertoire: Debussy’s Premiere Rhapsodie, Chopin’s Polonaise in C Minor and Polonaise in A-flat, Poulenc’s Sonata for Clarinet and Piano and the final piece, John Novacek’s 4 Rags for 2 Johns. This contemporary piece follows the Ragtime tradition of America featuring a strongly syncopated tune in the right hand above a steady march-like beat in the left, with additional poly-rhythms from African music.

Tickets for these concerts can be purchased in advance by calling 207-236-2823, or stop by Bay Chamber Concerts and Music School at 18 Central St. Rockport. Tickets are also available in limited quantities at the door prior to concerts. To avoid the five dollar order fee that applies, tickets are available online at www.baychamberconcerts.org.