Music is relative for Evanston’s Vamos family

• Reprints

The Vamos family includes: (top, from left), Almita Vamos, Roland Vamos, Simin Ganatra, Brandon Vamos and (bottom, from left), Eugenia Monacelli, Nurit Pacht, Rami Vamos.

Updated: December 13, 2011 6:56PM

Musical families populate history — the Bachs, the Mozarts, the Mendelssohns, and closer to home, the remarkable Newman family of Hollywood film composers.

That tradition continues right here on the North Shore. The family of Almita and Roland Vamos of Evanston includes enough professional musicians to present a full evening of music Saturday night, Dec. 17.

“Let’s see,” said Almita Vamos, who with her husband has been a member of the Music Institute of Chicago’s violin faculty for 35 years, “there’s Brandon and Simin, Rami and Nurit, and my sister Eugenia from New York. We have one player, bass Josh Fink, who is not related to the family.”

Cellist Brandon Vamos and violinist Simin Ganatra, who are married, play in the Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet.

More musicians

“We’re looking forward to this concert,” said Brandon, when reached at the University of Illinois downstate where the Pacifica is quartet-in-residence. “Our family got together once before, but now there are more of us and we’re going to have a great time.”

The Pacifica’s home base includes Krannert Hall, the university’s acoustically excellent concert venue. “Solti recorded Chicago Symphony concerts here,” he said, referring to the late Sir Georg Solti, who was music director and permanent conductor of the CSO from 1969 to 1991.

Brandon’s brother Rami Vamos plays guitar and is married to violinist Nurit Pacht. Both will play in the concert. Almita and Roland have received multiple Presidential Excellence in Teaching Awards and their students include professional violinists Rachel Barton Pine and Jennifer Koh, as well as Brandon, Simi and Nurit.

Roland is on the viola and chamber music faculties at MIC and conducts the institute’s Senior Academy Orchestra. “His father was Hungarian and an amateur violinist,” said Almita. “Whenever there is a wedding or special event, Roland plays some gypsy music for everyone, and he’ll do that on the program.”

Strings attached

She is particularly delighted that two of her sons married violinists — both of whom studied with Almita when the Vamos family lived in Minnesota and the couple commuted weekends to the Music Institute. “They are great girls,” she said. “We’re doing the Bach Concerto for Three Violins. I call it the In-Law Concerto!”

Friends and family members will accompany the concerto, under Roland’s baton.

There is a charge for admission, but Almita insisted nothing is going go to the musicians. “That charge is for the hall,” she said. “We are all family and friends — no one is being paid.”

The Vamoses have six grandchildren — four study musical instruments and two are still too young. “Wait five years,” Almita said. “Then, hopefully, they’ll all be playing with us.”

Even musical families, however, cannot persuade everyone to follow the muse. “Our brother Seth studied violin until he was 16,” Brandon said, “but now he’s in real estate.”