The 2022 Salish Sea Early Music Festival will bring the dynamic energy and classical sound of Beethoven-era compositions to Port Townsend audiences this coming Sunday.

Musicians Jeffrey Cohan (eight-keyed flute) and Oleg Timofeyev (seven-string guitar) will perform  enthralling tunes written by guitarist Louis Ange Carpentras, flutist Antoine Tranquille Berbiguier, and more.

The concert will start at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 13, and marks the first in-person performance from the music festival in over two years. It will be held at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Parish Hall.

“We are really excited to be playing and moving to Parish Hall with more ventilation,” Cohan said.

Additionally, there will be three more festival performances in the coming months, featuring a variety of talented classical artists.

Timofeyev was originally born in Moscow and learned to play the unique seven-string Russian guitar while traveling around the country and parts of Europe.

“He’s one of the foremost specialists and has studied the use of the guitar by the [Ruska] Romani people in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia,” Cohan said of Timofeyev. “He also studied in Ukraine with the seven-string guitar and other music.”

Cohan also lived and performed with Timofeyev across Eastern Europe, specializing as a flutist.

Heralded as “The Flute Master” by The Boston Globe, Cohan has performed in 25 countries around the world, wowing listeners with airy and sweet melodies through his unique, centuries-old wooden flute.

“I have a flute made in 1820 in London that is perfect for ensemble with guitar,” Cohan said.

The duo have performed alongside each other for decades across Europe, and audiences will be treated with their delightful performances, this time in Port Townsend.

Both artists hold a special connection to Ukraine through ancestry and musical connections. In light of the recent Russian invasion of the country, the upcoming festival concert will be dedicated to the people of Ukraine.

“Both of us have quite a few ties with Ukraine, that’s why, in part, this concert has to do with the guitar played [there] for 120 years,” Cohan said. “We can’t help but to think about our Ukrainian friends and are concerned about them; we have firsthand experience with the country.”

To learn more about the 2022 Salish Sea Early Music Festival, upcoming performers, and other information, visit the festival’s website at www.salishseafestival.org.