Vernon - Many happy concertgoers were saying that Sunday’s concert was the best ever presented by Chamber Music at Great Gorge. The Vernon group founded was seven years ago by pianist Gail Niwa and Peg Kurlander (Mrs. Jack Kurlander), who is herself a musician, The group regularly holds concerts at the R.C. Church of St. Francis de Sales in Vernon. Starting off the program, pianist Gail Niwa was accompanied by her brother David Niwa on violin and by Ohad Bar-David on cello in Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Trio Opus 1, #3 in C minor. They performed the lovely trio impeccably and seemed to have a grand time playing together. David Niwa, a regular member of the Great Gorge Chamber Music series is a featured performer in concerts throughout the world. Bar-David has been a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 1987 and serves on its board of directors. Next came Russian composer Dimitri Shostakovich’s 1975 Sonata Opus 147 for viola and piano, in which Gail Niwa was accompanied by Taiwanese violist Che-Hung Chen. Chen is the first Taiwanese to become a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and his big, rich tones were an excellent match to Gail Niwa’s smooth, translucent playing. “This intense piece is the last work Shostakovich completed before he died, and there is something very Soviet about the work, which makes one think of the massive Soviet machine as well as the depth of the Russian soul. It encompasses all that is difficult in life, but also has moments of serenity and hope,” Gail said. In a salute to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose 250th birth anniversary falls this year, the final piece was Mozart’s String Quintet in G Minor, K. 516, with violinists David Niwa and Paul Roby of the Philadelphia Orchestra; violists Che-Hung Chen and Anna Marie Ann Peterson of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The quintet played with joyous grace, fluidity, and flawless rhythm, delighting an audience that nearly filled the nave of the church. “We’re already looking forward to the next concert in the fall,” said Peg Kurlander.