Pianist Gail Niwa says her fellow musicians love coming to Vernon because the countryside is so beautiful. “One of my chief goals in giving these concerts is to give people here true world class music right at home and at a cost families can afford,” Niwa explained. Musicians love coming to Vernon because the environment brings them closer to nature, as well as to in golf, skiing and hiking. For the June 3 concert, Niwa’s brother, world-renowned violinist David Niwa, will be joining her and three other musicians. “Musicians love challenges,” Niwa said. “They are drawn to activities that allow them to be totally immersed in experiences that allow them to express other sides of their personalities, and that includes becoming one with nature.” “When you look at music, you see how much of it relates to nature, and sometimes you can see the landscapes in the sounds.” Niwa said she is thrilled to have flutist Leslie Newman opening the June 3 program with the Mozart Quartet for flute and strings because Mozart provides a real contrast with the flute and strings and is a delightful opening to the program. Newman also will perform with Niwa the Prokofiev Sonata for flute and piano. Newman and Niwa knew one another during their conservatory days, and later played together at a concert in Canada in 1989, but afterwards lost touch. Today Newman lives in Toronto, where she performs regularly as soloist and chamber musician in addition to teaching at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music and the Glenn Gould Professional School. Niwa is the principal violist of the Eos Orchestra, the Brandenburg Ensemble, and a member of the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra and American Composer’s Orchestra. Chamber Music at Great Gorge When: 5 p.m. Sunday, June 3 Where: St. Francis de Sales R.C. Church Route 517, Vernon, NJ Tickets: Reservations recommended, call 973-827-1587