“Music of the Spheres” conjures celestial images. It also conjures sounds to match as the planets align once again to bring artists from the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival to Kerrytown Concert House for three June “Minifest” concerts.

This is the 12th year that artists from the festival, ensconced in Bloomfield Hills and other Detroit-area locations, have alighted at KCH for a trio of concerts. This year’s concerts take place June 17, 24 and 26.

As always, the festival’s concerts include established and emerging artists, and among these, there are old and new friends. Pianist James Tocco, also the festival’s director, is on the bill; so is cellist Paul Katz, a festival mainstay and an Ann Arbor favorite. Another Ann Arbor favorite, pianist Anton Nel, makes a festival debut, and all four of the festival’s Shouse Institute ensembles —chamber music groups whose star is ascending—make appearances on the KCH programs.

In addition to standard repertoire—there is Beethoven, Debussy, Mendelssohn and Mozart—Ann Arbor audiences will hear contemporary music from two of the festival’s composers-in-residence, 2011 Pulitzer Prize winner Zhou Long and the distinguished composer Chen Yi, as well as from Xi Wang.

Writes festival Director Tocco:

“The theme ‘Music of the Spheres’ invites many different references, all reflected in our programming. … Perhaps most essential to this year’s festival is the meeting of Eastern and Western hemispheres in the choice of our two distinguished composers-in-residence, Chen Yi and Zhou Long, both from mainland China. Their music, written primarily within the mainstream western musical system but also incorporating traditional Chinese instruments and folksong, is a fascinating fusion of two worlds. I hope discovering this music will be just as thrilling for our audiences as it was for me personally.”

Here’s a look at the personnel and programs for the three KCH “Minifest” concerts:

Friday, June 17, 8 p.m.: Paul Katz, cello; Pei-Shan Lee, piano; Trio Terzetto; Jasper String Quartet.

Prokofiev - Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 119; Kirchner - Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano No. 1; Beethoven - String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, OP. 131.

Friday, June 24, 8 p.m.: Lauren Skuce, soprano; Kim Kashkashian, viola; Wei Yang, pipa; Anton Nel, piano; Sima Trio

Mozart - Quartet for Piano and Strings in G minor, K. 478; Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, op. 27, No. 2 (“Moonlight”); Zhou Long - Green Song for voice and pipa; De Falla - Suite Populaire Espagnole

Sunday, June 26, 2 p.m. Andres Diaz, cello; James Tocco, piano; Attacca Quartet

Debussy - Sonata for Cello and Piano; Chen Yi - Sound of the Five; Xi Wang-Rhapsody for Solo Cello; Mendelssohn - String Quartet in E minor, Op. 44, No. 2