SOUTH KINGSTOWN — It was an evening of fine music and a farewell last night at the Kingston Chamber Music Festival. Founding artistic director David Kim, who in the past two decades has seen this festival grow from a modest grass-roots effort to a world-class enterprise, told a packed house he was stepping down to devote more time to family.

“For many years I thought I would do this until I died,” said Kim, who is concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra, a job that has taken up more and more of his time. He also said he wanted to spend time with his two young daughters.

His successor, Chinese-born pianist Natalie Zhu, now in her fifth summer in Kingston, was on hand to thank Kim for picking her and to tell the audience that they were her “biggest motivation.”

Last night’s program was the first of 11 taking place this month in the University of Rhode Island’s Fine Arts Center, twice the normal number. That’s because Kim wanted to pull out all the stops for the festival’s 20th anniversary.

But Kim was not on hand just to say goodbye. He was there to play, and play he did in all three offerings, including the final Mendelssohn Octet, a perennial festival favorite that has been performed several times in the past.

The evening opened with Mozart, the composer’s String Quintet in C Major, K. 515, music played with a light touch and a nice blend to the opening movement. Then for the lilting andante, Kim and violist Rose Armbrust struck up a little conversation, with Kim’s sweet fiddle parts answered by Armbrust’s rich, burnished playing.

The players wrapped up the piece with a sunny finale that was silken.

Audiences got to see another side of Kim in the folksy Grieg Violin Sonata in C Minor. He came across as a passionate player, with darker hues at his disposal. But even when Kim dug into his instrument, the tone was still sweet.

Zhu was at the keyboard, and her playing was clean and confident as she matched her partner at every turn.

The piece drew a thunderous ovation, but there were more than a few mawkish moments when the composer’s yen for melodrama couldn’t help but rise to the surface.

After intermission came the Mendelssohn, one of the great works in the chamber repertoire. The playing was not as refined as the Mozart, but the drive was there, the sheer unadulterated sense of joy.

cgray@projo.com