Music Mountain Presents Harlem String Quartet with Francine Kay & More This Weekend

Music Mountain, America's Oldest Continuing Summer Chamber Music Festival, continues its 86th anniversary season with another weekend of esteemed artists. Tonight, August 22 welcomes Peter & Will Anderson, with guest Alex Wintz, guitar, performing the best of bebop and jazz (6:30pm). The music continues on Sunday afternoon August 23(3pm) with the Harlem String Quartet and guest artist Francine Kay, piano, performing Beethoven, Turina, Bartok, Borodin, and Dvorak. Concerts are scheduled thru September 27.

Consistently bringing a fresh perspective to bebop, swing, and vintage jazz! Clarinet and saxophone virtuosos, Peter and Will Anderson have been thrilling audiences with their broad repertoire of swing, Latin, and original works since they were teenagers. The duo have headlined Jazz at Lincoln Center, Blues Alley, and the New Orleans Jazz Festival. They have performed in twenty-six U.S. States, toured Japan and the United Kingdom, and have performed with jazz greats Jimmy Heath, James Moody, Hank Jones, Clark Terry, Frank Wess and Benny Golson. Peter & Will Anderson will be joined by Alex Wintz, guitar. Influenced by an array of genres from bluegrass to punk rock, Alex brings a shared passion for music and provides inspiration in the ability for music to significantly enrich life experiences.
Sunday afternoon, August 23, brings the spirited Harlem String Quartet to Gordon Hall performing Beethoven: Scherzo from String Quartet In C Minor, Opus 18, No. 4;
Turina: La Oración del Torero; Bartok: Scherzo from String Quartet # 2, Opus 17, SZ 67; Borodin: Nocturne from String Quartet No. 2 in D major; and Dvorak: Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81. The quartet will be joined by the remarkable pianist, Francine Kay.

The Harlem String Quartet's mission is to advance diversity in classical music by engaging young and new audiences through the discovery and presentation of varied repertoire that includes works by minority composers. The New York-based ensemble has toured throughout the United States, as well as France, Belgium, Panama, and in South Africa, where under the auspices of the U.S. State Department they spent two weeks on tour performing concerts and participating in outreach activities. The Harlem String Quartet recently collaborated with jazz legends Chick Corea and Gary Burton and recorded the Grammy Award winning "Mozart Goes Dancing."

Pianist Francine Kay has performed extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia as chamber musician and in solo recital. Currently, Francine Kay is on the performance faculty at Princeton University, where she performs as part of the Composers Ensemble and the Richardson Chamber Players.

Music Mountain is located in Falls Village, Connecticut on Music Mountain Road, where a short scenic drive will bring you to Gordon Hall atop Music Mountain. Free parking and picnic facilities are available. Food, locally baked cookies, coffee, and spring water are available for purchase.

Upcoming quartets scheduled to perform include Dover String Quartet with Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet (August 30); Shanghai String Quartet (September 5); Shanghai String Quartet with Gilbert Kalish, piano and Jonathan Yates, piano (September 6).

The Saturday Evening Twilight Series will continue with Michael Berkeley (August 29); Spuyten Duyvil (September 12); Jive By Five (September 19).

Chamber Music Concerts are $35 at the door/$30 in advance. Twilight Series Concerts are $30 at the door/$27 in advance. All tickets for The Labor Day Benefit Concert & Reception on Sunday, September 6 (3PM) are $75. Children ages 5-18 are admitted FREE for ALL CONCERTS when accompanied by a ticket holder. Saturday Twilight Concerts are at 6:30pm. Chamber Music concerts are at 3pm on Sundays, unless otherwise noted. Group rates and pre season ticket vouchers are available. Discounts apply through participating organizations. For a complete summer schedule, special ticket prices, and to download a ticket order form visit www.musicmountain.org or call 860-824-7126.

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