Music Mountain to Welcome St. Petersburg String Quartet & More, 8/8-9

Music Mountain, America's oldest continuing summer chamber music festival, continues its 86th anniversary season with a weekend of exceptional classical music. The weekend begins on Saturday, August 8 (6:30pm) with an evening dedicated to Italian & German 17th & 18th Century Music for Soprano, Baroque Trumpet and Harpsichord featuring Christine Gevert, harpsichord. Following on Sunday, August 9 (3pm) is the St. Petersburg String Quartet with guest artist Pamela Mia Paul, piano performing Sulkhan Tsintsadze; Arensky; and Shostakovich. Concerts featuring local jazz and country groups, plus world-renowned chamber ensembles, continue thru September 27th.

Saturday evening will offer a rare opportunity to hear Italian & German 17th & 18th Century Music for Soprano, Baroque Trumpet and Harpsichord. Christine Gevert, harpsichord will offer a program of Arias, Cantatas, Sonatas and Toccatas by 17th & 18th century (1650 - 1750) Italian and German composers including Alessandro Scarlatti, Arcangelo Corelli, Johann Sebastian Bach, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Giovanni Bonaventura Viviani and Alessandro Melani. The concert will feature two of Boston's finest young Early Music performers, Christopher Belluscio on baroque trumpet and early music soprano Alicia DePaolo.

Christine Gevert is an assiduous choral conductor, early music specialist, harpsichordist, organist, and composer, consistently making her mark as performer, teacher, and arranger. Ms. Gevert has performed extensively in Germany, Chile, and the US. In addition, her love for contemporary music has led her to collaborate as arranger and performer for electronic (synthesizer and EWI), native (Latin American and Native American), jazz, and period instruments in ensembles such as NEXAW, Hevreh, and Les Inégales. Ms. Gevert is founder and Artistic Director of Crescendo, an award winning Music Program featuring mostly Early Music. Since 2001 Ms. Gevert has been the organist and choir director at Trinity Episcopal Church, Lime Rock in Lakeville, CT.

Soprano Alicia DePaolo has appeared as opera soloist in the United States, Canada and Italy. She is currently soprano soloist and section leader of St. Mary's Choir in Holliston MA. Chris Belluscio is Boston's 'Grand Harmonie' Historical Wind Ensemble co-founder and principal trumpet player. He not only performs in historical style, but also collects original instruments.

St. Petersburg String Quartet return to Music Mountain, with guest artist Pamela Mia Paul, piano, on Sunday afternoon to offer a unique program including Sulkhan Tsintsadze: 5 Miniatureson Jewish Folk Tunes for String Quartet; Arensky: String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 35; and Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57.

The St. Petersburg Quartet is one of the world's most esteemed chamber ensembles. Their current season includes performances at Carnegie Hall, BargeMusic Series, and the Los Angeles Music Guild in addition to tours of England and France, and concerts in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Idaho and Mexico. In 2009 the St. Petersburg Quartet launched the St. Petersburg International Music Academy, an intensive summer program for students, which they bring to various campuses and festivals in the USA and Mexico. In 2010 St. Petersburg Quartet was appointed the inaugural Quartet in Residence at Wichita State University.

Pamela Mia Paul is both a brilliant performer and a dedicated teacher. On stage, she has performed with the world's great orchestras (New York Philharmonic, Boston Pops) and given concerts throughout the United States (Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall), Europe (Konzerthaus, Vienna; Concertgebouw, Amsterdam), South Korea and Turkey both as soloist and as chamber musician. In the studio, or in the setting of a masterclass, Ms. Paul is an internationally sought-after pedagogue - her students hold teaching positions throughout the United States and Asia, and have won prestigious international piano competitions. Ms. Paul is currently Regents Professor of Piano at the University of North Texas.

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 & wine are also available for purchase.

Upcoming quartets scheduled to perform include St. Petersburg String Quartet with Daniel Austrich, violin and Melvin Chen, piano (August 16); Harlem String Quartet with Francine Kay, piano (August 23); Dover String Quartet with Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet (August 30); Shanghai String Quartet (September 5).

The Saturday Evening Twilight Series will continue with The Galvanized Jazz Band (August 15); Peter & Will Anderson with Alex Wintz, guitar (August 22); Michael Berkeley (August 29); Spuyten Duyvil (September 12).

Chamber Music Concerts are $35 at the door/$30 in advance. Twilight Series Concerts are $30 at the door/$27 in advance. 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.