Cooperstown Summer Music Festival to Feature Four Concerts This August

Virtuosic string trios performed by international award-winning artists, a dynamic ensemble that asks the audience to choose what they play, and a concert of masterworks all composed in 1924 are featured this August at the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival.

The Festival, under the artistic direction of flutist Linda Chesis, will present three Sunday evening chamber music concerts at the Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown: A Little Night and Day Music on August 9, SHUFFLE Concert on August 16, and 1924 Now and Beyond on August 23.

Performing in A Little Night and Day Music are Linda Chesis, flute; David Requiro, cello; Dimitri Murrath, viola; and Frank Huang, who beings his tenure as concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic in September. The artists have won top honors in prestigious international competitions: David Requiro and Frank Huang each won first prize in the Naumberg Foundation competitions; Dimitri Murrath won the Primrose International Viola Competition and a 2014 Avery Fisher Career Grant. The program includes duos and trios from Beethoven to Dohnanyi.

"These performers will offer some of the most moving and 'edge of your seat' string playing you will ever hear," says Chesis.

SHUFFLE Concert (Ariadne Greif, soprano; Hassan Anderson, oboe; Moran Katz, clarinet; Brendan Speltz, violin; Sofia Nowik, cello; and Eliran Avni, piano) will perform in a Family Concert on August 15 at 11 am, and an Evening Concert August 16 at 7:30 pm at the Otesaga Resort Hotel. At both concerts, audience members will choose from SHUFFLE's musical menu and determine what SHUFFLE will play. The kid-friendly menu at the Family Concert, which has special pricing of $5 per person, features marches, dancing music, really old music, funny music, and movie soundtracks. The August 16 evening concert menu offers more than 40 options from Classical and Romantic to Broadway and Jazz. Festival audiences will remember clarinetist Moran Katz for her performance at the 2014 Let's Dance concert.

"SHUFFLE's concept of musical democracy with its own distinctive performance rules combined with truly inspired programming makes for a unique, unpredictable and fun musical experience," explains Chesis.

1924 is the focus of the August 23 concert, which features Eric Huebner, piano; Linda Chesis, flute; and Kaplan Fellows from the Bowdoin International Music Festival (Kristin Leitterman, oboe; Chung Yoo, clarinet; Hai Ji Kim, violin; Emily Brandenburg, viola; and Reed Tucker, bass). The program features works composed in 1924, including Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Stravinsky's Piano Quartet and Ravel's Tzigane.

David Noon, who curates the concert, explains the significance of 1924. "It was time to party and experiment. Painters, poets, composers and everyone else wanted to test the limits of art and everyday life. Why not mix present and past to make a new future? Stravinsky would. Why not mix classical and jazz? Gershwin would. Why not imagine the unimaginable? Everyone did. 1924 was a time to relax, invent, and enjoy themselves again," said Noon, who will offer commentary about the 1920s during the concert. Dr. Noon was on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music in New York City for thirty years, where he was Chairman of the Music History Department (1981-2007), Chairman of the Composition Department (1989-1998) and Dean of Academics (1998-2006).

Tickets for Evening Concerts are $25 for adults, $15 for students. Tickets for the Family Concert are $5 per person, or $15 for a family ticket that provides admission for up to two adults and their children. Purchase online, www.cooperstownmusicfest.org; by phone through Brown Paper Tickets, 800/838-3006, or at the door.

The Cooperstown Summer Music Festival continues with three Sunday evening chamber music concerts on August 9, 16 and 23, and a daytime family concert on August 15, all at the Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown. The Festival also will have a special concert for fall on October 4, Brahms by Heart with the Chiara String Quartet and Linda Chesis, flute. More information available online, CooperstownMusicFest.org, by calling the Festival at 877/666-7421, or emailing info@CooperstownMusicFest.org.

Flutist Linda Chesis started the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival with three events in 1999, and since then the Festival has offered the region more than 100 concerts, from classical to contemporary, jazz to bluegrass, cabaret to kids' concerts. The Festival has featured: Midori, Hank Jones, the Tokyo String Quartet, the American String Quartet, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Kurt Elling, Tim Fain, Bill Charlap, Hilary Kole, Simone Dinnerstein, and Mark O'Connor.

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LINEUP:

Sunday, August 9, 7:30 pm
Cooperstown Summer Music Festival: A Little Night and Day Music
Otesaga Resort Hotel, 60 Lake Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326
Artists: Linda Chesis, flute; Frank Huang, violin; Dimitri Murrath, viola; David Requiro, cello

Duos and trios from Beethoven to Dohnanyi performed by award-winning artists, including Frank Huang, who begins his tenure as concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic in September.

Beethoven String Trio in C minor
Handel/Halvorsen Passacaglia
Reger Serenade Op. 141a for flute, violin and viola
Villa Lobos Jet Whistle
Dohnanyi Serenade

Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for students. Purchase online, www.cooperstownmusicfest.org; by phone through Brown Paper Tickets, 800/838-3006, or at the door.

Saturday, August 15, 11 am
Cooperstown Summer Music Festival: SHUFFLE Family concert
Otesaga Resort Hotel, 60 Lake Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326
SHUFFLE artists: Ariadne Greif, soprano; Hassan Anderson, oboe; Moran Katz, clarinet; Brendan Speltz, violin; Sofia Nowik, cello; Eliran Avni, piano

Enjoy a unique and fun-filled concert, as audience members get to choose which music SHUFFLE will play. SHUFFLE's musical menu includes dances, movie tunes, marches, funny music, and "really old" music. Special pricing: $5 per person, or $15 for a family ticket that admits up to two adults and their children. Purchase online, www.cooperstownmusicfest.org; by phone through Brown Paper Tickets, 800/838-3006, or at the door.

Sunday, Aug 16 7:30 pm
Cooperstown Summer Music Festival: SHUFFLE Concert

SHUFFLE artists: Ariadne Greif, soprano; Hassan Anderson, oboe; Moran Katz, clarinet; Brendan Speltz, violin; Sofia Nowik, cello; Eliran Avni, piano

SHUFFLE's motto is You Choose. We Play. Audience members select from SHUFFLE's musical menu of 40 selections that vary from Baroque to Broadway, Classical to Jazz, Romantic to Pop. Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for students. Purchase online, www.cooperstownmusicfest.org; by phone through Brown Paper Tickets, 800/838-3006, or at the door.

Sunday, August 23, 7:30 pm
Cooperstown Summer Music Festival: 1924 Now and Beyond
Otesaga Resort Hotel, 60 Lake Street, Cooperstown, NY
www.cooperstownmusicfest.org
Artists: Eric Huebner, piano; Linda Chesis, flute; and Kaplan Fellows from the Bowdoin International Music Festival (Kristin Leitterman, oboe; Chung Yoo, clarinet; Hai Ji Kim, violin; Emily Brandenburg, viola and Reed Tucker, bass)

Time travel to the year that brought us Gershwin's invention of concert jazz?, Prokofiev's unique Quintet and Ravel's Gypsy-inspired masterpiece. Musical historian David Noon provides insight into the 1920s during the concert.

Ravel Tzigane
Stravinsky Piano Sonata
Prokofiev Quintet
Villa Lobos Choros no. 2
Roussel Joueurs de Flute
Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue

Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for students. Purchase online, www.cooperstownmusicfest.org; by phone through Brown Paper Tickets, 800/838-3006, or at the door.