Spend the weekend at America's oldest continuing summer chamber music festival, Music Mountain, with the acclaimed Amernet String Quartet on Saturday, August 3rd (6:30PM) and Sunday, August 4th (3PM). Saturday evening's program will feature guest artists Alexander Platt and Peter Askimas they perform Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and two works by Dvorak. Sunday afternoon's program will feature Ronald Leonard,cello, and will highlight Bocherrini, Arensky, and Tchaikovsky. Celebrating their 84th season, Music Mountain's beautifully air conditionEd Gordon Hall is the place to be to hear the best in chamber music. Audiences also visit Falls Village to hear Jazz, Country, and Big Bang fill the walls of Gordon Hall. Concerts continue every weekend through September 8th.
Enjoy the weekend with the beautiful music of the esteemedAmernet String Quartet. Offering two separate programs, this rare opportunity will treat music lovers to an array of classical masterpieces, some of which have rarely been heard at Music Mountain. The weekend begins with Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf, Opus 67 in a special transcription for String Quartet by the Amernet cellist, Jason Callaway; Dvorak: Selection from Cypresses B 152; and Dvorak: Quintet for Strings & Double Bass in G Major, Opus 77. Guest artists Alexander Platt, narrator and Peter Askim, Bass, join Amernet String Quartet on Saturday evening.
Sundays program will consist of three pieces seldomly performed at Music Mountain. Bocherrini: C Major Quintet, Opus 42 #2, G310; Arensky: Quartet with Two Cellos, Opus 35; and Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No 1 in D Major, Opus 11. Guest artist Ronald Leonard, Cello, joins the quartet for the afternoon.
One of today's exceptional string quartets, the Amernet String Quartet has garnered national and international praise for their passionate playing and technical ability. They have toured across the US, as well as extensive travels across Europe. Since 2004 the Amernet String Quartet has been the Ensemble-in-Residence at Florida International University. Additionally, the quartet currently hosts Animato, an annual summer chamber music camp in Miami.
Alexander Platt is a highly respected symphony orchestra conductor with over two decades of vast conducting experience. He has conducted and guest conducted in the US, Germany, Denmark, and London. Mr. Platt recently completed 12 seasons as Resident Conductor of
Chicago Opera Theater. Currently, he is Music Director of the Wisconsin Philharmonic and the Marion Indiana Philharmonic; the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, and the Grand Forks Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Platt spends his summers in New York as Music Director of the Maverick Concerts.
Peter Askim is a masterful composer, conductor, and bassist. He has been a member of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra and has had his works performed by Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, The Yale Symphony Orchestra, and The International Society of Bassists. Mr. Askim is currently the music director and composer-in-residence of The Idyllwild Arts Academy. Earlier this summer he led the inaugural season of the Institute at Music Mountain, a training program for young artists.
For 25 years, Ronald Leonard was principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. During that time, he frequently performed as a soloist with the orchestra, as well as being active as a chamber musician and teacher. Most recently,
Mr. Leonard has served as conductor --- he is conductor of the Colburn School Chamber Orchestra.
Mr. Leonard is currently on faculty at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, where he has been teaching for three decades.
The Saturday Twilight series continues in two weeks with Galvanized Jazz Band (August 17), and the first annual Folk Music Jamboree (August 24).
Located in Falls Village, Connecticut, Music Mountain is located on Music Mountain Road, where a short scenic drive will bring music lovers to Gordon Hall with ample & free parking. Iced Tea, Coffee and cookies are available and, as is the Music Mountain custom, audience members are invited to picnic before the concerts on the scenic grounds.
Tickets: Saturday & Sunday: $35 at the door, $30 in advance. Children ages 5-18 are admitted FREE for all concerts when accompanied by a ticket holder (Music Mountain gratefully acknowledges children admission support by the Hellen Plummer Foundation for a gift in memory of
James Merrill, Connecticut's first Poet Laureate). All concerts begin at 6:30pm on Saturday evenings and 3pm on Sunday afternoons. 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.
