Music Mountain to Welcome Enso String Quartet & More, 7/16-17

America's oldest continuing summer chamber music festival, Music Mountain, continues its exciting 87th Anniversary Season with the critically acclaimed Enso String Quartet with guest artist Daniel Epstein, piano performing Turina, Beethoven, and Schumann on Sunday, July 17 (3PM). As the first collaboration with the acclaimed Catskill Jazz Factory and MM, jazz vocalist Joanna Wallfisch will sing the sounds of the 1960s on Saturday, July 16 (6:30pm). The Music Mountain summer is in full swing and will feature 7 more weekends of incredible music including returning favorite chamber ensembles and musicians, first-time guests (pianist Richard Goode), the ever-popular Saturday Evening Twilight Series, featuring an array of Jazz ensembles and musicians, including the artists of the Catskill Jazz Factory, and the second season of the new Music Mountain Master Classes for Young Artists plus so much more! See why the New Yorker called Music Mountain "The Summer Shrine of the String Quartet." Concerts are scheduled through September 11.

"To bring our jazz program to Music Mountain audiences is both an honor and an exciting new step for us as an organization that values bringing our premiere projects to diverse audiences", enthuses Piers Playfair, Founder & Artistic Director of Catskill Jazz Factory. "Music Mountain is an intimate and beautiful space to bring jazz, especially considering the superb quality of their annual chamber programming as it enters its 87th season. We can't wait to share our program and play our part in this halls history."

Called "a breath of fresh air on the jazz scene," the Saturday evening Twilight Series continues with vocalist Joanna Wallfisch debuting a retrospective of 1960's songstresses that will bridge the sounds and stories of folk and jazz improvisations, calling on Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Judee Sills and beyond. British vocalist/composer Joanna Wallfisch has built an impressive profile since her move to New York from London in 2012. Her latest album, The Origin of Adjustable Things was received with wide critical acclaim. Joanna has had the opportunity to tour with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and has also appeared with the Lee Konitz Quartet. Alongside Joanna's performance and compositional work, she is a passionate educator, especially in the field of early music education for young children.

Saturday's performance is presented through a collaboration with The Catskill Jazz Factory. For the next 5 weekends, some of today's best jazz artists will bring their talents to Music Mountain. The Catskill Jazz Factory is a non-profit program founded in 2012 that supports today's best young jazz artists. CJF offers year-round school workshops, concerts, mountaintop residencies, lectures, and free world-class performances in diverse spaces to a variety of regional audiences. By developing opportunities for artist residencies, cross-generational collaborations, creative project development and community engagement, Catskill Jazz Factory brings talent to the community while also bringing new audiences and ears to the art of jazz.

Sunday afternoon welcomes the distinguished Enso String Quartet with guest artist Daniel Epstein, piano performing Beethoven: Quartet in E Flat Major, Opus 74 "Harp"; and Schumann: Piano Quartet in E Flat Major, Opus 47; and the Music Mountain premiere of Turina: Serenata, Opus 87.

Founded at Yale University in 1999, the Enso String Quartet has risen to the front rank of string ensembles. The ensemble regularly performs the classics of the string quartet literature, but also champions lesser-known works that deserve to be heard, along with much contemporary music, including works the Enso Quartet has commissioned. In addition to their in-demand performances at concert halls around the world, the Enso String Quartet and its individual members are sought after as instructors. The ensemble gives master classes for the next generation of professional musicians, but also works with enthusiastic amateurs, young and old, and with the autistic, in conjunction with the United Kingdom-based organization Music for Autism.

Daniel Epstein has become recognized as one of the most vital and versatile solo and chamber pianists of his generation. He has appeared as guest soloist with such eminent American orchestras as Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Houston and has given recitals at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. As a member of the famed Raphael Trio, Mr. Epstein has appeared at The Kennedy Center, London's Wigmore Hall, among performances in Vienna, Paris, Geneva, and Budapest. Mr. Epstein has also established a reputation as one of the most sought-after teachers in the US. He is part of the distinguished faculty at the Manhattan School of Music and the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.

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 and brownies, coffee, tea, lemonade, and spring water are available for purchase.

Music Mountain is supported, in part, by the Connecticut Commission On Culture & Tourism.

Chamber music concerts continue with Avalon String Quartet with Soyeon Kate Lee, piano (July 24), Richard Goode, piano (July 31), Harlem String Quartet with Pamela Mia Paul, piano (August 7), and St. Petersburg Piano Quartet (August 14).

The Saturday Evening Twilight Series continues with the Catskill Jazz Factory's presentations of Dan Tepfer (July 23), Will and Peter Anderson (July 30), Chris Washburne & The Syotos Band featuring Andre Mehmari (August 6), and Chris Pattishall (August 13).

Specially Priced Concerts are as Follows: Tickets for the Mid-Summer Benefit Concert with pianist Richard Goode on Sunday, July 31 (3PM) are $75 and include a voucher for any regularly priced 2016 concert. Tickets for the Labor Day Benefit Concert & Reception with the Shanghai String Quartet, and pianists Gilbert Kalish and Jonathan Yates are $75 and include a voucher for any regularly priced 2017 concert.

The 87th season will continue to offer two ticketing options to complement their established family friendly ticket prices! Concert goers will be able to reserve their favorite seat(s) in advance for a one-time payment of $60 per seat, per season. For information on how to reserve a seat and specific seat availability, please call 860-824-7126. Music Mountain also continues its popular Gold Pass program. Major Gold Pass benefits include: Admission to all concerts; Priority Reserved Seating (subject to availability); $20 price for one guest per Gold Pass. Cost for Gold Pass Memberships: Individual: $780; Pair: $1,500. For a list of other benefits and more information, please call 860-824-7126. All Gold Passes are transferable.

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. Sunday afternoon Chamber Music concerts are at 3pm. Group rates and pre season ticket plans 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.

Photo Credit: Juergen Frank