America's oldest continuing summer chamber music festival, Music Mountain, continues its 86th anniversary season with a weekend of returning favorite musicians. The Galvanized Jazz Band plays the best of New Orleans jazz tonight, August 15th (6:30PM) and the St. Petersburg String Quartet with guest artists Stefan Milenkovich, Violin and Melvin Chen, Piano will perform Prokofiev, Ravel, and Chausson on Sunday, August 16th (3PM). Weekend concerts at Music Mountain will continue thru September 27th.
Don't forget your dancing shoes on Saturday evening when The Galvanized Jazz Band returns for their eagerly anticipated annual visit to Music Mountain! Recognized by Connecticut Magazine as "Best Jazz Band in the State", the Galvanized Jazz Band has thrilled generations of fans since 1971! A dynamic group of Connecticut musicians, they perform at Jazz Festivals from Maine to New
Orleans and throughout Europe. Devoted to the energetic performance of hot dixieland, New
Orleans jazz, blues, rags, stomps, struts, spirituals, swing, and classic popular songs from the past century, they never disappoint a crowd!
The weekend continues on Sunday afternoon with the St. Petersburg String Quartet and guest artists Stefan Milenkovich, Violin and Melvin Chen, Piano performing Prokofiev: String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, Op. 92; Ravel: Violin Sonata No. 2 - a Music Mountain premiere (*this piece was played in
Chicago in 1928, one of its earliest American performances, by Jacques Gordon, Music Mountain's founder, with Ravel, himself, at the piano); and Chausson: Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Quartet in D Major, Op. 21.
The St. Petersburg Quartet is one of the world's leading string quartets. 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.
Stefan Milenkovich is a unique artist with an extraordinary productive longevity, professionalism and creativity. Performing for most of his life, Mr. Milenkovich gave his 1000th concert in Monterrey, Mexico at age 16. His 2014-15 season includes performances with Orchestra del' Arena di Verona (Italy), Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra (Croatia), Utah
Symphony Orchestra (USA), and Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana (Italy). Firmly dedicated to pedagogical work, Mr. Milenkovich taught in collaboration with
Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School in New York City and Perlman Music Program before accepting his current position as an Associate Professor of Violin at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Pianist Melvin Chen is recognized as an important artist, having received acclaim for performances throughout the U.S. and abroad. As a soloist and chamber musician Mr. Chen has performed at major venues, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Frick Collection, and
Kennedy Center, among others. An enthusiastic chamber musician, Mr. Chen has collaborated with such artists as Ida Kavafian, Steven Tenenbom, David Shifrin, and Peter Wiley. Mr. Chen is associate professor of piano and deputy dean at the Yale School of Music.
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 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 Peter & Will Anderson with Alex Wintz, guitar (August 22); 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. 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.
