Cooperstown Summer Music Festival Announces 23rd Season

The Cooperstown Summer Music Festival returns for its 23rd season with five concerts in August and September, bringing live chamber music back to the Cooperstown area after a pandemic hiatus during the summer of 2020.

Attending a concert will carry new meaning this summer, after a year of social isolation prevented artists from connecting with audiences in the concert hall. Music lovers of all stripes should take note of CSMF's exciting concert lineup, which promises to be one of the best ways to celebrate the return of the performing arts to the stage.

The Festival will open in joyous fashion with the CSMF Musical Kaleidoscope, a free outdoor performance at the Fenimore Art Museum Lawn on Tuesday, August 10 at 7pm (rain date: August 17). The Caroga Arts Ensemble, led by cellist Kyle Price, will perform a dynamic program ranging from bluegrass and classical to jazz and pop in a performance that is intended as a gift to the Cooperstown community. The performance, sponsored by NBT Bank, is free but ticket reservations are required.

"CSMF is thrilled to be partnering with the Caroga Arts Ensemble for our return to the stage," says Festival Founder and Artistic Director Linda Chesis. "We wanted our first concert to be a gift to the community so that everyone can experience the joy of live music after such a difficult year."

On Sunday, August 15 at 7pm, the much-acclaimed Imani Winds will perform a program of music for wind quintet at the Otesaga Resort Hotel. The GRAMMY-nominated ensemble is famous for their innovative programming and dynamic performances, and Cooperstown audiences can expect a concert filled with their signature fresh energy and technical expertise.

The Verona Quartet returns to the Festival on Sunday, August 22 at 4pm at the Farmers' Museum. This multi-award-winning quartet, veterans of the Festival and a CSMF audience favorite, will perform a program of works by Shostakovich and Dvorak's beloved "American" Quartet.

The festival then takes a detour to South America with a performance by the Brazilian jazz supergroup Trio da Paz, whom NPR describes as the "cream of expatriate Brazilian musicians in the US", on Monday, August 30 at 7pm at the Otesaga Resort Hotel.

Lastly, the festival will conclude with a duo performance by the violinist Danbi Um and guitarist Jiji on Sunday, September 19 at 4pm at the Otesaga Resort Hotel. These young virtuosos will join forces for a genre-spanning program including works by Corelli, Paganini, Piazzolla and Ella Fitzgerald.

For all events, venues will be at limited capacity and masking and social distancing protocols will be in place.

Chesis says that this season's artists are all so eager to be returning to the stage and are looking forward to bringing their craft to Cooperstown. "After such a long period of isolation, we can't wait to safely bring the community together to once again connect through music."

Tickets are free and can be reserved online at cooperstownmusicfest.org. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.