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WCM Presents "From Classic to Cool"
WCM Presents
‘From Classic to Cool’
Weekend of Chamber Music’s acclaimed musicians return to the Catskills to perform July 10 to 24 in From Classic to Cool, WCM’s 18th summer music festival. Hailed by critics as “powerful” and with “some of the finest music we are likely to hear anywhere in the world,” the annual festival offers free open rehearsals, informal afternoon concerts, pre-concert talks, a Gala Grand Finale and much more. Special highlights this summer include the world premiere of “8 Singles” by Andrew Waggoner; a tribute and memorial performance for the late American composer Lee Hoiby (1926-2011), and the 10th Anniversary Celebration of WCM’s Summer Festival Intern Project.
A concert on the lawn with all-American music for winds opens the series rain or shine July 10 at the Presbyterian Church in downtown Jeffersonville . Free open rehearsals dubbed “At Work & Play Behind the Notes” are on Friday nights July 15 and 22 in preparation for the Saturday concerts, all at the bucolic Eddie Adams Farm in Jeffersonville . “MusicTalks!” on July 20 offers a musical tour-de-force program at North Branch Inn, and refreshments will be for sale. The Summer Festival mainstays are two Saturday concerts: “Tea Time Concert” July 16 with music by Waggoner, Ravel, Hoiby and Stravinsky; and Brahms, Reger and Respighi inhabit the “Gala Grand Finale” July 23, followed by the Artists’ Reception on the barn porch under the stars at the Adams Farm. Pre-concert talks pave the way for these two concerts on July 16 and July 23. Closing on July 24 at the Nesin Theater in Monticello , the WCM Summer Festival Interns and Festival Artists perform in celebration of WCM’s 10-year history of providing full scholarships for high school interns to study with its artists at the annual festival.
Artistic Director and flutist Judith Pearce and colleagues began the summer series in 1994, offering just one weekend of concerts at the old Lake Huntington Meat Market. Today, some of America ’s finest chamber musicians come to Sullivan County to perform great music of all eras for the Summer Festival. Ms. Pearce aims to stimulate the imagination and engage everyone with colorful, provocative concerts. As one reviewer wrote, “The programming was spectacular …the works performed offered an incredibly wide infusion of contrasting sounds and colors.”
Tickets range from free to $30; admission is always free for students 18 and under. Call 845-887-5803, or visit WeekendofChamberMusic.org. Find WCM on Facebook by searching WCMconcerts.
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