National Music Festival artistic director Richard Rosenberg has selected much of the music, musicians are signing on to perform, and the online box office is offering guaranteed-seat Festival season passes at a discount until January 1.
From June 2 to 15, more than 150 National Music Festival musicians will perform at over 30 events, with music ranging from musical theater to solo repertoire to chamber music to large symphony orchestra with chorus. Over 10 of the events—as well as all of the over 200 rehearsals—will be free.
National Music Festival Orchestra
Liane Hansen, the anchor of National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Sunday until her retirement last year, will return to the Festival stage to narrate Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. Ms. Hansen will also make her Chestertown singing and dancing debut in the world premiere of “A Merry War,” Philip Rosenberg’s hilarious and tuneful re-envisioning of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” as a 1930s Fred Astaire/ Ginger Rogers musical.
Concerts and recitals will feature classical guitar, percussion instruments, and the Mana Saxophone Quartet, among others. For the Festival Finale, renowned guest conductor Gilbert Kaplan will lead the Festival Symphony Orchestra, Chester River Chorale, and Philadelphia’s Singing City chorus in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in c, “The Resurrection Symphony.”
There will be performances of music by Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Haydn, Schumann, Rodrigo, Prokofiev, Ravel, Satie, Dymiotis, Shostakovich, and more; returning mentors include the Brazilian guitarist Camilo Carrara, violinists Jessica Mathaes and Dana Goode, oboist Jared Hauser, and percussionist Michelle Humphreys. New members of the Festival’s mentor roster will include martial arts expert, model, and pianist Elaine Kwon; and Brazilian violinist, composer, and conductor, Arthur Barbosa.
“This season will offer something for every palate: saints, sinners, seasons, and symphonies,” says Festival artistic director Richard Rosenberg. “We will perform Mahler’s spine-tingling ‘Resurrection Symphony,’ with its massive arsenal of vocal and instrumental musicians; Kurt Weill’s naughty ‘Seven Deadly Sins,’ a jazzy, circa-1930s journey through seven US cities, as seen through the eyes of the German composer responsible for ‘The Threepenny Opera,’ and ‘One Touch of Venus’; Vivaldi’s sparkling ‘Four Seasons’ concertos, masterfully performed by four of our most talented apprentices; as well as favorite symphonies by Dvorak and Shostakovich.”
All 200 or so rehearsals and over 10 concerts, including performances at Chestertown’s Farmers Markets, will be free and open to anyone – young children are especially welcome. Single tickets will sell for $10 or $15, and will be available beginning March 15, 2013. Festival season passes are a bargain at $160 until December 31 and $175 starting January 1. “Season passes make great holiday stocking stuffers,” says Festival executive director Caitlin Patton.
“Getting your Festival passes early not only ensures that you will get the lower price of $160, but also gives you guaranteed access to all ticket Festival events, as well as special pass-holder-only events including a reception to meet the musicians and a preview of the Festival’s musical theater production. You could spend more for just two tickets to a concert in Philadelphia or Baltimore,” says Patton.
Festival passes can be purchased online at www.nationalmusic.us/tickets.html, by calling (410) 778-2064, or by mailing a check to 5229 Johnsontown Rd. Chestertown, MD 21620.
In its third year of existence and its second year in Chestertown, the National Music Festival is developing an enthusiastic and expanding audience on the Eastern Shore and beyond.
“Mickey and I were National Symphony season ticket holders in Washington for years and since we moved to Chestertown we’ve been going to Baltimore to hear the Baltimore Symphony,” says Margie Elsberg, “so we’ve heard some wonderful music over the past 47 years. But the National Music Festival is awesome and the Chestertown venues are smaller, so the music is not only gorgeous, it’s up close and personal. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
The 2012 Festival attracted more than 130 musicians from 28 states and 16 countries—from as far away as Asia and Argentina—to rehearse and perform together and also to teach and learn.
“The purpose of the National Music Festival is to bring gifted musicians, on the cusp of their professional careers, together with world-class music teachers from major orchestras, chamber ensembles and conservatory faculties,” Patton explains. “The average age of the apprentices is about 22, and the festival is like a boot camp where they learn what’s expected of professionals. The great thing is that they prove over and over that they’re up to the task.”
Most mentors and apprentices will, once again, be guests in private homes in and around Chestertown during the Festival, according to Patton. She says most of last year’s hosts are eager to sign on again for 2013.
“The enthusiasm is infectious,” Patton says. “Audiences and volunteers have been super-excited about making next year’s Festival the best ever.”
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