Reflection and Celebration is the theme of this year’s Chamber Music Festival – six concerts performed by world-class musicians at the Ebenezer Theater in historic Easton, Maryland. Back for this celebration and as a reflection of the Festival’s past four decades are musicians long-associated with the Festival – Catherine Cho, current Artistic Director, Robert McDonald, Peggy Pearson, Daniel and Todd Phillips, Tara Helen O’Connor, Carmit Zori, and especially two of its founding members, J. Lawrie Bloom and Artistic Director, Marcy Rosen. These players will perform some of their and the audience’s favorite repertoire, combining forces in partnerships well-established over the years. As always, the Festival will also showcase a distinguished guest string quartet as well as superb younger musicians who are well on their way to becoming outstanding performers on the world’s stages. And, as always, there will be entertaining surprises along the way.

Week Two of the Festival will feature the iconic Juilliard String Quartet – Areta Zhulla, Ronald Copes, Molly Carr, and Astrid Schween. They will perform Bedřich Smetana’s highly autobiographical and moving String Quartet No. 1 in E Minor “From My Life” (June 12). They will also perform Beethoven’s monumental String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, complete with its original last movement, the Grosse Fuge.  Preceding the Beethoven, they play Jörg Widmann’s String Quartet No. 8 “Study on Beethoven III,” where the second movement is a set of variations based on the fourth movement of the Beethoven string quartet (both on June 13).

Newcomers to the Festival are 28-year-old violist Zhanbo Zheng and 28-year-old pianists Albert Cano Smit and Wynona Wang. All three are major first-prize winners in their fields and acclaimed soloists with major orchestras worldwide. All three will join forces with the Festival’s veteran musicians in varied repertoire, including works by Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Dvořák, and Fauré. Of special note, Smit will partner with Chesapeake Music favorite, cellist Sterling Elliott, playing American composer Amy Beach’s sublime Dreaming for Violoncello & Piano (June 6), and Wang will join flutist Tara Helen O’Connor for Mel Bonis’ beautiful and spirited Sonata in C-sharp Minor for Flute and Piano (June 14). Smit will also perform solo, playing two charming works by Cécile Chaminade: Étude de concert, “Automne” and Pièce humoristique, “Autrefois” (June 7).

The Festival will offer a generous mix of standard repertoire favorites and lesser-known gems. Favorites include Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A Major (June 8) and his Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major, (June 13); Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 5 in A Major (June 7); Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 2 in C Major (June 6); Dvořák’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major (June 7); Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor (June 8), and his String Quintet No. 1 in A Major (June 12). Among the exciting lesser-known works are Luigi Boccherini’s Quintet in D Minor in an arrangement by oboist Peggy Pearson (June 6); Robert Schumann’s Märchenerzählungen (“Fairy Tales”): Four Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano (June 6); Louise Farrenc’s Trio in E Minor for Flute, Cello and Piano (June 12); Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (“Transfigured Night”) (June 14), and Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in G Minor (June 14).

For more information on Chesapeake Music’s 40^th Chamber Music Festival and to purchase tickets, visit ChesapeakeMusic.org.

 

Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival Schedule

June 6–14, 2025

June 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Opening Extravaganza!

June 7 – 7:30 p.m.
Hope and Drama

June 8 – 5:00 p.m.
Masters at Work

June 12 – 7:30 p.m.
From My Life

June 13 – 7:30 p.m.
Quartets Old and New

June 14 – 7:30 p.m.
Festival Finale

2 Free and Open Rehearsals: June 4 and June 11 at 10:00 a.m.

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Based in Easton, Maryland, and celebrating its 40th Anniversary Year, Chesapeake Music is a nonprofit organization that brings renowned musicians to delight, engage, and surprise today’s audiences, and educate, inspire, and develop tomorrow’s. Learn more at ChesapeakeMusic.org.

Predictions are in. The combined talents of saxophonist Salvador Flores and pianist Andrew Kosinski will make Chesapeake Music’s March 22 Interlude Concert a truly memorable event. These extraordinary musicians will play an eclectic mix of classical, jazz, Latin, and fusion music, including two of their own original compositions and a world premiere by Alex Tedrow.

Salvador Flores, a saxophonist, educator, and composer, has performed at the Kennedy Center, the White House, and the New World Center. Flores earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan under the tutelage of Dr. Timothy McAllister and Dr. Andrew Bishop. While at Michigan, he received the Albert A. Stanley Medal, the highest honor awarded by the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. Flores is currently a U.S. Army Band member and an endorsed Yamaha Performing Artist. His debut album with the working title Mosaic is scheduled to drop in early 2026.

Andrew Kosinski, who hails from New Jersey, became a pupil of Steinway artist Vladislav Kovalsky and has studied and performed with many renowned pianists, including Min Kwon, David Brooks, and Tibor Szasz. An accomplished composer, Kosinski’s works have been commissioned, performed, and recorded across Europe, Asia, and the United States. His short film score “If” won the Golden Award for Best Music Composer at the Tokyo Film Awards. Kosinski earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in music from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. He currently serves as a staff arranger for the U.S. Army Band in Washington, DC.

Some highlights from the upcoming Flores and Kosinski program include a tango, the well-loved standards Misty and Gershwin’s Summertime from Porgy and Bess, an original work by Kosinski called Where You Are, and a world premiere composed by Alex Tedrow called Andisol. The idea for Tedrow’s Andisol came from the experience shared by Flores and Tedrow while watching a volcano erupt as they sat for hours on a mountaintop in Iceland.

No doubt about it. The music played by Flores and Kasinski will energize you and lift your spirits. Flores suggests you come with open ears and minds and enjoy a truly unique musical afternoon.

Tickets for the March 22 Interlude Concert held at the Ebenezer Theater in Easton are $50. Chesapeake Music also offers a limited number of free tickets for students, music educators, and the Talbot County Department of Emergency Services, as well as a “buy-one-get-one” option for those who are new to Chesapeake Music and want to bring a friend. Visit ChesapeakeMusic.org for tickets and more information.

Based in Easton, Maryland, and celebrating its 40th Anniversary Year, Chesapeake Music is a nonprofit organization that brings renowned musicians to delight, engage, and surprise today’s audiences, and educate, inspire, and develop tomorrow’s. To learn more about Chesapeake Music, visit their website at https://chesapeakemusic.org/

Chesapeake Music is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Challenge America award of $10,000 in support of its youth outreach programming in 2025.

“We are thrilled and grateful to receive another round of funding from NEA to continue this important work we began this past year,” said Mariana Lesher, Chesapeake Music’s board president.

In 2024, Chesapeake Music used its first NEA award to bring a group of specialist artist-teachers to Talbot County, carrying out two residencies that touched all five public elementary schools as well as an after-school program at Building African American Minds. These visits were interactive and collaborative in nature, sparking curiosity and engagement in music and the arts with young learners. The work slated to be carried out in 2025 will be a continuation of these efforts, focusing on Talbot County Public Schools and local community organizations.

David Faleris, Chesapeake Music’s Executive Director notes, “Receiving this support from the NEA two years in a row is a validation of the careful consideration and hard work that goes into our educational programming efforts. Engaging young learners is essential for developing future generations of not just artists and art lovers, but also creative thinkers and compassionate human beings.”

The NEA will award 272 Challenge America awards nationwide, totaling $2,720,000 as part of the recent announcement of fiscal year 2025 grants. “The NEA is proud to continue our nearly 60 years of supporting the efforts of organizations and artists that help to shape our country’s vibrant arts sector and communities of all types across our nation,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “It is inspiring to see the wide range of creative projects taking place.”

To learn more about other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

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Based in Easton, Maryland, and celebrating its 40th Anniversary Year, Chesapeake Music is a nonprofit organization that brings renowned musicians to delight, engage, and surprise today’s audiences, and educate, inspire, and develop tomorrow’s. To learn more about Chesapeake Music, visit their website at https://chesapeakemusic.org/

Music lovers can look forward to Chesapeake Music’s upcoming Interlude Concert featuring the multi-award-winning Isidore String Quartet at the Ebenezer Theater on October 5. Members of the quartet are violinists Adrian Steele and Phoenix Avalon, violist Devin Moore, and cellist, Joshua McClendon.

I spoke with Phoenix Avalon who began playing violin when he was three years old, has studied under acclaimed violinists Itzhak Perlman and Li Lin, and has won numerous competitions, most recently receiving first place at the Louis Sophr International Violin Competition.

How long has the Isidore Quartet been together?

We’ve been together since 2019. Our teachers at Juilliard recognized that there was something special happening when we played together – a specific kind of magic that just felt right. They encouraged us to make our quartet official. Now we have spent so much time playing together that we can almost intuitively sense each other’s movements.

Why did you select this specific program for the concert in Easton?

It’s an interesting program that an audience can relate to. The program exemplifies the foundation of the Quartet. Mozart’s String Quartet No.19 in C major, known as the “Dissonance” Quartet, at the time was super revolutionary—super weird. The opening is groundbreaking and launches a certain trajectory of sound. It helped pave the way for the possibilities of what a quartet can be. Bartok was the first to bring forward his own unique sense of Hungarian folk. In the Bartok String Quartet No. 2, he explores what you can do with rhythm and texture and bridges a gap between very folksy rhythms and very romantic overplay. It is quite sad but there is also some hope in it. The Ravel String Quartet in F major defines the French sound for a string quartet. He uses different sound waves, different colors, and different rhythms. It’s something that didn’t exist in any other quartet.

 

Are these three quartets forerunners to other symphonies or concertos?

It is not a clear linear line, but you can definitely see inspiration. You can see that composers who came after them were inspired by these quartets. Remember that the quartet is the medium where composers delve the deepest into their own souls. It’s so intimate. It’s so complicated.  But it can also be so simple. You can see what is in the composer’s heart.

What do you want your audience to consider when they listen to your quartet?

We are really trying to tell a story. There is no need to have a deep expertise in various chords. We want to present it in a way that makes our audience think about something, and our goal as performers is to convey some kind of emotion.

You started playing the violin when you were three. How has your playing evolved?

It becomes part of you as a person. It’s a natural thing. It’s a way of exploring yourself, your own personality, your own issues, and your strengths.  It’s almost a meditative process.

Has the quartet been to Easton before?

We haven’t been to Easton before. A very close mentor of mine is Catherine Cho, Artistic Director of Chesapeake Music. I am thrilled to see her in Easton. I hope our audience will have as much fun as we hope to have in Easton.

Tickets for the Isidore Quartet performance on October 5, at Easton’s Ebenezer Theater are $50. Chesapeake Music also offers free tickets for students and music educators, as well as a “buy-one-get-one” option for those who are new to Chesapeake Music and want to bring a friend. To purchase tickets, visit ChesapeakeMusic.org, and to learn more about the quartet, visit isidorestringquartet.com.

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by Maria Grant

“Genuinely exciting” – The New York Times

Praised by The Washington Post for “astounding” and “captivating” performances that draw from its notable “meld of intellect, technique and emotions,” the Aizuri Quartet, a finalist of Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition in 2014,  was named the recipient of the 2022 Cleveland Quartet Award by Chamber Music America, with other honors including the Grand Prize at the 2018 M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition and top prizes at the 2017 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in Japan.

At the Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival’s Opening Night, June 7, the Aizuri will perform Franz Schubert’s String Quartet “Death and the Maiden,” a passionate and compelling work, one of the pillars of the chamber music repertoire.  On June 8, audiences will discover composer Reena Esmail, in Zeher (Poison in Hindustani), a short work commissioned by the Aizuri, which combines Indian and Western musical traditions. On June 9, the Aizuri will treat their audience to Fanny Mendelssohn’s elegant String Quartet in E-flat Major, the work of an extraordinarily gifted musician and composer.

The Quartet’s latest album, Earthdrawn Skies, was named one of NPR’s Ten Best Classical Albums of 2023. It was praised by NPR Music as an album that “convincingly connects the dots in wildly diverse music stretching over eight centuries . . . arousing solemn contemplation, cosmic curiosity, folksy delight and introspective scrutiny.” Aizuri’s debut album, Blueprinting, was nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY Award, and named one of NPR Music’s Best Classical Albums of 2018.

The Aizuri views the string quartet as a living art and springboard for community, collaboration, curiosity, and experimentation. The Quartet has drawn praise both for bringing “a technical bravado and emotional power” to bold new commissions, and for its “flawless” (San Diego Union-Tribune) performances of the great works of the past. The New York Times has applauded the Quartet as “genuinely exciting” and “imaginative”.

The Aizuri believes in an integrative approach to music-making, in which teaching, performing, writing, arranging, curation, and the Quartet’s role in the community are all connected. In 2020, the Quartet launched AizuriKids, a free online series of educational videos for children that uses the string quartet as a catalyst for creative learning, featuring themes such as astronomy, American history, and cooking.

The Aizuri Quartet is passionate about nurturing the next generation of artists and has held several residencies that were instrumental in its development, notably at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia (2014-2016) and at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts (2015-2016.) In 2022, the Aizuri Quartet was selected as part of the Artist Propulsion Lab second cohort, a project of WQXR, New York City’s classical radio station.

Formed in 2012 and combining four distinctive musical personalities into a powerful collective, the Aizuri Quartet draws its name from “aizuri-e,” a style of predominantly blue Japanese woodblock printing that is noted for its vibrancy and incredible detail. Violinist Miho Saegusa is a founding member of the Quartet.

For complete program listings and to purchase tickets, go to chesapeakemusic.org.

Sponsors of this year’s Festival include the Maryland State Arts Council, Paul and Joanne Prager, and private benefactors.

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Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival Schedule | June 7-15, 2024

Friday, June 7 – 7:30 p.m. | Opening Extravaganza!

Saturday, June 8 – 7:30 p.m. | Personal Perspectives

Sunday, June 9 – 5:30 p.m. | Fabulous Fantasy

Thursday, June 13 – 7:30 p.m. | Masterminds

Friday, June 14 – 7:30 p.m. | Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition and More

Saturday, June 15 – 7:30 p.m. | Finale

 

The 11th Biennial Chesapeake International Chamber Music Competition for Young Professionals will be held live on April 13, 2024, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Ebenezer Theater in Easton, Maryland, and live-streamed all day. The awards will be given around 5 p.m. This exciting daylong celebration of chamber music will feature five of the most distinguished young ensembles competing for the Lerman Gold ($10,000) and Silver ($5,000) prizes, as well as the Audience Choice Award ($1000) and three Honorarium Awards ($1000 each).

This year’s finalists come from around the U.S. and have studied and prepared at distinguished schools and conservatories. The average age of an ensemble must be under 31, and some include members as young as 21.  The applicants represent a wide range of instrumental combinations: winds, strings, and mixed instruments, including piano. The preliminary judging panel reported this to be a particularly talented group of young musicians. The five finalists are The Amara Trio of New York, New York; The Hesper Quartet of New York, New York; the Kodak Quartet of New York, New York; the PULSE quartet of East Lansing, Michigan at Michigan State University; and Trio Menil of Houston, Texas.

The Amara Trio was formed at the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival during the summer of 2023 and began its musical journey studying Schubert’s B-flat Trio. What ensued was some of the most meaningful artistic and personal experiences of their lives, stemming from their deep love of music and the unbridled joy of sharing this music with those around them. Since Kneisel Hall, The Amara Trio has performed in venues including Prior-Jollek Hall in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and Paul Hall at the Juilliard School. The trio is extremely passionate about community engagement and they often share their love of music in the Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York and multiple retirement homes around the New York and New Jersey areas. The Amara Trio is continuing their studies at the Juilliard School as an Honors Chamber Group under the guidance of Laurie Smukler and Joel Krosnick.

The Hesper Quartet is a Korean-American string quartet that was formed in 2022 at the Emerson String Quartet Institute of Stony Brook University. Its members hold degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, the Juilliard School, Yale University, Stony Brook University, and Seoul National University. “Hesper” means evening star, and like how each star in the night sky has its own story, the Hesper Quartet strives to tell the fascinating story of each work of music that they play. The Hesper Quartet has performed at a variety of venues such as the Staller Center for the Arts, Capitol Theatre Windsor, and the JeJu Cultural Arts Center in South Korea. Last year, the Hespers enjoyed sharing music with the community at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in Detroit. Notable achievements include winning first prize at the Fanny Mendelssohn International Competition, the Servaas Competition, and the Ackerman Chamber Competition.

The award-winning string quartet, Kodak Quartet, is setting the world on fire with its passionate and energetic playing. They are highly regarded for their work with contemporary composers and for presenting traditional works with a contemporary flavor. Kodak Quartet formed in Rochester, NY while attending the Eastman School of Music and is currently based

in New York, NY. Kodak’s members hail from the US, Canada and France. The quartet won the first prize at the 2023 Frances Walton competition and was honored with first prize and grand prize at the 2023 Coltman Chamber Music Competition. They have performed concerts at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance, the Banff Centre, and MISQA. They have also performed for thousands of children at non-traditional performance venues such as schools, movie theaters, and other outreach programs. Kodak Quartet has also performed with GRAMMY-winning artists Time for Three, Kronos Quartet, and JACK Quartet.

PULSE is an internationally award-winning saxophone quartet based in East Lansing at Michigan State University studying under Professor Joseph Lulloff. Its mission is to deliver a diverse range of repertoire that will engage and inspire any audience while breaking down the proverbial barrier between the audience and the performer. PULSE was artists in residence for the 2023 Manitou Music Festival in Glen Arbor, MI, and for the Interlochen Public Radio and the Sound Garden Project. Through the Sound Garden Project, PULSE worked to plant music in unexpected places and bring music outside of the concert hall to educate the community about diversity within classical music. PULSE has been recognized or achieved accolades in multiple competitions including the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, NOLA Chamber Festival Competition, Coltman Chamber Music Competition, Barbara Wagner Chamber Music Competition, and the International Music Competition.

Based in Houston, Texas, Trio Menil is a versatile ensemble at home in both the concert hall and classroom. The trio has performed in venues around North America and has received the Grand Prize and Odyssey Chamber Music Series Award at the 2023 Plowman Chamber Music Competition. The trio is named after the Menil Collection, a museum and neighborhood of art in the heart of Houston, and shares the same mission to attract, educate, and inspire diverse audiences through art. Trio Menil is part of DACAMERA’s Young Artist Program, where they present concerts in collaboration with art exhibitions, and teach music-integrative workshops in Houston public and private schools. Formed at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, the trio has worked with James Dunham, Paul Kantor, Jon Kimura Parker, Virginia Weckstrom, and Kathleen Winkler.

It takes a dedicated and experienced group of musicians to make great decisions about young talent and the Competition’s two panels are no exception.  The preliminary judges, responsible for selecting the finalists, conduct blind evaluations based only on an audio performance included in the application. The finalist judges watch the live performance on April 13 and select the prize winners at the end of the day.  Over the past 20 years, they have proven their expertise as many of the winners and finalists have gone on to illustrious careers.

The two judging panels are chaired by Chesapeake Music’s artistic directors, Marcy Rosen, Head Judge, Co-Artistic Director, Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival, and cellist, and Catherine Cho, Head Judge, Co-Artistic Director, Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival, and violinist/ violist. Preliminary judges include  Catherine Cho, Laurie Bloom, clarinetist; Daniel Phillips, violinist/violist; Todd Phillips, violinist/violist; and Diane Walsh, pianist. Final judges include Marcie Rosen, flutist Tara Helen O’Connor, and pianist Robert McDonald.

The Competition will begin at 11 a.m. on April 13 and last all day with prizes announced following the final performance around 5 p.m.  There will be Sunday afternoon concerts on April 14 by the ensembles at the following locations: St. Marks UM Church, Easton, Pulse, 3 p.m.; Christ Church, Cambridge,  Kodak Quartet, 4 p.m.; Holy Trinity Church, Oxford, Amara Trio, 2 p.m.; Temple B’nai Israel, Easton, Hesper Quartet, 2 p.m.; and Trio Menil, Private.

The Competition is a program of Chesapeake Music. Tickets for this all-day extravaganza are available online. The cost for the entire day of beautiful music is $25 per person and students are admitted free of charge.  For those who cannot make the trip to Easton, the event will be livecast for $10.  Contributions to help fund the Competition are also welcome. The recording will be available both on the day of the performance and for the week following. For further information about attending the Competition events, visit chesapeakemusic.org/competition or call 410-819-0380.

Chesapeake Music’s Sunday afternoon March 10th Interlude Concert features a piano quintet with artists from the collective ensemble/132.  This concert promises to be a one-of-a-kind chamber music experience characterized by the quintet’s artistry and unique programming.

The quintet includes pianist Sahun Sam Hong, violinists, Abi Fayette and Stephanie Zyzak, violist, Luther Warren, and cellist, Zachary Mowitz.

Robert Schumann’s “Carnaval” and Igor Stravinsky’s Petrouchka, both arranged by pianist Hong, are two of the selections on the program. The concert will also include a Joseph Haydn Piano Trio and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s “Calvary” String Quartet.

The program begins with a piano trio in A major by Joseph Haydn, Hob.XV:18, a good example of his late trios. After beginning with three firm introductory chords the composition is in turn flowing, lyrical, and lively, dancing happily to a good-natured close.

Next on the program is Robert Schumann’s “Carnaval” Op.9 subtitled “21 Little Scenes on Four Notes.” It consists of a collection of short pieces representing masked revelers at a grand ball where Schumann imagined the people, situations, moods, and dances that one might encounter at such a festival and, from those impressions, created the individual movements of the “Carnaval.” The pieces are connected by a recurring motif. Today, despite its technical and emotional difficulty, it is one of Schumann’s most often performed works.

Following the intermission, the group will feature Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s String Quartet No.1 “Calvary,” a classical quartet, influenced by spirituals and jazz. Violist Philip Payton describes Perkinson as a prodigious composer who spanned many genres including classical, jazz, pop, film, television, and dance.  Perkinson was briefly the pianist for jazz drummer Max Roach and also wrote arrangements for renowned artists including Harry Belafonte and Marvin Gaye.

The final selection will be a ballet score performed by five musicians.  Imagine that!  No one did until Hong came out with his arrangement of Igor Stravinsky’s Petrouchka! Originally a full-scale ballet about a hand puppet’s fatal infatuation with his ballerina counterpart, Petrouchka was a pivotal piece that brought Stravinsky immense acclaim in the highly critical arts scene of 1911 Paris.

For more information and to purchase tickets for what promises to be an enjoyable concert, please visit the Chesapeake Music website at https://chesapeakemusic.org.  There you will find information for upcoming events including the 11th International Chamber Music Competition on April 13, community concerts featuring Competition finalists on April 14, the Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival running June 7 through June 15, the Steven Philip Harvey Octet on July 20, and the Isidore String Quartet on October 5.

Based in Easton, Maryland, Chesapeake Music is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to bring renowned jazz and classical musicians to delight, engage and surprise today’s audiences, and educate, inspire, and develop tomorrow’s. They have been doing it for more than 35 years! To learn more about Chesapeake Music, visit their website at https://chesapeakemusic.org/.

Chesapeake Music is pleased to announce it has been recommended by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a $10,000 Challenge America grant award in support of its 2024 children’s outreach programming.

“We are thrilled and grateful to have received this funding from NEA for our youth programming this year,” says Barry Koh, Chesapeake Music’s board president. “Programs like ours that reach out to children in engaging ways are essential for creating tomorrow’s musicians and arts audiences.”

With this support, Chesapeake Music’s Don and Meridith Buxton YouthReach Program will continue its history of building community connections and increasing appreciation of classical music. The 2024 programming includes two Talbot County Public School (TCPS) residencies of the Kaleidoscope Quartet – a New York-based foursome of young, professional performers and music educators.  Later this month and again in the fall, and working with TCPS music teachers, the quartet members will curate and present dynamic, interactive programs that spark students’ imaginations. These in-school performances and elementary school classroom experiences for students will also culminate in a community concert later in the year.

“We could not be more excited to be working with Chesapeake Music to bring these unique opportunities to our students this year,” says Alison Strickland, Curriculum Supervisor with Talbot County Public Schools. “Last year’s school visits by Kaleidoscope were terrific and one of the highlights of our music classes.”

“The NEA is delighted to announce this grant to Chesapeake Music, which is helping contribute to the strength and well-being of the arts sector and local community,” said National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “We are pleased to be able to support this community and help create an environment where all people have the opportunity to live artful lives.”  In total, the NEA will award 257 Challenge America awards totaling $2,570,000 that were announced as part of its first round of fiscal year 2024 grants.

For more information about Chesapeake Music’s youth outreach, visit ChesapeakeMusic.org. To learn more about other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

Chesapeake Music presents an exciting program for its Interlude concert on March 10 at 2:00 p.m. at Easton’s Ebenezer Theater.  A piano quintet of artists from ensemble/132 will delight the audience with a one-of-a-kind chamber music experience.  The quintet includes pianist Sahun Sam Hong, violinists, Abi Fayette and Stephanie Zyzak, violist, Luther Warren, and cellist, Zachary Mowitz. Chesapeake Chamber Music patrons will remember Sahun Sam Hong and Zachary Mowitz as members of the Trio St. Bernard, the 2018 Lerman Gold Prize winner of the Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition.

Cellist Zachary Mowitz writes “I’m particularly excited for ensemble/132 to bring this delightfully eclectic program to Chesapeake Music. It shows so much of what chamber music can be. Every piece has something entirely unique to offer, whether it’s Haydn’s exquisitely and cleverly crafted trio, a dramatic cast of characters such as those in Schumann’s Carnaval, Perkinson’s thrilling blend of a jazz idiom with a classical approach to counterpoint and form, or Petrouchka with its timeless story, its folk dances, and its symphonic scope. It doesn’t hurt that Sam’s arrangements – Carnaval and Petrouchka – capture the essence of these wonderful pieces while bringing a new palette of colors that we all get to explore together!”

Ensemble/132 describes itself as an American collective of eleven chamber musicians of the highest caliber with a shared mission to reimagine the chamber music landscape. Their concerts frequently feature solo and duo performances spotlighting the extraordinary artistic voices of its individual members. Their arrangements have been praised by critics and renowned musicians as “audacious… liberating… illuminating” (Jon Sobel), “absolutely terrific … a delight … [they] succeed in opening up the sound of the piece in meaningful ways” (Robert McDonald), and “a fresh approach to music that is second to none” (Herbert Greenberg). Marcy Rosen, Artistic Director of Chesapeake Music, is the artistic advisor to ensemble/132.

This unique program promises to excite the imagination of concert attendees. For more information and to purchase tickets for what promises to be an enjoyable concert, please visit the Chesapeake Music website at https://chesapeakemusic.org. There you will find information for upcoming events including the 11th International Chamber Music Competition on April 13, community concerts featuring Competition finalists on April 14, the Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival running June 7 through June 15, the Steven Philip Harvey Octet on July 20, and the Isidore String Quartet on October 5.

Based in Easton, Maryland, Chesapeake Music is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to bring renowned jazz and classical musicians to delight, engage and surprise today’s audiences, and educate, inspire, and develop tomorrow’s. They have been doing it for more than 35 years! To learn more about Chesapeake Music, visit their website at https://chesapeakemusic.org/.