Chesapeake Music’s 2019 Chamber Music Festival to Feature Enchanting Musical Pairings

This year’s 34^th Annual Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival will take place from June 4 through June 15, 2019 at various locations in Easton, Oxford and Cambridge, Maryland.  Internationally-recognized musicians will perform the works of both familiar and lesser known composers from the 18th to the 21st centuries. During two music-filled weeks, artists and musical ensembles will delight audiences with eight concerts including romantic classics from husband and wife Robert and Clara Schumann and Debussy, bohemian elegance in three works from the great Czech composer Antonin Dvořák, plus Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Bartôk and Bolcom. Chesapeake Music is thrilled to bring harp virtuoso June Han, who performs with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, paired with the amazing flutist and returning artist Tara Helen O’Connor to our stage to perform the romantic music of Ravel.

The Festival’s opening concert at Christ Church in Easton will include music of Beethoven and Dvorak with a pre-concert commentary by Jonathan Palevsky of WBJC, who intrigued audiences last year with his discussion.  Artists returning this year include the extraordinary violinist/violist Yura Lee, the distinguished pianist Robert McDonald, and the elegant cellist Peter Stumpf, as well as many other Festival favorites. Concertgoers will feel right at home as the Festival returns to Easton’s Academy Art Museum, Christ Church, the Prager Auditorium, and Trinity Cathedral, which will feature the Co-Winners of the 2018 Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition – the Trio St. Bernard. The closing concert at the Oxford Community Center will present two great string quartet masterworks by Schumann and Mendelssohn. New this year, a concert at Christ Church in Cambridge will feature another musical pairing with oboist Peggy Pearson performing a duo recital with pianist Diane Walsh. Not to be missed, this year’s Festival will include a Gala and Silent Auction at the recently constructed, exquisite Temple B’nai Israel in Easton.

Sponsors of this year’s Festival include the Talbot County Arts Council, the Maryland State Arts Council, and the Talbot Spy. Additional generous financial support from corporate, public and private benefactors enables Chesapeake Music to offer affordable tickets for Festival concerts and recitals. Open rehearsals are free to the general public. Tickets will be available in April.  For additional information, visit chesapeakemusic.org or call 410 819-0380. Experience the enchantment of unique musical pairings sure to delight all at Chesapeake Music’s 2019 Chamber Music Festival.