MANCHESTER, Vt. – Taconic Music artistic directors Ariel Rudiakov and Joana Genova are pleased to present Taconic Music’s fifth annual summer music festival, which takes place from June 14 through July 12.
The season encompasses four faculty concerts featuring Taconic faculty and guest artists, two NextGen concerts performed by string and piano students from Taconic’s Chamber Music Intensive, and two master classes, all taking place at Burr & Burton’s Riley Center for the Arts in Manchester Village. The CMI musicians include music majors and alumni from conservatories and universities across the country.
A special benefit concert at Dionondehowa Wildlife Sanctuary and School in Shushan, N.Y., featuring the CMI students, rounds out the festival. Note the directors, “this fifth summer season will feature programs filled with time-tested repertoire alongside some newer or lesser-known gems, which we think our audiences will enjoy listening to as much as we enjoy performing them. We are so thrilled to be welcoming our colleagues, students, and the public back for a full festival season, and grateful to our donors, sponsors, and advertisers, whose generosity has allowed us to offer this summer’s concerts and master classes free of charge.”
Faculty concerts take place at 7:30 p.m. Saturdays, June 19, 26, and July 3 and 10. This year, in addition to Taconic’s returning faculty – Heather Braun, Danwen Jiang, and Joana Genova, violins; Ariel Rudiakov and Amadi Azikiwe, violas; Tom Landschoot, cello; and pianists Drew Petersen, Jon Klibonoff, and Davide Cabassi – noted cellist Hannah Holman joins the roster to teach and perform.
Guest artists Kyle Hoyt, French horn, Todd Palmer, clarinet, and Steven Moran, double bass, will appear in Taconic’s June 19 concert, where Rudiakov will open the season by conducting the chamber orchestra in Dag Wirén’s “Serenade for Strings.” Moran returns for an additional guest appearance later in the season. Saturday-morning open dress rehearsals at 10:30 a.m. on concert dates offer a behind-the-scenes look at the music-making process.
NextGen concerts are held at 7 p.m. Mondays, June 28 and July 12, featuring chamber music by Brahms, Mendelssohn, Prokofiev, Fauré and Schumann. Master classes, also on Mondays at 7 p.m., take place on alternate weeks. Master violinists and pedagogues Danwen Jiang (June 21) and Deborah Buck (July 5) will lead the sessions, helping the students to prepare for their upcoming performances and giving the audience a peek at how the interpretation is discussed and refined.
All concerts and master classes will be free to the public; however, seating is limited and reservations are strongly recommended. Masks are required for all attendees. Faculty and NextGen concerts will also be live-streamed free, and available on Taconic’s YouTube channel.
For more information on Taconic Music’s summer chamber music festival and to reserve tickets, visit www.taconicmusic.org.