Chelsea Music Festival launches its annual June Festival with a dynamic weekend of concerts, conversation, and tastings through brand new recordings on YouTube (YouTube.com/ChelseaMusicFestivalNYC) and live talks with musicians, visual artists, chefs and Co-Artistic Directors Melinda Lee Masur and Ken-David Masur over Zoom.
In a moment where the fabric of society is addressing its colors, its needs, and its many-layered stories, we join the call to weave these threads in inspiring collaborations that honor the unique creativity of each contributor. Textiles and quilts are historically made of pieces that come from different parts of time, of place, and often of loss. Together, these pieces form a work of unity that brings strength, perseverance, and comfort. With that spirit of hope and resilience, “Weaving the Moment” presents a tapestry of art, music, and food experiences for audiences to Hear | Taste | See.
● June 25 Friday
7pm ET – Pre-Concert Welcome and Chat
Artistic Directors Melinda Lee Masur (The Lee Trio) & Ken-David Masur (Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra), composer Eric Nathan (New England Philharmonic), and oboist Amanda Hardy (Portland Symphony Orchestra)
Culinary demo by Rachel Simons (Seed+Mill)
7:30pm ET – Online Concert
World premiere of “Just a Moment” written by Eric Nathan, dedicated to two oboists, Amanda Hardy and John Ferrillo (Boston Symphony Orchestra), and commissioned by the Festival and Dr. Michael Sporn. With one oboe on stage and another in the balcony, this work is a meditation on distance and intimacy.
Art exhibition feature with Kyle Meyer, a NYC photographic fiber-based artist, whose work at High Line Nine was featured in several Festival 2021 Recordings – Performances by violinist Augustin Hadelich and pianist Orion Weiss of Debussy’s Violin & Piano Sonata and Clair de lune, Louisiana Blues Strut: A Cakewalk by Coleridge Taylor-Perkinson, and excerpts from J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations
8:30pm ET – Post-Concert Zoom with Festival Team
● June 26 Saturday
Afternoon – Live Culinary Demo and Talk
■ ChefEric Takahashi (Gramercy Tavern, Culinary Institute of America)
■ Hosted by Artistic Directors Melinda Lee Masur & Ken-David Masur
Afternoon – Online Concert
■ Updates from Festival team of interns and alumni volunteers
■ US premiere of two works by Spanish composer Anton Garcia Abril with violist Jesus Rodolfo and pianist Reed Tetzloff
■ Hear from Festival alumna visual artist Heidi Hankaniemi
■ Online Encore music selections
Any donation of $100 and above is tax-deductible and will include access to the entire weekend of concerts, conversations and demonstrations, and a curated Festival care package. Weekend passes go on sale June 3rd on ChelseaMusicFestival.org/2021-Virtual-Festival.
ABOUT THE CHELSEA MUSIC FESTIVAL
Chelsea Music Festival celebrates great music by convening world-leading musicians & artists in the performing, culinary, and visual arts for an international audience. The Festival invites artists, composers, and performers to collaborate in pursuit of new perspectives in artistic expression. Inspired by its Chelsea roots, the Festival reflects the creativity of one of New York City’s most dynamic neighborhoods. Programs span musical genres ranging from classical to contemporary to jazz with a special emphasis on Festival commissions by composers whose works are not in the traditional western canon. In addition to its on-the-ground programming, the Festival hosts an online library of recordings so music enthusiasts, artists, and students alike can explore unique interpretations of classical, jazz, and contemporary works via high-quality videos of world-class performances and dialogues available for years to come. Since 2010, the Chelsea Music Festival has established itself as a critically-acclaimed, accessible and interactive gateway to chamber music in non-traditional concert spaces such as art galleries, public squares, schools, and churches. Artists hail from around the world to partake in nearly two weeks of programming complete with concerts, lectures, exhibitions, family events, and free outreach performances. In 2020, the Chelsea Music Festival inaugurated its Online Encores and Online Originals YouTube series; Online Encores presents highlights from our Festival archives while Online Originals presents new and never-before-seen performances and recordings. We are proud to give emerging voices, particularly those of women and people of color, a stage and are working to build an audience and intimate community to support a new generation of musicians, composers, and artists. The Chelsea Music Festival Artistic Directors are Melinda Lee Masur and Ken-David Masur.
For more Information please visit:
www.chelseamusicfestival.org/2021-virtual-festival