2 minute read
Welcome
Dear Friends,
While I never expected to be welcoming you all to a virtual Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, I can’t help thinking that, despite the present circumstances, we are privileged to share the gift of great music with an expanded online community. With the generous support of our Festival family, we have been given the extraordinary opportunity to gather with celebrated artists to experience chamber music at its best.
This year has presented all of us with immensely difficult challenges. However, it is possible that these testing times can bring us closer to the beauty and meaning of the music we love. We are thrilled to share with you five days of heart-soaring performances and stimulating dialogues, bringing together our Festival family to celebrate the inspiring artistry of these wonderful musicians.
This year, in addition to being a newly appointed board member, Christine Goerke will return to the Festival, sharing her passion, enthusiasm and extraordinary voice. It’s also a delight to welcome back the multi-talented and engaging violinist and violist Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu. The violinist Tessa Lark, who embraces classical and folk music with equal brilliance, will make her debut at the Festival, alongside the equally versatile bassist and composer Michael Thurber. Also joining us for the first time will be the remarkable pianist Shai Wosner, renowned for the depth and integrity of his music-making, and the Brentano String Quartet, one of the most expressive and imaginative ensembles performing today. My friends and colleagues Gloria Chien and Soovin Kim, newly appointed Artistic Directors of Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Oregon, have graciously shared a recording of Beethoven piano trios which we made together in Boston. The peerless British actor Samuel West, with whom I have worked many times in the UK, has recorded readings of three poems related to each of the programs which we performed in New York. The Festival will also be featuring two beloved returning ensembles from our Shouse Institute, the Callisto and Ivalas Quartets, and two groups new to our audiences, the Rolston and Viano Quartets. They will perform and appear in conversation with Philip Setzer, Director of the Shouse Institute.
I am excited to announce our collaboration with Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings and the Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research for a live, socially distanced performance of John Luther Adams’ “Sila: The Breath of the World.” The piece, inspired by Inuit traditions, is a moving ode to the power that resides in the interplay between music and nature. In short, it is simply breathtaking, both sonically and visually.
As we face these challenging times together, we are determined to continue presenting exceptional chamber music in imaginative formats, either virtual or in person. It is my hope that this Festival will brighten your spirits and celebrate the vibrant community of musicians who are sharing their gifts with us. Whether you are a devoted member of the Festival family or a newcomer to the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival — Welcome!
Warmly,
Paul Watkins Artistic Director
2020 Sponsors | Christine Goerke Q&A.......................... 4
