The Chamber Music Festival of Saugatuck will return for its 35th season to its post-Covid normal exceptional presenting six paired Thursday/Friday in-person evening concerts in the Saugatuck Woman’s Club at the corner of Butler and Hoffman streets.
It will also offer three “Art for Your Ears … and Hands!” educational Young Listeners Concerts and three master classes for upcoming young musicians throughout the summer. All will be open to the public, free.
Fun will kick off with a free preseason concert Saturday, July 2 outdoors in Douglas’s Beery Field (rain date Sunday, July 3 at 7) featuring the Holland Symphony Brass Quintet. Bring a blanket or chair for watching and enjoy free ice cream.
Week one of Thursday/Friday concerts in the SWC hall July 7 and 8 will feature CMFS favorites Andrew Le, Alicia Eppinga, Leslie Van Becker and Amanda Dykhouse “Together Again” performing Brahms A Major Piano Quartet.
For week two July 13 and 14, Déjà Vu will play chamber music for strings and oboe by Hugo Wolf, Bax and Mozart. Performers will include Haijin Choi, Adam Liebert, Barb Corbató and series first-timers Andrew Plaisier on cello plus Gabriel Renteria, principal oboist of the West Michigan Symphony.
On July 20 and 21 the Folias Duo will blend European classical music with jazz, world music and improvisation for the evening crowd. Flutist Carmet Maret and guitarist Andrew Bergeron, who are married, will also present a free youth concert while in town.
Blossoming young musicians are invited to a Master Class for pianists with festival co-artistic director Le Friday, July 29.
Kimia Ghaderi and Andrew Focks, a violin and piano duo, will present series concerts July 28 and 29. The married couple has played recitals together around the world but now lives in Grand Rapids.
The Grammy-nominated Imani Winds joined the festival last year online, but will play live Aug. 4 and 5, plus present a Young Listeners Concert Thursday and 1 p.m. and Master Class for wind and brass players Friday at 11 a.m. Both the latter will also be at the Woman’s Club.
The Callisto Quartet, which played last year outdoors at Beery, will return for the season’s last concerts Aug.11 and 12 in the Woman’s Club, joining Le for a strings plus piano quintet.
All Thursday and Friday mainstage shows will start at 7:30 p.m. and will be followed by artists’ receptions. For tickets and more information, visit saugatuckmusic.org or call (269) 857-1424.