Festival News

Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival Hosts Pro-Am Seminar

Free concert to be held at The Farmers’ Museum July 15

COOPERSTOWN, NY July 13, 2009

 On July 11-15, the Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival will host the second annual Pro-Am Seminar, which pairs accomplished amateurs with professional musicians. The culmination of the intensive five days of rehearsals is a free public concert at The Farmers’ Museum Louis C. Jones Center on July 15 at 7:30 pm. All are welcome to attend. The concert will feature Brahms' Piano Trio No. 2 in C Major and the Piano Quintet in E flat major, Op. 44, by Robert Schumann. The Pro-Am group will also perform at Pathfinder Village in Edmeston, NY on July 13 at 7 pm.

“Working with these individuals who have excelled in their professional lives while cultivating a high degree of excellence as musicians is inspiring,” says Linda Chesis, a flutist who is the Festival’s artistic director and founder.  “We invite everyone to the concert on July 15th, it will be a true celebration of the love of playing, performing and listening to chamber music.”

Ms. Chesis will lead the Pro-Am Seminar with David Geber, cello; Shirley Irek, piano; and Kathryn Andersen, violin. Ms. Chesis is a member of the flute faculty and chair of the Woodwind Department at the Manhattan School of Music. She was the top prize winner at the Paris and Barcelona International competitions, and at the National Flute Association Competition, and has performed in the U.S., Europe and Asia.  David Geber is Dean of the Faculty for Instrumental Performance at the Manhattan School of Music. He is a founding member of the American String Quartet and performed with them for 28 years. He has appeared as soloist at Tanglewood and Aspen, as well as with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Montreal Symphony. Shirley Irek is a renowned collaborative pianist and professor based in Atlanta. Along with Ms Chesis, she has been a member of the Broyhill Chamber Ensemble for 25 years. Kathryn Andersen is a member of the Vinca String Quartet and has performed at Ozawa Hall, Symphony Hall and Carnegie Hall.

"Rehearsing and performing great music with outstanding professional players, all in warm and informal environments in lovely Cooperstown is a great experience," says Mark Ptashne, who is participating in the Pro-Am Seminar for a second year, along with Bruce Harris. Ptashne holds the Ludwig Chair of Molecular Biology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. A violinist, he has performed at many festivals. Bruce Harris is an attending neurosurgeon at Cooperstown’s Bassett Healthcare and an accomplished pianist. Joining them is Jonathan Phillips, a principal scientist in the Office of the Chief Technical Office at Eastman Kodak Company where he specializes in optimization of digital photography. Mr. Phillips has performed on both violin and viola with the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes as well as on viola in the Western New York Chamber Orchestra. He also has played with the Saelig Trio and the Ontario Ensemble.

"Once I found out that the Pro-Am Seminar was giving me the exciting opportunity to develop my in-concert chamber music skills with world-class musicians, I decided it was worth taking a break from my job at Kodak and summer PhD research,” says Mr. Phillips. “I am also looking forward to meeting other serious amateurs who combine music endeavors with their non-music professions."

As part of its regular season, August 2-21, the Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival will hold a free concert on August 6 at 7:30 pm at the Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown. The Flute Fest at the Otesaga features highly accomplished performers from the New York Summer Music Festival’s International Flute Institute. “It’s an amazing showcase of talent,” says Ms. Chesis.

Festival season runs through August 21

The Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival season also features:

  •  jazz with Hilary Kole on August 2 at the Otesaga Resort Hotel,
  • baroque recital with lutenist Hopkinson Smith and countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, the Grand Finals Winner of the 2009 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and 2008 member of Glimmerglass Opera’s Young American Artists Program; on August 5,
  • The Daedalus Quartet in an evening concert August 9, and daytime Family Music Fest concert August 10.
  • Brahms & Beyond concert with Benjamin Hochman, piano; Inbal Segev, cello, Linda Chesis, flute and Anthony McGill, the clarinetist who performed at President Obama’s inauguration
  • “A Little Nightmare Music” with Igudesman and Joo on August 18
  • All Bach program on August 21 with Linda Chesis, flute; Brian Manker, cello; Bradley Brookshire, harpsichord and Catherine Cho, violin.

Tickets and Information

Pro-Am Seminar concerts and the Flute Fest at the Otesaga concert are free and do not require a ticket or reservation. Other Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival evening concerts are $30 for adults, $15 for students (6-18). The 8/10 daytime Family Music Fest is $5 per person, or $15 per family. Early bird and subscription discounts available.

Tickets may be purchased on the Festival's web site, by phone, or at the door as available. Program subject to change. For more information, call toll-free 877-MOOSIC1 (877-666-7421), or email info@cooperstownmusicfest.org.

The Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival is made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. The Festival is made possible with funding by the Otsego County Bed Tax Event Grants Program.

Otsego County Tourism, 800/843-3394/thisiscooperstown.com. Festival pianos are provided courtesy of Artist Pianos and Glimmerglass Opera.

 

Media inquiries, please contact Peg Odell, 607/544-1123