Portland String Quartet coming ?to Shaker Village
Flip the pages of your 2012 calendar to June and mark the dates of June 27-30 because you won’t want to miss the 7th Annual Maine Festival of American Music: Its Roots and Traditions at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, Route 26 in New Gloucester. The festival’s theme this year will be “Discovery in Sound: Bringing Music to Life through Scholars and Performers.” The United Society of Shakers is the sponsor, and the members of the Portland String Quartet (PSQ) are the program directors.
Following is the program schedule:
• Wednesday, June 27, 7 p.m.:
“The Athens of the North: Music, Art and Architecture in Mid-Nineteenth Century Portland”
Maine State Historian Earle Shettleworth joins the PSQ in a celebration of the music of Maine native John Knowles Paine, first professor of music in the United States. A Powerpoint presentation including the history of Portland during the mid-19th century by Shettleworth will be accompanied by a performance of Paine’s complete String Quartet in D Major Op. 5 (c. 1855). The score manuscript was recently discovered in the Harvard archives, and the performance will be only the second known performance of the quartet.
• Thursday, June 28, 7 p.m.:
“In the Shaker Tradition: Shaker Quick Dance and Fiddle Tunes”
Brother Arnold Hadd of the Sabbathday Lake Shakers and Master Fiddler Gregory Boardman join the PSQ in an exploration of Shaker Quick Dance music and its connections to American fiddling. The world premiere of a festival commissioned composition by Greg Boardman named Quintet for Fiddle and String Quartet will be played among many Shaker music offerings.
• Friday, June 29:
“Workshop Day at Shaker Village”
Music students and amateur players come from all over New England and beyond to Shaker Village to rehearse and perform movements from the American chamber music repertoire. Critiques are offered to each group by the members of the PSQ. The workshop sessions are held in the 1794 Shaker Meetinghouse, the 1816 Trustee’s Office and the 1880 Shaker Library. A master class, which is free and open to the public, will be held late that afternoon in the 1794 Shaker Meetinghouse.
• Saturday, June 30, 7 p.m.
“Out of the Box! Women Composers Break Barriers with Original Masterpieces”
Well-known and festival favorite pianist Virginia Eskin and the PSQ present a delightful evening with the works of Amy Beach, Marion Bauer, Rebecca Clarke, Ruth Crawford and Kay Gardner.
All of the concerts take place at the 1794 Shaker Meetinghouse. Admission fees are $25 per adult and $20 per senior for each evening concert, free for those under 21. The fee for each musician enrolling in the workshop day/master class is $60. For more information, call 926-4597, email usshakers@aol.com or see www.shaker.lib.me.us.
Family education programs at ?Pineland Farms
Learn how to turn sheep’s fleece into fun, felted wool items at the Kids’ Felting class at Pineland Farms from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 17. On Wednesday, Jan. 18, from 10 to 11:30 a.m., come make butter and explore the past to learn how butter was first made.
The fee for each program is $5 per person; backpack babies are admitted free of charge. Please arrive 15 minutes early to allow time to buy tickets at The Market and Welcome Center, 15 Farm View Drive, New Gloucester. For more information or to register, call 688-4800 ext. 15 or email education@pinelandfarms.org.
Public hearing broadcast on NGTV
The Jan. 10 public hearing on the proposed New Gloucester Water District will be broadcast on community access cable channel 3. Telecast dates and times are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 13-15 and Jan. 20-22 at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Additionally, copies of the DVD will be available at the New Gloucester Public Library.
Holiday observance
All town facilities will be closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 16.
Stephen Kecskemethy, Ronald Lantz, Julia Adams and Paul Ross,
Comments are no longer available on this story