Season's Highlights
27 CONCERTS
Friday (6 PM) & Sunday (5 PM) concerts are at the Highlands Performing Arts Center
Saturday and Monday concerts (both 5 PM) are at the Albert Carlton Library in Cashiers
- Grand Opening Receptions
- 40 internationally acclaimed musicians
- Solo works to large chamber ensembles
- Feasts of the Festival
- Open rehearsals
- Final Gala Concert and Dinner
WELCOME to our 30th Anniversary "Dream" Season!
The world's greatest music, internationally-known performers, beautifully intimate settings, the cool mountains, fine art and dining, theatre and film, golf, shopping – make your plans now to join us for an unforgettable summer at the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival as we celebrate 30 years of chamber music at its best!
Our Festival has grown steadily since that first wonderful summer, and we will continue to evolve as we continually strive for ever-greater success. For 30 years of excellence we owe our heartfelt thanks to our founding Artistic Director Lucas Drew and the first Board, our corps of dedicated volunteers, our loyal financial supporters, the many extraordinary musicians who have performed here, and, of course, the thousands of music lovers who have attended our concerts and events over the years.
Exciting programming and extraordinary, internationally-known artists will again make for an unforgettable season. We kick off in June with several celebratory concert-parties, including a chance to hear and meet the dynamic Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Martin Chalifour, in a solo recital at one of Highlands' most stunning estates, the Fishers. We also offer our popular annual Picnic Concert at the Zachary-Tolbert House in Cashiers in June to whet your appetite for more to come.
July 8th marks the beginning of our season proper, and what better way to open the 30th anniversary than with a tribute to our Founder, bassist Lucas Drew. Festival favorite the Eroica Trio will be joined by one of Lucas's former students, Janet Clippard, and rising star violist Molly Carr to perform Schubert's delightful "Trout" Quintet. Week two features a brand new "Jazz Meets Classics" program, this time featuring "Dueling Pianists" with classical pianist Philip Thomson and jazz artist Gary Motley. The keyboard fireworks continue with a celebration of Franz Liszt's 200th birthday welcoming back Victor Asuncion.
Week three will give you a chance to hear some new-to-the Festival talent, including Avery Fisher Award winner violinist Timothy Fain, whom you may have seen and heard on the hit film "The Black Swan" recently. He will be joined by Boston-based pianist David Deveau and Elizabeth Pridgen, a recent Juilliard grad making her Festival debut (she is the pianist at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings). Bruce Murray from the Brevard Music Center will grace us with the great Bach "Goldberg" Variations- appropriately for our anniversary, 30 variations on a theme!
We will also have a program entitled "Opus 30", comprised entirely of works carrying that opus number- by Haydn, Beethoven, and Brahms- with an all-star cast including William Preucil and the Vega Quartet, and they will be joined by many other Festival friends including Kate Ransom, Charae Krueger, Eun-Sun Lee and others for what may be the centerpiece of the season- a performance of Vivaldi's beloved "Four Seasons".
Week five introduces the Linden String Quartet to our audiences- this exciting young foursome from Yale is cleaning up on the international competition circuit and will thrill us with Beethoven, Bartok, and Ravel among other masterpieces. They will be joined by our new friends the Attacca Quartet who made such a great impression on us all last season, for the "Battle of the Bands" featuring not one but TWO brilliant young quartets on one program. Our final Gala Concert (and dinner) on August 14th will close the 30th anniversary in style, with Mozart's "A Little Night Music", and with the perfectly suited (to us!) "Appalachian Spring" by Aaron Copland, for double string quartet, winds and piano.
Take a look through this brochure for all the details of what promises to be a true "Dream" season. Many concerts sold out last season, so make your plans NOW so you don't miss a beat!
William Ransom, Artistic Director
Phone: 828-526-9060
Email: hccmf@frontier.com
Fax: 828-526-4893
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William Ransom Artistic Director |
Nancy Gould-Aaron Executive Director |
Lucas Drew Artistic Director Emeritus |