The 8th annual Kutztown University International Summer Chamber Music Festival features concerts each evening July 1 – 6 and a closing concert on July 7 at 2 p.m. All concerts and workshops are free and open to the public.
The festival will offer one week of intensive study to ambitious high school and college age musicians, including daily private lessons and chamber music coaching. It is open to piano, strings, winds and percussion with faculty from KU, Manhattan School of Music, New York City Ballet Orchestra and other prestigious institutions.
Founded in 2010 by Dr. Maria Asteriadou, the KU Summer Chamber Music Festival features an intensive and comprehensive approach to learning the core chamber music repertoire for strings, piano, percussion and winds. Talented students from around the world join forces for one week for a fully immersive musical experience, working with the festival’s renowned roster of devoted musicians and pedagogues.
July 1: 7:30 p.m., Schaeffer Auditorium, A Tale of Two Worlds, works by Mozart and Tchaikovsky. Performed by festival faculty.
July 2: 3 p.m., Georgian Room, Old Main, KU, Workshopon Kinesiology for Performers, body alignment for health and function with Amanda Treiber, principal dancer with the New York Theater Ballet.
July 2: 7:30 p.m. Georgian Room, Old Main, KU, The Big Heat, works by 20th Century Masters Schulhoff, Villa Lobos, Shostakovich.
July 3: 9 a.m., WEEU Live Broadcast Celebrating Independence Week events. Festival students will perform Patriotic Songs.
July 3: 3 p.m., Schaeffer Room 14G, KU, workshop on Tone and Tuning with Daniel Sponenburg, intonation expert, on understanding the harmonic series and principles of tuning.
July 3: 7:30 p.m., Georgian Room, Old Main, KU, Sugar and Spice, a potpourri of classical and popular favorites, works by Doppler, Dvorak, Proto, Williams, Sibelius.
July 4: 3 p.m., Georgian Room, Old Main, KU, Tickle the Ivories, a performance with the festival’s piano students.
July 4: 7:30 p.m., Schaeffer Auditorium, KU, Back to the Roots, a celebration of American, and American-inspired composers. Works by Bolling, Burton & Ozone, Dvorak, Faure, Gershwin, Prokofiev, Raimi, Shostakovich, Still, Williams.
July 5: 3 p.m., Georgian Room, Old Main, KU, workshop on Intonation & Rhythm, strategies and practive techniques offered by festival string faculty.
July 5: 7 p.m., Kutztown Park Bandshell, 440 East Main Street, Summertime Spectacular Concert, works by Holmes, Sibelius, Vivaldi Movie scores Coco, La La Land, James Bond.
July 6: 2 p.m., Schaeffer Auditorium, KU, Concerto Competition.
July 6: 7:30 p.m., Schaeffer Auditorium, KU, Friday Night Live. Works by Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Fesca, Gilson, Haydn, Klughardt, Kuhlau Mendelssohn, Schumann, Shostakovich.
July 7: 2 p.m., Schaeffer Auditorium, KU, Musical Extravaganza. Works by Beethoven, Dvorak, Enescu, Mozart. The festival’s orchestra featuring the young category’s concerto competition winner And The Carnival of the Animals. Conductor: Julien Benichou, principal conductor of the Washington Opera Society and music director of the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra.
For more information visit www.kusummermusicfestival.com.
Kutztown Borough welcomes the festival to join the Borough’s Concert Series in the Park with The Summertime Spectacular Concert at Kutztown Park bandshell from 7 to 9 p.m. on July 5.
Various solos, duets, trios, and quartets comprised of Kutztown University faculty members and festival students, will perform a variety of music from classical, show tunes to popular songs. Presenting a pulse pounding extravaganza will showcase students from the Festival on electric and traditional instruments playing popular classics by Holmes, Sibelius, and Vivaldi, as well as classic movie scores from Coco, La La Land, and James Bond to name a few.
The park concession stand near the bandshell. Mad Dogs in the Park, will be open before the concert and during the concert intermission.
The Borough of Kutztown 2018 Concert Series in the Park is made possible by the Borough of Kutztown and the generous support of the following co-sponsors.
Major Sponsor: East Penn Manufacturing Co. Inc., the Kutztown Lions Club, and Walbert Funeral Home & Cremation Services, PC. Gold Sponsors: Airport Diner, Fraternal Order of Eagles-#839, Giant Food Stores, Kutztown Grange, Optimist Club of Kutztown, and Russell E. Conrad, Inc. Silver Sponsors: Edward J. Hildenbrand Funeral Home, Inc., Hayle’s Automotive, Barley/Snyder, Great Valley Consultants, K-Town Pub Taphouse & BBQ, and The Windsor Press Inc. Bronze Sponsor: Topton Family Practice, Fleetwood Bank, Fulton Mortgage Company-John Schmoyer, Kutztown American Legion Baseball Association, Kutztown Community Partnership, Ludwick Funeral Homes, Inc., Mad Dogs-Kutztown & Mad Dogs in the Park, Mamma’s Delight Pizza & Restaurant, Messersmith & Keller Family Dentistry, Silver Maple Veterinary Clinic, and State Farm Insurance-Steve Drasher. Patron Sponsors: Adam ‘n Eve Boutique, Duffers Beverages, Huguenot Lodge #377, Kutztown Lioness Club, Lehigh Cement Co., Mark’s Sandwich Shop, Monaghan Group of Kutztown Realtors, Ozgood’s Grill & Bar, Shaynah Kinner Daycare Center, and Kevin Snyder-President of Kutztown Borough Council.
