JAMAICA — For the third consecutive year, Jamaica is opening its doors to musicians, composers, and visual artists from all over the country for the Pikes Falls Chamber Music Festival (PFCM).
Founded by its artistic director, Susanna Loewy, who wanted to present a free festival of chamber music for the town where she had spent so many summers in her youth, PFCM has been growing each year, adding more concerts, visual arts, and other community events.
This year, PFCM will include 10 musicians who will perform classic chamber music from such beloved composers as Beethoven, Hindemith, and Ravel, plus an assortment of modern works who may may be new to audiences.
“The festival is a wonderful opportunity for people of all ages from the surrounding communities to enjoy performances by excellent musicians,” says festival intern Peter Snyder.
Between Aug. 1 and 9, PFCM will present a series of evening chamber concerts in the Town Hall. As in the previous two years, PFCM will also hold a family and community day, which has become one of the highlights of the festival.
New to the festival this year, PFCM musicians will also be touring and playing music in area state parks and towns throughout southern Vermont.
Evening concerts will take place Friday, Aug. 1, Saturday, Aug. 2, Wednesday, Aug. 6, and Saturday, Aug. 9, all starting at 7 p.m. Pre-concert discussions will be led by the conductor and composer-in-residence 45 minutes before each evening concert, and receptions will follow.
On Saturday, Aug. 2, at noon, PFCM musicians will play at the West River Farmers Market in Londonderry, and at 7 p.m., they will give another concert at Silver Lake State Park in Barnard.
PFCM will again set one day aside - this year, Sunday, Aug. 3 - for the Jamaica community, with events suitable for the entire family.
At noon, the musicians will perform at Jamaica Farmers' Market. PFCM artists will then lead an art/music collaboration for children and young adults from 1 to 2:30 p.m. The art created there will be hung around the hall for the afternoon family concert, which starts at 3 p.m.
After the concert, audience members can stay for an open rehearsal from 4:30 to 6 p.m. At 6:30 p.m., the day concludes with a community potluck and open mic night.
Two composers-in-residence
Traditionally, PFCM has included a performance of a world premiere by one of the composers-in-residence. Julia Adolphe and Alice Wood, two Los Angeles-based composers, will each attend for one week and present new works.
Additionally, Philadelphia's Joe Hallman will return with a new duet for flute and a narrator.
“I should probably mention that the group of musicians that comes up to Vermont for Pikes Falls, the Inscape Chamber Orchestra, was nominated for a 2013 Grammy for our first CD, 'Sprung Rhythm,'” says Loewy.
The ensemble recently had a digital single release of Paul Hindemith's “Hérodiade,” which is available on iTunes and Amazon, and its second full CD, “American Aggregate,” is due to be released mid-August.
“Also, not to toot my own horn too much, I am a quarter-finalist for the 2014 Grammy Music Educator award,” adds Loewy. “There were over 7,000 initial nominations, and are now 222 quarter-finalists. The educators that go on to the next round will be announced in September.”
Visual artists work with musicians
In addition to the music, PFCM highlights the visual arts. Artists-in-residence Natasha Loewy, Kimberly Culotta, and Andrew Brehm will have artwork displayed in the Town Hall. They will also work with the musicians toward a final collaborative performance.
This year's festival will culminate in the final concert which will include a collaborative World Premiere, including sculpture, video, music, and costumes on Aug. 9 at 7 p.m.
“The idea was originally cultivated by a Kutztown University colleague of mine, Cheryl Hochberg, who is head of the fine arts department,” says Loewy.
Hochberg, a painter, “wanted to have music at a show of her own work, but didn't want the music to be separate from the art,” Loewy said. “So she had the idea that the music would bridge to the art via costume. Andrew Brehm was the person who created those costumes.”
Loewy was initially skeptical of the whole endeavor. Would musicians want to wear costumes? Would it come across as silly?
“But it ended up being very successful, even inspiring,” says Loewy. “New audiences were formed. People who wanted to see Andy or Cheryl's work were coming to a concert, and at the same time music lovers were ending up at a museum. The ideal of the music being part of the artistic experience and vice-versa was achieved.”
Loewy wanted to do something similar at PFCM.
“This time though, the music is a world premiere by one of our composers-in-residence, Alice Wood, and the visual aspects will include sculpture by Natasha Loewy, which will link to the music via lighting by Kimberly Culotta and as in the earlier show costumes will once again by designed by Andrew Brehm. So, we're just pushing Cheryl's idea a bit further.
During the second week of the festival, all the PFCM artists will be working together to bring the production to fruition.
“I consider my costumes textile sculptures that will be worn by musicians,” says Brehm. “But you have to be careful when designing for performing artists. They do not want anything that will restrict their ability to play their instruments.”
Loewy realizes that this multidisciplinary production has the possibility of falling flat.
“But I don't think it will,” she says. “I have complete faith in the visual artists that they (along with the musicians, of course) will create a true inter-disciplinary experience.”