The Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival brings chamber music at the highest level to a beautiful part of the country. Founded four years ago by violinist Soovin Kim, LCCMF is one organization that has transformed a decommissioned military compound into a flourishing center for the arts.

The Elley Long Music Center, often used by the Vermont Youth Orchestra, recasts an enormous military barracks as a gorgeous concert hall. The space’s architecture translates beautifully into a resonant, open space, ideal for hearing a wide range of chamber music with a spacious sense of intimacy.

The festival's origins can be traced to Soovin Kim's experience growing up in upstate New York. Musical experiences of the highest caliber required hours of travel to major metropolitan areas like New York City andn Boston.

Ultimately, after studying at the Cleveland Institute of Music, winning the Paganini International Competition, and establishing a robust concert and teaching career, Kim was inspired to bring great music to the area where he grew up.

During the course of one week, LCCMF offers a concert series of creatively mixed programming, placing works from the established chamber music cannon in context with music of our time. Two Festival Saturdays feature master classes, talks, and film screenings. Listening Clubs throughout the week connect audiences to music through a conversational model of performance. And a series of short, free concerts take the festival into the heart of Burlington.

For performances in Lenox and Great Barrington, a wealth of options are available in the Berkshires.

For information about visiting Annandale-on-Hudson, visit Bard College.

The Montreal Chamber Music Festival was founded by Artistic Director and cellist Denis Brott, inspired by the example of his parents, Alexander and Lotte, and the "Concerts Under the Stars" they presented in the 1950's in Montreal.

 

The annual Amherst Early Music Festival is the cornerstone activity of Amherst Early Music, which also presents workshops in Boston, Philadelphia, and upstate New York.

During the two-week festival, students and enthusiasts are invited to participate in workshops, masterclasses, and performances with eminent early music performers and scholars, and to enjoy concerts given by those professsionals at the Cummings Arts Center at Connecticut College.  The theme of the 2011 festival, held in July, was Music of Spain and Italy and featured the Flanders Recorder Quartet, harpsichordist Peter Sykes, soprano Julianne Baird, viol soloist Sarah Cunningham, and many others.

The 2011 festival also featured a fully staged production of Alessandro Scarlatti's opera, La Principessa Fedele, directed by Drew Minter with dance choreography by Dorothy Olsson and Kaspar D. Mainz, costumes by Ronnie Snader, and texts by Lawrence Rosenwald.
 

Connecticut College is in New London, Connecticut, and offers comfortable accomodations.  Area attractions include Mystic Seaport, the U.S. Navy New London Submarine base, the Nautilus Memorial and Museum, and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

For scenes from the Amherst Early Music Festival, view the slideshow below, and for more information about the festival, visit Amherst Early Music.

 

The Yellow Barn festival is really a seven-week summer season, which, for 2012, runs from June 17 to August 4. This reputed destination for chamber music aficionados, started in 1969, primarily exists as a place for seasoned musicians to expand their skills and for conservatory students to learn from the masters. But fortunately for the public, this process involves a varietty of performances.

Every summer, musicians descend on this small southern Vermont location for a host of programs: they work with local schools, participate in masterclasses, and offer interactive presentations to the community.

And, yes, performances are held in a barn, among other locations around Putney. There have been more than one of these barns over the years, but the present "Big Barn" is a warm and intimate environment for a concert.

There is a huge selection of these concerts in store for the rest of the season, featuring student performers and seasoned veterans. There's something available nearly every day of the week.

If you're interested in more than a day trip, Yellow Barn can recommend inns, bed-and-breakfasts and hotels in Putney and other nearby towns like Brattleboro.

While you're there, you can hike Putney Mountain — where you can also watch for hawks — or even venture into the sprawling Green Mountain National Forest, which is about an hour's drive away, depending on your destination.

Here's a slideshow from our own trip to Putney, as well as some photos from the Yellow Barn's history.



More New England Summer Festivals
 

The 2011 Boston Early Music Festival took place from June 12-19.  The Festival also presents concerts during the regular concert season, and highlights of the 2011-2012 season include performances by countertenor Andreas Scholl with The English Concert, the return of British vocal ensemble Stile Antico, harpsichordist Richard Egarr, and the Flanders Recorder Quartet.

Most concerts during the festival are held at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall, one of the premiere concert halls of its size in the world.  The opera takes place at Emerson College's Cutler Majestic Theatre, and other venues include Emmanuel Church in Boston, and Houghton Chapel at Wellesley College.

The Festival Exhibition is a destination all by itself. Instrument makers and sellers of all kinds are there with samples of their works, from the smallest penny whistle to complete pipe organs. Not only does this offer trained musicians a chance to try new instruments, it also makes it possible for amateurs and even children to try some of the exotic instruments from the early music world.  Also on hand at the exhibition is a robust selection of CDs (rare in these days of online commerce), sheet music sellers, and more.

There is a wealth of options for lodging in Boston, including bed and breakfasts and unique hotels, like the Liberty Hotel, built in the converted Charles Street Jail. A convenient hotel is the Radisson Hotel Boston, which is where the exhibition is held.

Boston's history and character have made the city fertile ground for early music. Thomas Forrest Kelly of Harvard University and Early Music America talks with Laura Carlo about early music in Boston:

Here is Thomas Forrest Kelly on two approaches to early music:

Traffic can be fierce, but if scheduled well, car travel can work well. Other viable travel options from Boston include bus and the Provincetown Ferry.




 

Samuel Sanders founded the festival as the Cape & Island Chamber Music Festival in 1979. In 1993 Brian Zeger succeeded Sanders as Artistic Director, and in 2000, Nicholas Kitchen of the Borromeo String Quartet came aboard in that capacity. Pianist Jon Nakamatsu and clarinetist Jon Manasse, already working together as a concert duo, have been Co-Artistic Directors since 2006.






 

Hear the 2012 Monadnock Music Festival episode of New England Summer Festivals

Hear the 2011 Monadnock Music Festival episode of New England Summer Festivals

The 2012 Monadnock Music Festival begins on July 6 and runs through August 11, with new Artistic Director Gil Rose.

Concerts are held in several locations throughout the Monadnock region of New Hampshire.  Our map shows the location of Peterborough, where the festival is based, and where concerts take place in the historic Peterborough Town House.

Other concert venues include the Jaffrey Center Meeting House, the Harrisville Community Church, and Francestown's Old Meeting House.

The Monadnock region is approximately two hours from Boston and offers a wealth of dining and lodging options.

Music lovers travelling through the Monadnock region may also want to visit the famous MacDowell Artist Colony, where countless masterpieces of music, literature, drama, and visual art have been created.  Monadnock State Park offers excellent hiking and other outdoor experiences, and Toadbooks will keep book lovers occupied for hours.

James Bolle founded Monadnock Music in 1966 with a few concerts at the Nelson Meeting House.  Bolle was committed to programming music by American composers, resulting in visits, coachings, and performances with composers such as Aaron Copland, Roger Sessions, John Adams, and many others.