University of New England

Portland Chamber Music Festival performs 6 concerts at Ludcke Auditorium 
August 17-26

The Portland Chamber Music Festival will feature well-known classical and contemporay compositions in four evening concerts August 17-26, 2006 at Ludcke Auditorium at the University of New England’s Westbrook College Campus, 716 Stevens Ave., Portland.

In addition, on Sunday, August 20, 2006 at 12:30 and 2 p.m., the festival will present its Annual Free Family Concerts at Ludcke Auditorium. These popular annual concerts, designed for children ages 3-12 and their families, feature PCMF resident artists in fun and interactive performances.

Free Admission for UNE Faculty, Staff and Students
 
Evening concert tickets for UNE faculty, staff, and students are free with a UNE ID.

For the general public, a season subscription is $70 adults or $60 seniors; individual tickets are $20 adults and seniors; admission is free for 21 and under. To order tickets, call (800) 320-0257 or visit www.pcmf.org for tickets and information on the programs and performers.

The four evening concerts begin at 8 p.m., with pre-concert discussions at 7 p.m. The concerts are:

Thursday, August 17
Mozart, Piano Quartet in E flat (in honor of Mozart’s 250th birthday); R. Murray Schafer, String Quartet #4 (1989); Brahms, String Quintet in G major, Op. 111.

Saturday, August 19
Rossini, Duo for Cello and Bass; Monteverdi, Songs for Mezzo Soprano, Harpsichord, and Continuo; Respighi, Il tramonto for Mezzo Soprano and String Quartet; Vivaldi, Concerto in A minor for Two Violins, Op. 3 No. 8.

Thursday, August 24
R. Strauss, String Sextet from Capriccio, Op. 85 : Earl Kim, Dear Linda for Narrator, Flute, Percussion, and Piano (1993); Schubert, Piano Trio in E flat. Op. 100. 

Saturday, August 26
Dvorak, Terzetto for 2 Violins and Viola, Op. 74;  Vincent Ho, “Shattering the Ethereal Resonance” for Clarinet, Percussion, and String Trio, Winner, PCMF Composers Competition; Mozart, Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581 (in honor of Mozart’s 250th birthday). 

Background on the PCMF

The Portland Chamber Music Festival celebrates its 13th summer season in August, 2006. Since its inception in 1994, PCMF has presented more than 60 concerts featuring nationally acclaimed performers and composers from the United States, Canada, Europe and Latin America.  Festival concerts have been featured on Maine Public Radio’s "Mainestage" and are recorded and broadcast annually by WGBH radio in Boston. PCMF has been featured on National Public Radio’s "Performance Today" and live in concert on WGBH radio’s "Classical Performances" program.

Strongly committed to the performance of new works, PCMF has received two grants from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music in recognition of its "contribution to furthering public interest and appreciation of contemporary American music." The Festival has also been awarded grants from the Hunt Foundation, the UNUM Foundation, the Margaret Burnham Charitable Trust, the Maine Community Foundation, RBC Dain Rauscher, and the Davis Family Foundation. 

The Festival’s 2005 concert season included current members of the Boston, St. Louis and Chicago Symphonies and the New York Philharmonic, along with nationally known soloists, chamber musicians, and members of university music faculties throughout the United States.

PCMF also has an expanding tradition of outreach and educational activities.  The Festival presents annual Free Family Concerts at the Children’s Museum of Maine in Portland, and has held two Adult Amateur Chamber Music Workshops in recent seasons.  In addition, PCMF has presented master classes for local students and a workshop for area senior citizens.

(Press release issued July 18, 2006)