Hamptons-Based Classical Music Festival’s Spring Series To Feature Pacifica String Quartet And More

Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival’s Spring Series will feature a trio of exhilarating Saturday concerts on March 10, April 7, and May 5.

“Our Spring Series has deepened our relationship with our community in ways that continue to surprise us,” remarked Artistic Director Marya Martin. “There is such a desire for great live music performed at the highest level. This past spring, we continued to grow our audience, and our summer festival once again saw record crowds for concerts performed by some of the world’s best musicians.”

The Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival is Long Island’s longest-running summer classical music festival and has been a welcomed addition to the East End community. 2018 marks the Spring Series’ fourth iteration, and the festival is still based in the graceful 1842 Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church which offers glowing acoustics.

This year’s series begins on March 10 with a program combining Martinu’s Trio for flute, cello, and piano with quartets by Mozart and Dvořák. The second program, on April 7, brings the highly acclaimed Pacifica Quartet to BCMF audiences for the first time. They will perform treasures of the chamber music repertoire, including string quartets of three titans of the form: Haydn, Beethoven, and Shostakovich. The final performance on May 5 will bring a lively program of music for winds and strings by Beethoven, Poulenc, and Mozart.

There will be three separate concerts for the Spring Series. (Photo: Michael Lawrence)

Joining flutist Marya Martin for the spring concerts are Orion Weiss and Roman Rabinovich, piano; Erin Keefe, violin; Hsin-Yun Huang, viola; Peter Wiley, cello; John Snow, oboe; Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Peter Kolkay, bassoon; and Eric Reed, horn. The members of the Pacifica Quartet are Simin Ganatra and Austin Hartman, violin; Guy Ben-Ziony, viola; and Brandon Vamos, cello.

The festival began with an inspired idea by Martin, a New Zealand-born flutist, and Manhattan businessman Ken Davidson who had just married. “Davidson was dismayed by the prospect that Ms. Martin would be spending her summers traveling the festival circuit while he worked in the city and spent weekends on his own in the Hamptons,” remarked Allan Kozinn of The New York Times. Ken and Marya used their inspiration to start their own festival.

“As the world continues to be strained by so many issues, we are looking forward – to this spring, to our 35th summer, and to many more seasons to come – with optimism and joy, knowing that we are touching the hearts of so many,” Martin added.

Subscribers once again receive a discount for the three-concert series, and a student ticket price of $10 will be available. Single tickets priced at $40 and $60. All three concerts will take place at 6 p.m.

Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church is located at 2429 Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton. For more information, call 212-741-9403 or visit www.bcmf.org.