Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival Celebrating 35 Years In The Hamptons

The Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival’s 35th anniversary season will offer over a month’s worth of brilliant performances, running from Thursday, July 19 to Sunday, August 19.

Lauded as a “beloved East End festival” by The New Yorker, the Festival is known for presenting a wide range of music, performed by some of the best in the country amidst the classic seaside setting. The longest running classic festival on Long Island, it has maintained a sense of community, even as it as grown from the small two concert weekend in 1984 to a five week event that even commissions work from talents musicians presently.

“Thirty-five years ago I stood on my front porch and sold tickets to our very first festival,” reflected BCMF Founder and Artistic Director Marya Martin. “It’s hard to believe how much we’ve accomplished since that first weekend of two concerts. But even before that, I, like so many musicians and composers over the years, came to America to follow my musical dreams.”

This year’s theme, “Destination America,” presents and highlights music by composers who came to the country for creative reasons, as immigrants, descendants of slaves, to flee oppression or to explore new opportunities.

“By celebrating our 35th Season through the lens of ‘Destination America,’ we put a spotlight on works both the familiar and new, and reinforce the idea of America as a place where creativity thrives, and is indeed improved, by a coming together of cultures,” added BCMF Executive Director Michael Lawrence. “We feel the same way about our artists, who come from all around the world to bring their unique perspectives to bear on an amazingly broad and deep repertoire, creating a special and dynamic experience for our audiences.”

Some Festival highlights include a Bernstein centennial program featuring Copland’s Appalachian Spring in the original chamber version for 13 instruments performed by opera star Nathan Gunn; a special all-American program at the Parrish Art Museum featuring music by Higdon, Glass, Tsontakis, Dohnányi, and Light Upon a Turning LeafFor more information, call 212-741-9403 or visit www.bcmf.org.