Chelsea Music Festival “Connecting the Dots” 15th Season Opening Night

Chelsea Music Festival celebrates its 15th season with nine evenings of concerts, conversation, and tastings with musicians, visual artists, chefs from June 21-29, 2024 — festival tickets are on sale now! This summer Festival, led by Artistic Directors Melinda Lee Masur and Ken-David Masur presents “Connecting the Dots,” which traces how music and art allow us to touch what seems intangible, repair what seems broken, and reimagine our interconnectedness with one another. The Festival will focus on the restorative powers of the arts as we examine ways that music and art both calm and reinvigorate the brain and nervous system. We will also explore together various neurological challenges and changes we can encounter in ourselves and our loved ones. Tickets range from $70-$85. For more information and ticketing, visit https://www.chelseamusicfestival.org/2024/connectingthedots.

Join us for Opening Night of our 15th season! Enjoy music that spans the centuries by composers including John Williams, Tebogo Monnakgotla, Clara Schumann, and Francis Poulenc alongside World Premiere performances by composers Nicky Sohn and Augusta Read Thomas as well as a solo piano performance by our 2024 Composer-in-Residence, Ania Vu. For more information and ticketing, visit https://www.chelseamusicfestival.org/2024/connectingthedots/events/15th-season-opening-night.

Featuring Aizuri Quartet, WindSync, and conductor Ken-David Masur with Festival artists, this concert takes place at our Opening Weekend Sponsor, Genesis House.

You won’t want to miss this incredible LED-wrapped event space, which will showcase visuals created by Eric Bowers(Eye Fisher Studios) and Jonathan Rattner.

Reception to follow at Genesis House’s on-site restaurant, Onjium with its distinctly curated Korean cuisine.

PROGRAM

Augusta Read Thomas (b. 1964) | Bebop Riddle #5 (2024, World Premiere)

Augusta Read Thomas (b. 1964) | Dancing Stars (2021) 

Tebogo Monnakgotla (b. 1972) | Wooden Bodies (2018, US Premiere) 

Augusta Read Thomas (b. 1964) | Clara’s Ascent (2019) 

Clara Schumann (1819-1896) | Die stille Lotosblume from Sechs Lieder, Op. 13 No. 6, arr. for string quartet by Miho Saegusa

Nicky Sohn (b. 1992) | A Night at Birdland (2024, World Premiere)

John Williams (b. 1932) | The Fabelmans (2022) 

Ania Vu (b. 1994) | Against Time (2018)

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) | Sextuor (1931-1932)

FEATURING 
Aizuri Quartet
Violin | Miho Saegusa, Emma Frucht
Viola | Brian Hong
Cello | Caleb van der Swaagh

WindSync
Clarinet | Graeme Steele Johnson
Flute | Garrett Hudson
Oboe | Noah Kay
Bassoon | Kara LaMoure
Horn | Anni Hochhalter

Violin | Max Tan
Cello | Angela Lee
Clarinet | Yasmina Spiegelberg
Oboe | Amanda Hardy
Piano | Melinda Lee Masur, Ania Vu, Andrea Lam
Conductor | Ken-David Masur

*Program subject to change

Chelsea Music Festival is a proud partner of Steinway Pianos.

ABOUT THE CHELSEA MUSIC FESTIVAL

Chelsea Music Festival celebrates great music by convening world-leading musicians & artists in the performing, culinary, and visual arts for an international audience. The Festival invites artists, composers, and performers to collaborate in pursuit of new perspectives in artistic expression. Inspired by its Chelsea roots, the Festival reflects the creativity of one of New York City's most dynamic neighborhoods. Programs span musical genres ranging from classical to contemporary to jazz with a special emphasis on Festival commissions by composers whose works are not in the traditional western canon. In addition, the Festival hosts an online library of recordings so music enthusiasts, artists, and students alike can explore unique interpretations of classical, jazz, and contemporary works via high-quality videos of world-class performances. Since 2010, the Festival has established itself as a critically-acclaimed, accessible and interactive gateway to chamber music in non-traditional concert spaces such as art galleries, public squares, schools, and churches. Programming includes concerts, lectures, exhibitions, family events, and free outreach performances. In 2020, the Festival inaugurated its Online Encores and Online Originals YouTube series; Online Encores presents highlights from Festival archives while Online Originals presents new performances and recordings. We are proud to give emerging voices, particularly those of women and people of color, a stage and are working to build an audience and intimate community to support a new generation of musicians, composers, and artists. The Chelsea Music Festival Artistic Directors are Melinda Lee Masur and Ken-David Masur.