HOUGHTON -- Welcome to the 28th season of the Pine Mountain Music Festival (PMMF)! The 2018 festival takes place June 15 - June 30 in Houghton, Calumet, Marquette, Iron Mountain, and Crystal Falls. This season's pièce de résistance is Bizet’s sensuous opera, Carmen, presented with full orchestra in Houghton’s Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts featuring Amanda Crider as Carmen, Isaac Hurtado as Don José, Heather Youngquist as Micaëla and Christopher Holmes as Escamillo. World-class French flamenco dancer Karyne Arys from Bordeaux, France, will dance the Gypsy dance to open Act II -- joined by guitarist "Polchu" from Paris and percussionist, Kahlil Sabbagh. The orchestra and chorus include professional musicians from the U.P. and surrounding areas.
Iron Mountain and Marquette will enjoy "A Taste of Carmen," including arias from Carmen and dances from Alma Flamenca, appropriate for inclusion with the songs of Carmen.
Inset photo: French Flamenco dancer Karyne Arys.
The Bergonzi String Quartet, returning for its 24th residency at the Pine Mountain Music Festival, will perform concerts June 20 in Reynolds Hall, Marquette; June 21 at Immaculate Conception Church, Iron Mountain; and on June 23 at the Rozsa Center, Houghton. Their 2018 repertoire includes Divertimento No. 3, K. 138 (Mozart), Quartet, Op. 11 (Barber), and Quartet in C Minor (Brahms).
The quartet also continues its special tradition of presenting free children's concerts throughout the U.P.*
The inspiring UPstarts concert series, now in its 6th year, features talented young musicians from the Upper Peninsula. Winning participants are selected from a peninsula-wide UPstarts Talent Contest that mines the best talent in the region. The 2018 winners are Elizabeth Grugin, Cheyenne Kaufman, Irene Ra, and Isabel Valencia. Susie Byykkonen, the festival's staff accompanist, accompanies the group. They will perform in Marquette, Houghton and Kingsford.
Justin Spenner and Mario Perez -- creators of the innovative B-Sides Art Song Collective -- will present a one-night-only vocal recital of the sublime art songs of German Romantic composer Robert Schumann on June 19 at Portage Lake United Church in Houghton. Works include Dichterliebe (A Poet's Love) and Liederkreis (Round of Songs). Leslie Dukes accompanies.
Pine Mountain Music Festival has a lasting commitment to bringing classical music to the Western Upper Peninsula. The Festival was founded in Iron Mountain, Michigan, in 1991 by Laura Jean Deming, a cellist and member of the orchestra of Lyric Opera of Chicago. That first season was primarily chamber music, but by 1992 opera was being produced. Carmen will be the 37th opera produced by PMMF.
This year the Festival is offering a $99 family season pass. This is part of a concerted effort to bring the next generation out to enjoy fine music. Festival artists will also conduct workshops and visit schools as "artists in residence" to further enlighten the next generation.
As residence of the U.P. we revel in our quality of life in this extraordinary land. Pine Mountain Music Festival is a major element in maintaining the special cultural perfection we enjoy. Tickets are available at pmmf.org.**
* Visit pmmf.org for event details.
** Click here for the calendar and click on an event to order tickets or see the PMMF 2018 Ticket Brochure for more details.
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