Pine Mountain Music Festival brings opera, flamenco, Bergonzi Quartet, young classical talent to U.P. June 15-30

The 2018 Pine Mountain Music Festival will present Bizet's sensuous opera, Carmen, starring Amanda Crider as Carmen. Pictured here is French flamenco dancer Karyne Arys as the Gypsy dancer in the opera. She also appears in the festival's Alma Flamenca and "A Taste of Carmen." (Photos courtesy Pine Mountain Music Festival)

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.

Flamenco dancer Karyne Arys, makes her stunning debut at the Festival. Karyne brings nuanced athleticism and sensitive artistry to this ancient Spanish dance form. In addition to performing in the opera Carmen June 28 and 30, her troupe will perform in Alma Flamenca at the Crystal Theatre in Crystal Falls on June 23 and in the Calumet Theatre on June 24.

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 Bergonzi String Quartet will perform in Marquette, Iron Mountain and Houghton.

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.

Bergonzi String Quartet to perform children's concert at Portage Library July 10

Flyer announcing the Bergonzi String Quartet children's concert, presenting Peter and the Wolf Friday, July 10, at Portage Lake District Library in Houghton. (Image courtesy Portage Lake District Library)

HOUGHTON -- The Bergonzi String Quartet of the Pine Mountain Music Festival will perform Pamela McConnell's version of Peter and the Wolf in a free children’s concert at the Portage Lake District Library at 1 p.m. on Friday, July 10.

Children are invited to come dressed as characters in the performance: Peter, Grandfather, Bird, Miss Duck, Cat, Forest Rangers (no guns, please) and Wolf.

The Bergonzi String Quartet with Glenn Basham on 1st violin, Scott Flavin on 2nd violin, Pamela McConnell on viola, and Ross Harbaugh on cello, has been Quartet-in-Residence at the Pine Mountain Music Festival since 1995. The Bergonzi Quartet was formed in 1992 and is Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where they are all faculty members. The members have extensive collective experience, performing in virtually every major center in the world, with concerts throughout Europe, North and South America, New Zealand, and Asia. The quartet has generated enormous excitement around the world for their superb blend of seasoned and sensitive virtuosity and is an important cultural asset for the Pine Mountain Music Festival and the Upper Peninsula.

Adults are welcome to attend this concert if they bring at least one child. There is no admission for this concert and all are welcome to attend. For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

Portage Library to host Bergonzi String Quartet children's concert Aug. 2; more Bergonzi performances this week

HOUGHTON -- The Bergonzi String Quartet, celebrating their 20th year with the Pine Mountain Music Festival, will perform Pamela McConnell’s version of Peter and the Wolf in a children’s concert at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2, in the community room of the Portage Lake District Library.

Children in attendance are invited to come dressed as characters in the performance: Peter, Grandfather, Bird, Miss Duck, Cat, Forest Rangers (no guns, please) and Wolf.

The Bergonzi String Quartet, with Glenn Basham on 1st violin, Scott Flavin on 2nd violin, Pamela McConnell on viola, and Ross Harbaugh on cello, has been Quartet-in-Residence at the Pine Mountain Music Festival since 1995. The Bergonzi Quartet was formed in 1992 and is Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where they are all faculty members. The members have extensive collective experience, performing in virtually every major center in the world -- with concerts throughout Europe, North and South America, New Zealand, and Asia. The quartet has generated enormous excitement around the world for their superb blend of seasoned and sensitive virtuosity and is an important cultural asset for the Pine Mountain Music Festival and the Upper Peninsula.

Adults are welcome to attend this concert if they bring at least one child. There is no admission for this concert and all are welcome to attend.

For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

More Bergonzi concerts ...

With a repertoire including Mozart, Janáček, and Schubert for the adult concerts, the Bergonzi String Quartet will also perform at the following concerts this week:

At 7:30 p.m. TONIGHT, Wednesday, July 30, the Bergonzi will perform at Immaculate Conception Church, 500 East Blaine St., Iron Mountain, Mich. General Cost: $30. Student/Child Cost: $10.

The Bergonzi will perform another children's concert at 1 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 1, at Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St., Marquette. The concert is free.

At 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 1, the Bergonzi String Quartet will perform at Reynolds Recital Hall, Lee Hall Drive and 7th Street, Marquette. General Cost: $30. Student/Child Cost: $10.

Finally, the Bergonzi will perform at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 3, at the Calumet Theatre, 340 6th St., Calumet. General Cost: $30. Student/Child Cost: $10.

For more information about the Pine Mountain Music Festival, click here.

Bergonzi String Quartet to perform free children's concert June 22 at Portage Library

HOUGHTON -- The Bergonzi String Quartet of the Pine Mountain Music Festival will perform a free children’s concert at noon on Saturday, June 22, at the Portage Lake District Library in Houghton

The Legend of the Loon, a book written by Kathy-jo Wargin and illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen, will be featured in the concert. The Quartet will perform Pamela McConnell’s special musical arrangement of a Sibelius composition, which will accompany local resident Trudy Olsson as she narrates the legend. Using Scandinavian symbolism, Wargin tells the story of the magnificent loon and how grandmothers of a thousand years live in us.

The Bergonzi String Quartet has been Quartet-in-Residence at the Pine Mountain Music Festival since 1995. Violinists Glen Basham and Scott Flavin, cellist Ross Harbaugh, and violist Pamela McConnell are faculty members at the University of Miami where the Bergonzi Quartet has been Quartet-in-Residence since its formation in1992. The members have extensive collective experience, performing in virtually every major center in the world, with concerts throughout Europe, North and South America, New Zealand, and Asia. They have generated enormous excitement around the world for their superb virtuosity; and their charm, humor, and great music-making has been an important cultural asset for the Pine Mountain Music Festival and the Upper Peninsula.

There is no admission for this concert and all are welcome to attend. For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

Pine Mountain Music Festival to present Bergonzi String Quartet concerts

HANCOCK -- A perennial favorite with Pine Mountain Music Festival audiences since 1995, the Bergonzi String Quartet bring their charm, humor, and great music-making to the stage at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 23, at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, Houghton. Tickets are $25 and are available at Michigan Tech Ticketing Services by calling 487-2073, or at the door.

The Bergonzi String Quartet will perform this week in Houghton and next week in Kingsford and Marquette in Pine Mountain Music Festival Concerts. (Photo courtesy Pine Mountain Music Festival)

Members of the quartet are Glenn Basham and Scott Flavin, violins; Pamela McConnell, viola; and Ross Harbaugh, cello. This year they will be joined by piano sensation Tian Ying to perform a new arrangement of George Gershwin’s great Rhapsody in Blue for Piano and String Quartet. Also featured on the program are Hugo Wolf’s Italian Serenade, Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet in F Major, Gershwin’s Three Preludes, and three pieces arranged by Scott Flavin. This concert is sponsored by the Upper Peninsula Power Company.

Other performances of this concert will be at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, June 25, at First Presbyterian Church, Kingsford, and at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 26, at Reynolds Recital Hall, Marquette.

The Quartet is based in Florida, where its four members are faculty members at the University of Miami in Coral Gables. In addition, first violinist Glenn Basham is concertmaster of the Naples (FL) Philharmonic Orchestra, and second violinist Scott Flavin is concertmaster of the Florida Grand Opera and Florida Classical Orchestra.  Violist Pamela McConnell has performed as soloist and chamber musician all around the world and in the U.S. in such prestigious places as Lincoln Center and Kennedy Center. Cellist Ross Harbaugh has appeared as soloist with many orchestras including the Atlanta, Cincinnati, Keweenaw, Grand Rapids, and Canadian Chamber Orchestras.

The members have extensive collective experience, performing in virtually every major center in the world, with concerts throughout Europe, North and South America, New Zealand, and Asia.

Pine Mountain Music Festival presents a season of opera, classical, and popular music each June-July in the Dickinson County area, the Marquette area, the Keweenaw Peninsula, and other towns in the Upper Peninsula. Headquartered in Hancock, Michigan, it is supported by donations, ticket sales, and grants. Visit the web at www.pmmf.org or call 888-309-7861 for more information, or call 1-877-746-3999 for tickets.

Portage Library to host Bergonzi Quartet in Children's Concert June 23

The Bergonzi String Quartet will also host a free children’s concert at 1 p.m., Saturday, June 23, at the Portage Lake District Library, Houghton. Featured will be The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant, arranged for String Quartet by Pamela McConnell and narrated by Joshua Major, PMMF artistic director.

There is no admission for this library children's concert and all are welcome to attend. For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

Pine Mountain Music Festival 22nd Season: "It's All About Love ..."

HANCOCK -- Pine Mountain Music Festival (PMMF) announces its 22nd season -- "It’s All About Love: from Mozart to Sondheim." Opening on June 7 and concluding on July 15, the Festival will enchant audiences in nearly a dozen towns across the central and western Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin. Some 37 performances will be presented, including opera, musical theatre, chamber music, and classical recitals.

Two productions this summer, Mozart’s Così fan tutte and Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, propose two views of love from very different perspectives. Both offer comedy and an insightful look at human nature and our search for love. In Così, two young men disguise themselves to test their lovers’ fidelity, and what begins as fun and games turns into something no one quite bargained for. The production will be sung in Italian, with projected English surtitles and an orchestra in the pit. Featuring PMMF's six Resident Opera Artists, Così will tour to Norway on June 17, Marquette on June 19, and Calumet on June 21.

Sondheim’s enduring and touching masterpiece, A Little Night Music, is the perfect midsummer musical. With a sweeping, lush score ("Send in the Clowns," "A Weekend in the Country") and a plot that cleverly weaves together stories of love, intrigue, and heartache, Sondheim continues the festival's exploration of love. Featuring guest artists Lucy Thrasher (Désirée), Marquette’s Paul Truckey (Fredrick), and sensational singer Luretta Bybee (Madam Armfeldt) along with PMMF Resident Opera Artists, A Little Night Music will be performed on July 13 and 15 in Houghton.

Returning after a year’s absence, the Bergonzi String Quartet will make their 15th appearance with the Festival. Bringing their charm, humor, and great music-making to the stage, they will be joined by piano sensation Tian Ying to offer a version of Gershwin’s masterpiece "Rhapsody in Blue" for string quartet and piano. Evening concerts and free afternoon children’s concerts are scheduled in Houghton on June 23, Kingsford on June 25, and Marquette on June 26.

Opening the season will be three Gala concerts: June 7 in Marquette, June 12 in Houghton, and June 13 in Iron Mountain. Offered in intimate and personal settings, these concerts introduce the festival's six Resident Opera Artists, who were selected through nationwide auditions from over 350 applicants.

International Croatian guitar sensation, Ana Vidovic, returns to the Upper Peninsula where she enthralled audiences in 2007 and 2008.  Once again, Ana will bring her exceptional musicianship, technical mastery, and grace to concert stages in Iron Mountain on June 14, Marquette on June 16, and Calumet on June 18.

“An Evening of Brahms” concert features the stunning solo piano playing of Tian Ying, two Brahms lullabies with Pamela McConnell of the Bergonzi String Quartet, and the romantic Liebeslieder Waltzes featuring four our Resident Opera Artists. Performances are scheduled on June 28 in Kingsford, June 30 in Houghton, and July 2 in Marquette.

Michigan native and rising star, Jeremy David Tarrant, will offer the festival's annual organ recital in Calumet on July 3, Ishpeming on July 6, and Iron Mountain on July 10.

This season, PMMF welcomes the Third Coast Brass ensemble, comprised of some of the finest brass musicians in the Midwestern United States, in a program featuring music of Mozart, Sibelius, Ewald, and Sondheim. Hear them in Marquette on July 5, Iron Mountain on July 6, and in Houghton on July 8.

A special feature of the Festival this year is an “UPstarts” concert, featuring up-and-coming musicians from the Upper Peninsula.  Tenor Miles Mykkanen from Bessemer and soprano Amada Boundy from Eben Junction will join Savannah Clayton, flute, and Susan Byykonen, piano, both from Calumet, to give audiences a look at what the U.P. can accomplish. They will perform seven concerts throughout the U.P. and Wisconsin: June 22 in Ontonagon, June 23 in Ironwood, June 24 in Land O’Lakes (WI), June 27 in Ishpeming, June 28 in Escanaba, June 29 in Munising, and July 1 in Houghton.

The Pine Mountain Music Festival presents a season of opera, symphony and chamber music each June-July in the Dickinson County area, the Marquette area, the Keweenaw Peninsula, and other smaller towns in the Upper Peninsula and northeastern Wisconsin.  Headquartered in Hancock, Michigan, it is supported by donations, ticket sales, and grants. Visit the web at pmmf.org, or call 888-309-7861 for more information. Tickets are now on sale and are available by calling 1-877-746-3999.

Bergonzi Quartet, Suzuki members to present children's concert July 2 in Portage Library

HOUGHTON -- The Bergonzi String Quartet of the Pine Mountain Music Festival will perform Pamela McConnell's version of Peter and the Wolf in a children's concert at 1 p.m. TODAY, Friday, July 2, at the Portage Lake District Library.

Children are invited to come dressed as characters in the performance: Peter, Grandfather, Bird, Miss Duck, Cat, Hunters (no guns, please), and Wolf.

Eva Nemiroff of Houghton, a Suzuki violin student, practices in the Portage Lake District Library during the June 12 opening of the library's summer reading program. Suzuki students and instructors will perform in the library following a children's concert by the Bergonzi String Quartet July 2. Behind Eva is a poster display of Copper Country Suzuki Association activities. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Following the performance, students and instructors from the Copper Country Suzuki Association will present a short performance in conjunction with the Bergonzi Quartet's children's concert. Afterwards, children will be able to take part in an instrument "petting zoo" and learn about the stringed instruments and try them out.

Adults are welcome to attend this concert if they bring at least one child. There is no admission and all are welcome to attend.

For more information, please call the library at 482-4570.

The Bergonzi String Quartet will also perform at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Friday, July 2, at the Rozsa Center. Visit pmmf.org for more information on the Pine Mountain Music Festival.