Cooperstown Summer Music Festival opens 25th anniversary season with Ying Quartet on May 7

The Cooperstown Summer Music Festival will open its 25th anniversary season this weekend with a performance by the highly acclaimed Ying Quartet on Sunday, May 7 at 4pm at Christ Episcopal Church.

The quartet will present a program entitled ‘American Made’, opening with Barber’s Quartet in B minor -- from which his famously moving Adagio movement is drawn -- and continuing with works by Jennifer Higdon and Billy Childs that draw on American roots and bebop music traditions. The program concludes with Quartet No. 13 in G major by Dvorak, a European composer who helped define the American musical voice.

A concert designed to showcase the richness and variety of the American string quartet tradition is appropriate for the Yings, who, in addition to being the quartet-in-residence at the Eastman School of Music, have long been enthusiastic champions of American music.

The quartet aims to transmit some of their enthusiasm to their Cooperstown audience. “The tradition of American string quartet writing is full of magnificent music,” says cellist David Ying. “We have all of these wonderful composers to thank for contributing to the vibrant American music scene that we enjoy today.”

EVENT DETAILS:

Ying Quartet: American Made

Sunday, May 7, 4:00-5:30pm, Christ Episcopal Church

The ‘fearlessly imaginative’ Ying quartet performs a program showcasing the richness of American music, including works by Barber, Higdon, Childs, and Dvorak.

TICKET INFORMATION:

Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for students and children. Tickets for all events must be purchased in advance either online from www.cooperstownmusicfest.org or over the phone by calling Purplepass Tickets at 800-316-8559 and selecting Option 1. Please note there is a $2 service fee per phone order.

ABOUT THE COOPERSTOWN SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL:

Founded in 1999 by flutist Linda Chesis, the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival has been bringing world-class chamber music performances to the Cooperstown area for 25 years. The festival has featured performances by the American, Juilliard, St. Lawrence, Jupiter and Jasper String Quartets, Stefon Harris, Bill Charlap, Kurt Elling, Simone Dinnerstein, Mark O’Connor, John Pizzarelli, the Sonia Olla Flamenco Dance Company, and many more. Concerts are held in venues across Cooperstown, including the grand Otesaga Hotel, The Farmers’ Museum and Christ Church (the church of author James Fenimore Cooper).

The Cooperstown Summer Music Festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.