The Canandaigua LakeMusic Festival has again partnered with Finger Lakes Community College for a summer concert series that will feature world-class musicians.
The festival is centered on four chamber concerts in FLCC’s auditorium over two weekends: Friday and Sunday, July 17 and 19, and Friday and Sunday, July 24 and 26. It also includes a series of community concerts, including a season kickoff on July 16 at the Granger Homestead and Carriage Museum in Canandaigua, a July 20 concert at Geva Theatre in Rochester, and a less formal “Classical Blue Jeans” and barbecue concert at Bristol Harbour Resort in South Bristol on July 22.
Tickets and more information are available on the festival’s website, www.lakemusicfestival.org.
Additional “pop-up” concerts are being planned and will be free and open to the public. “Master key” tickets for all four FLCC shows are $120 for general admission and $180 for patrons. Single concert tickets are $15 for those 18 and under and students with ID, $35 for general admission and $60 for patrons. All tickets to the Geva show are $25. The Blue Jeans concert includes dinner and costs $50, or $35 for those under 12.
“For this 11th anniversary season we are celebrating the world-class quality and incredible tradition of the festival,” said Kevin Kumar, the festival’s co-artistic director. “Each concert is designed to be a unique experience, and we’re thrilled to bring back some musicians who’ve become festival mainstays, as well as several new faces.”
The 2015 concert series will feature:
- Violinist Juliana Athayde, concertmaster of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra who, in 2005 at age 24, became the youngest person to hold the position in its nearly 100-year history. She has also performed as guest concertmaster with the Houston, Kansas City, and Santa Barbara symphonies.
- Guitarist Petar Kodzas, a native of Belgrade who is now part of the faculty at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. He was a prize winner in the Orpheus Competition and the National Music Competition in Yugoslavia, and will perform Spanish masterpieces with his wife, Ines Draskovic, an acclaimed pianist and member of FLCC’s music faculty.
- Pianist Audrey Andrist, a prize winner at such competitions as the Mozart International, the San Antonio International, Eckhardt-Gramatte and the Julliard Concerto. She has performed in some of the country’s most prestigious venues, including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and she is a member of Strata, a trio with her husband, violinist James Stern, and clarinetist Nathan Williams.
- The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Brass Quintet, which features trumpets, trombone, tuba, and French horn.
Several other accomplished musicians will also take the stage, including violinist Kumar and his co-artistic director, cellist Amy Sue Barston.
Launched in 2005, LakeMusic began as a series of concerts in area churches. In 2012 festival organizers partnered with FLCC and relocated the festival’s four formal main performances to the auditorium in the college’s Student Center.
LakeMusic’s organizers strive to make chamber music accessible to those who may have had little exposure. From the stage, musicians introduce themselves and each piece, explaining why it was selected and offering background on the composer.
For more information about the Canandaigua LakeMusic Festival or to purchase tickets, contact Aimee Ward, executive director, at 585-690-1220. For the latest updates, visit the festival’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lakemusic.
