Meeting House Chamber Music Festival Celebrates 50 Years – Cape Cod Chronicle

The Meeting House Chamber Music Festival is celebrating its 50th anniversary season, opening with a special concert at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 16 at The Church of the Holy Spirit, Episcopal in Orleans.
The concert will feature works by Mozart, Dvorak, Miguel del Aguila, and Ernest Bloch in a diverse program highlighting the festival’s commitment to excellence and innovation. Performing will be two internationally acclaimed stars, violinist Irina Muresanu and cellist Sergey Antonov, as well as the festival’s visionary founder, artistic director and pianist Donald Enos.
In addition to his role of master planner and pianist for the festival, Enos, a native Cape Codder, holds the position of Wesley DeLacy Chair, Keyboards, with the Cape Symphony and is the resident pianist for the Chatham Chorale. He also serves as director of music at the South Dennis Congregational Church, where he often presents concerts on the church’s Snetzler Chamber Organ (1762), believed to be the oldest organ in continuous use in the United States. The exceptional musicianship and creativity of Enos have made the Meeting House Chamber Music Festival the longest running music festival on Cape Cod.
The festival’s 50th anniversary season will showcase the talents of guest violinists Joyce Hammann, Katie Lansdale and Heather Goodchild Wade; cellists Amit Peled, Sergey Antonov, Matthias Naegele, Megan Koch and Leland Ko; violists Laura Manko Sahin and Danielle Farina; double bassist Jeff Carney; harpist Elisabeth Remy Johnson; and hornist Clark Matthews.
The six concerts in the festival’s season will include classical masterpieces from the elegant melodies of Mozart’s Duo in G Major to the innovative harmonies of Schubert’s youthful “Trout” Quintet. They will also feature Romantic works, as virtuoso musicians share the passion and drama of the Romantic era with works by composers such as Brahms and Schumann, alongside contemporary voices, exploring the vibrant world of contemporary chamber music with compositions by Rebecca Clarke, Mark O’Connor, Rizgar Ismael, William Walton and others.
Enos explained that from an early age growing up in Harwich, he was always drawn to the sound of classical music and had a wish to help keep it alive.
“Back while doing post-graduate studies, it was my good fortune to spend three summers in Portsmouth, N.H. as part of the Strawbery Banke Chamber Festival,” Enos said. “When returning to live on Cape Cod, knowing how people enjoyed the less formal, more intimate and up close experience of hearing this music, I thought of starting a similar series right here. So, back in 1973, I moved my piano into the Orleans Historical Society meetinghouse for the summer and set up a series of concerts along with some music school colleagues. After a short 25 years at this location with some very enthusiastic music lovers, and another short 25 years at The Church of the Holy Spirit, continuing on, still with the strong support of our audiences in this community, we arrive at this milestone.”
Guest violinist Joyce Hammann said she has had the joy of playing with Enos for 20 years and is thrilled to be a part of the 50th anniversary festivities.
“His vision of presenting the old, loved classics and then coupling them with new and less known works is one of the things that makes it so much fun for both the musicians and the audience,” Hammann said. “He is fearless in his programming and I believe has become even more embracing of new works. Donald’s tremendous curiosity, love and joy in making music is clear to all and at each concert the audience is very happy to take this journey with him knowing they will come out richer at the end of the evening.”
Harpist Elisabeth Remy Johnson said it’s a thrill to be part of this special season.
“I grew up in Brewster (I was actually in the same Brewster Elementary class as Donald’s daughter!) and can remember going to these concerts in the summer with my mother,” she said. “It’s so special to be part of a music festival that is among my earliest musical memories.”
Enos said the festival provides music written for a group of equals — whether in a duo, a trio, or a quintet — and each instrumentalist gets to shine, much like a small jazz ensemble.
“The unique sounds of each instrument can be highlighted off and on throughout a work,” Enos said. “For a person unfamiliar with chamber music, all that is needed is a pair of ears, along with a little sense of expectation. This music can mesmerize, it can enthrall, and sometimes even be moving. For this anniversary occasion, we will be including a couple of my personal favorites: Beethoven’s Trio Op.1#1, a work programmed in our first season; and a Brahms Quartet for piano and strings, the work that introduced me to the joy of chamber music.”
Season tickets (six concerts) are available for only $90. Visit www.meetinghousemusic.org for ordering information. Tickets for individual performances will be available at the door for $25 (under 18 free). Payment will be accepted in cash or check only.
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