As you might know, the Three Bridges Chamber Music players are on their way back to Connecticut, Germany, and England. Their final concerts included a variety of music from English backgrounds, and you can hear their work on recordings around the world.  I hope you were able to listen to many of the programs they offered.

Workshop on the Northshore

The Woodland Chamber Music Workshop is also a completed project. Forty-two musicians from San Diego to Oklahoma City to Roanoke to Philadelphia spent a very intensive five days creating chamber music up in Tofte, MN. Music from Peer Gynt, by Edward Grieg, was shared by the impromptu orchestra at the workshop. Twelve different ensembles shared work from Johann Christian Bach to Ernst von Dohnanyi, exploring 20th century ideas for all those who came to listen.
The Gala Concert at the conclusion featured 13 different groups, followed by a performance of ‘Anitra’s Dance’ and ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’  from the wonderful compositional style of Edvard Grieg. This workshop will begin again on 21 June, 2016, in case you know someone who should investigate and join this fascinating Woodland Chamber Music Workshop.

Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra in motion

With both of these programs behind us, we are approaching the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra season, along with continued activity from the Duluth Playhouse.
On Thursday evening, July 09, at 7:30pm at the Weber Music Hall on the UMD campus, the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra will begin its 2015 season. Aaron Copland is the only familiar name on the program, but, then, I am a musician who likes to know what current composers are sharing with the coming generation.
Music Director Warren Friesen suggests that this year’s programs will seem like a whirlwind tour of folk-inspired orchestral music from around the world. Several of the composers have something new to say to our multiple generations, and the LSCO is the best source of new music to be shared in the greater Duluth community.
Keep in touch with the programs at Madelaine Island, just outside of Bayfield, WI. Music happens all across the summer in the island across from Bayfield, WI. At the same time, a Thursday concert series starts up on July 9 in Bayfield. These performances take place at several venues around town, and I hope you might choose to indulge yourself throughout July and August with these very special programs.

Guys and Dolls look at the Havana Moon
       
Lastly, the Duluth Playhouse will open Guys and Dolls on July 16. I’ll comment more about that as we get closer, but keep the Playhouse in your summer schedule.Between the Thursday night Chamber Orchestra concerts and the Duluth Playhouse, your summer should be filled with lots of cultural activity. I hope you take advantage of as many performances as you can fit into your personal schedules.