The Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival begins its 14th year in a beautiful new venue at the top of Signal Hill Road, overlooking the valley and the mountains beyond.  The new barn retains the Festival's rustic charm, including the iconic chandelier, but adds much improved acoustics, fantastic facilities for the artists, and more protection from the elements.  "Just stepping out of the car blew me away, the views are just stunning", says Artistic Director, Kevin Krentz. 

 

This year's 5 major concerts will have a new twist: they will be organized like a radio program along the lines of classic NPR program, St. Paul Sunday, with short interviews and discussion led by long time radio personalities George Shangrow and Verne Windham before each performance on the program.  "Audiences always want more connection with the who and why of a performance.  They want to know more of the personalities on stage and what this music means to them as well as the more familiar  factual knowledge of the composer and her ideas.  By allowing the artists to give voice to these thoughts, the audience is brought in on a more immediate personal level.  It's also a way to introduce a bit more fun and knowing our artists, I'm sure it will be quite funny at times", says Krentz.

 

There will be a few familiar faces on stage as well as quite a few new ones including Northwest favorite Craig Sheppard, pianist; principal players of the Vancouver Symphony; and several thrilling solo competition winners that will keep the energy very high.  The special mid-week concert, "Wine and Song", Tuesday, July 28th, will feature a short chamber opera by internationally-known composer Daron Hagen, who will be in attendance and will host a discussion afterward. 

 

Each of the 5 major concerts as well as the Community Concert "Flying High:  In Celebration of Young Virtuosos" will end with an AfterGlow party in the barn with an opportunity to spend time with the musicians and enjoy fabulous treats as well as wines from the Lost River Winery and local beers from the Twisp River Pub.  "We want each program to be an event, not just a concert, but something that lasts for hours and nourishes the soul for years."