Chamber Music by the Sea is bigger than ever
Chamber Music by the Sea 2023 adds new venues and events in its eight season
(Berlin, MD, June 2023) – Chamber Music by the Sea is shaking things up! The annual festival has been delighting Maryland’s Eastern Shore audiences for the past seven years and for its upcoming eighth season, it has new treats in store. The 2023 festival, which runs from August 13-19, welcomes some of the world’s most acclaimed young musicians and branches out to new venues in both Berlin and Snow Hill. Additionally, this year’s festival welcomes the public for a behind-the-scenes peek at how the musical magic is made.
Violinist Elena Urioste, founder and artistic director of Chamber Music by the Sea, is grateful for the support the festival has received through the years and is eager to keep audiences coming back for more. “I wanted to reinvigorate things this year so that newcomers, as well as our friends who have been with us all along, will have something fresh and exciting to look forward to.” Along with new venues like Berlin’s iconic Atlantic Hotel and Snow Hill’s Bishop’s Stock gallery that join returning events at Temple Bat Yam and All Hallows Episcopal Church, this summer’s festival also includes an open-air rehearsal on South Point that is open to the public, a free family concert at the Berlin library, and an informal outdoor performance on the lawn of the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum. “We want everyone to feel welcome and to see that chamber music is as far from stuffy as can be!”
Musical repertoire for this year’s performances ranges from masterpieces of familiar composers like Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Schubert to Florence Price, whose brilliant work is finally being championed after decades of neglect. And no Chamber Music by the Sea festival would be complete without the trademark wit and charm of Tom Poster’s new arrangements for this summer’s musicians.
Urioste (dubbed “classical music’s new power couple” with Poster by The Times) is joined this summer by several returning festival favorites: violinists Grace Park and Melissa White, and cellists Guy Johnston and Brook Speltz. Completing the musical roster is violist Kyle Armbrust in his Chamber Music by the Sea debut. This extraordinary group of artists includes first prize laureates of the international Naumberg and Sphinx Competitions; BBC New Generation Artists; and recipients of prestigious awards from the Royal Philharmonic Society, Gramophone, and BBC Music Magazine.
Under the sponsorship of the Worcester County Education Foundation, generously funded by the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, and with continuing support from the Ocean City Lioness Club, Chamber Music by the Sea proudly sponsors year-round arts initiatives in Worcester County public schools through its festival ticket sales, including live in-school programs and Virtual Visiting Artists programs, which allow students to interact directly with acclaimed musicians in real-time virtual classroom sessions.
The 2023 festival schedule includes:
· Sunday, August 13, 3:00 pm: ticketed salon concert and reception at a private Snow Hill home (seating limited)
· Monday, August 14, 11:00 am: open-air rehearsal on South Point
· Tuesday, August 15, 7:00 pm: ticketed salon concert and reception at Bishop’s Stock Gallery, Snow Hill (seating limited)
· Wednesday, August 16, 7:00 pm: ticketed concert and reception at Temple Bat Yam, Berlin
· Thursday, August 17:
- 10:30 am: free family concert at the Berlin Public Library
- 12:00 pm: student workshop (open to the public) at the Berlin Public Library
- 7:00 pm: ticketed concert at the Atlantic Hotel, Berlin
· Friday, August 18, 7:00 pm: ticketed concert at All Hallows Episcopal Church, Snow Hill
· Saturday, August 19, 11:00 am: free open-air informal performance on the lawn of the Calvin B. Taylor House Museum, Berlin