Calendar - Kingston Chamber Music Festival

Jul 24, 2026: Kingston Chamber Music Festival, Concert 1 "250 Years--A Chamber Music Journey from 1776 to Modern America" at Fine Arts Center

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 19:30:00 -0400

The Kingston Chamber Music Festival will present an opening concert on July 24th to celebrate the United States Semiquincentennial by tracing our nation’s journey from the chamber music world of 1776 to today’s diverse musical landscape. Through Boccherini, Mozart, Dvořák and Jessie Montgomery, we celebrate America’s founding, honor the diverse voices that shaped its cultural identity, and inspire Rhode Islanders with a vision of creativity, inclusion, and innovation for the future.

Luigi Boccherini String Sextet in E-flat Major, Op.23, for two violins, two violas, and two cellos (1776) 19”

Artists: Terra String Quartet, Che-Hung Chen, 2nd viola; Clancy Newman, 2nd cello

Wolfgang A. Mozart Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat major (“Divertimento”), K. 254 (1776) 19” Artists: Natalie Zhu, piano; Harriet Langley, violin; Tommy Mesa, cello

Jessie Montgomery “Strum” for String Quartet (2006, rev. 2012) 8”

Artists: Terra String Quartet

Antonín Dvořák String Quartet No. 12 in F Major, Op.96, “American Quartet” (1893) 25” Artists: Terra String Quartet

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Jul 25, 2026: Kingston Chamber Music Festival, Concert 2 "The British are Coming" at Fine Arts Center

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 16:00:00 -0400

The title captures both the historical spirit of 1776 and the artistic celebration of 2026, While the Revolutionary War was a break from Britain, the centuries since have seen deep cultural ties and mutual influence between the U.K. and the U.S. This title playfully nods to evolution – from conflict to collaboration – celebrating how British music continues to inspire American musicians and composers.

Frank Bridge Phantasy Piano Quartet, H. 94 (12”)

Kate Liu, piano; Amelia Dietrich, violin, Che-Hung Chen, viola; Clancy Newman, cello

Rebecca Clarke Rhapsody for cello and piano (1923) (25”)

Tommy Mesa, cello; Kate Liu, piano

Edward Elgar Piano Quintet in A Minor, Op.84 (35”)

Kate Liu, piano; Terra Quartet

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Jul 26, 2026: Kingston Chamber Music Festival, Concert 3 "Mozart and Britten--50th Anniversary of Britten's Death" at Fine Arts Center

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 16:00:00 -0400

A beautifully balanced program. We celebrate the 50th anniversary of Britten’s death within the broader context of America’s 250th anniversary – two milestones that invite reflection on legacy, continuity and reinvention.

The program opens with Britten’s arrangement of Purcell’s Chaconne, a tribute by one english composer to another across 250 years. Britten admired Purcell as the father of English music and reimagined his works with modern harmonic color and expressive clarity. Then the program followed by Britten’s own string quartet no.2 which was written in 1945 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Purcell’s death. His cello sonata composed during the Cold War, an intimate collaboration with Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, speaks to communication across borders and artistic friendship beyond politics – resonating with the broader ideals of connection and liberty that mark America’s 250th celebration.

It’s impossible not to program Britten’s music without Mozart’s presence in a concert. Britten once called Mozart “the greatest genius of all musicians” and admired his “purity of style”. This influenced Britten’s own meticulous craftsmanship: his textures are transparent, counterpoint is clean, and even his most complex music never feels cluttered.

Henry Purcell: Chaconne in G Minor arr. by Britten (7")

Terra String Quartet

Benjamin Britten: String Quartet No. 2 in C Major, Op. 36 (32")

Terra String Quartet

Benjamin Britten: Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major, Op.65 (20”)

Clancy Newman, cello; Kate Liu, piano

Wolfgang A. Mozart: String Quintet in G minor for two violins, two violas, and cello in G minor, K.516 (25”) Terra String Quartet, Che-Hung Chen, 2nd viola

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Jul 29, 2026: Kingston Chamber Music Festival, "Conversation with Bach" at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 19:30:00 -0400

An exceptionally intelligent and compelling program offered by cellist Yegor Dyachkov. These three composers share a discipline of form and clarity of gesture, and they present the cello here not just as a lyrical instrument, but as a voice of introspection and architecture.

J.S. Bach - Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007

George Crumb - Sonata for Solo Cello

Witold Lutoslawski - Sacher Variations

J.S. Bach - Suite No.5 in C minor, BWV 1011

Yegor Dyachkov, cello

PLEASE NOTE THAT TICKETS FOR THIS CONCERT ARE ONLY AVAILABLE ONLINE OR BY CALLING 401-308-3614 AND ARE NOT A PART OF THE FESTIVAL SUBSCRIPTION. SEATING IS LIMITED.

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Jul 31, 2026: Kingston Chamber Music Festival, Concert 4 "Between Worlds" at Fine Arts Center

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 19:30:00 -0400

This is an unique and adventurous program. Carlos Simon’s work in a contemporary American context. His music often explores the meeting points between the sacred and the secular, the classical and the everyday language. Same as Dvorak’s music which constantly negotiates between the cultivated “classical” world and the raw vitality of the folk traditions that inspired him. And that brings us to the highlight of the evening– first collaboration between Olympic swimmer and violinist Elizabeth Beisel and the Kingston Chamber Music Festival. She will be working with Zachary DePue, who also blends bluegrass and classical music with elements of jazz, blue, and rock.

Rebecca Clarke Two Pieces for Viola and Cello

Che-Hung Chen, viola; Megan Koch, cello

Mario Castelnuovo Tedesco - Fantasia Op. 145

Hashi Duo (Moé Takamatsu, piano; Adrian Montero, guitar)

Carlos Simon - Between Worlds for solo violin

Zach DePue, violin

Bill Monroe - Jerusalem Ridge

Jay Unger - Ashokan Farewell

Maceo Pinkard and Kenneth Casey, with lyrics by Ben Bernie - Sweet Georgia Brown

Violinist Elizabeth Beisel collaborates with Zachary DePue and other KCMF artists

Antonin Dvorak - String Sextet in A Major, Op.48

Julian Rhee, 1st violin; Zachary DePue, 2nd violin; Burchard Tang, 1st viola; Che-Hung Chen, 2nd viola; Priscilla Lee, 1st cello; Yegor Dyachkov, 2nd cello

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Aug 1, 2026: Kingston Chamber Music Festival, Concert 5 "Nightingale's Encore" at Fine Arts Center

Sat, 01 Aug 2026 19:30:00 -0400

In the second week of the festival on August 1, we are honored to have flutist and author, Thomas Wolf, returning to KCMF with an entirely new program – part storytelling, part live music on our subscription concert 5, after his successful performance of The Nightingale’s Sonata at URI’s Fine Art Center on July 28, 2021. This new program is called Nightingale's Encores, Thomas Wolf recounts fascinating and amusing stories involving his multi-generational musical family. Stretching from the Jewish ghetto on the Black Sea to the palaces of European royalty to Carnegie Hall and the White House and beyond, each story is accompanied by a short musical encore that family members helped make famous. And these encore selections were frequently performed by his family members and relatives, both at home and concert halls. This program will give each of our KCMF guest artists the opportunity to perform an encore piece, which will be the first all-encores programming in our festival history.

**Pre-concert Panel discussion: The Great Musical Melting Pot: How America Became Preeminent in Classical Music

During the early decades of the 20th century, the United States looked to the great cities of Europe for great music and musicians. Legendary soloists were from there, the best orchestras and opera companies were there, the most important composers were working there. Desired pedagogues could be found there in the conservatories in Paris, Moscow, Berlin, and many other European cities.

But forces and events well beyond the music would transform the United States from an envious consumer of European music and musicians to the preeminent musical leader that it is today. What were these events and forces and who are some of the individuals – not only from Europe but from Asia–who made this transformation possible?

Henryk Wieniawski - Scherzo Tarantelle

Juliane Rhee, violin; Natalie Zhu, piano

Frederic Chopin - Etude Op. 10 no.5 for piano solo

Natalie Zhu, piano

Reinhold Gliere - Romance for violin and piano, Op.3

Zachary DePue, violin; Henry Kramer, piano

Franz Liszt - “La Campanella”

Henry Kramer, piano

Niccolo Paganini Caprice No. 16 (transcription for viola)

Che-Hung Chen, viola

Alexander Borodin/William Primrose - Nocturne from String Quartet No. 2 Burchard Tang, viola; Natalie Zhu, piano

Frederic Chopin - Polonaise Brillante in C Major, Op.3

Priscilla Lee cello; Natalie Zhu, piano

Felix Mendelssohn - Rondo Capriccioso

Henry Kramer, piano

Fritz Kreisler Praeludium and Allergro

Julian Rhee, violin; Henry Kramer, piano

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Aug 4, 2026: Kingston Chamber Music Festival, Concert 6 "Youth and Memory" at Fine Arts Center

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 16:00:00 -0400

These works span from 1853-1865, a period when Brahms withdrew from the public spotlight to focus on inward, deeply personal chamber writing. A journey through Brahms’s personal and emotional life - his Scherzo’s youthful fire and stormy passion tempered by loss(Horn Trio was written in memory of his mother) then transformed into luminous serenity in the sextet.

Johannes Brahms Scherzo in C minor, WoO2, from F-A-E Sonata for violin and piano Julian Rhee, violin; Henry Kramer, piano

Johannes Brahms Trio for Horn, Violin and Piano in E-flat Major, Op. 40 Eric Huckins, Horn; Julian Rhee, violin; Henry Kramer, piano

Johannes Brahms String Sextet in G Major, Op.36

Zachary DePue, 1st violin; Julian Rhee, 2nd violin; Che-Hung Chen, 1st viola; Burchard Tang, 2nd viola; Yegor Dyachkov, 1st cello; Prisciall Lee, 2nd cello

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