This summer we are excited to bring you our thrilling concerts, performed by esteemed guest artists, as well as by our talented Festival Fellows.

Schedule of Events:

Wednesday, July 6, 2022

7:30 PM: Musical Bridges Project

ANGEL LAM  The heart is deeper than the ocean

Wu Man  pipa
Cheng Allen Liang  cello
Melvin Chen  piano

The second in our continuing series of commissions bridging music of different cultures with traditional Western classical chamber music features Wu Man? GRAMMY-nominated pipa virtuoso and founding member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road project?in a new work by celebrated composer Angel Lam for pipa, cello, and piano.

During the evening you will first hear the work performed, followed by a discussion of the work between the composer and artists, and then lastly a recap performance when you'll have to opportunity to hear the work again, but with a different perspective.

Musical Bridges and this performance is made possible through the generous support of the Desai Family Foundation.

Friday, July 8, 2022

8 PM: It’s About Time: Belated Beethoven Birthday

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN   Sonata in D Major for Piano Four Hands
BEETHOVEN   Quintet in E-flat Major for Piano & Winds
BEETHOVEN  String Quintet in c minor, Op. 104

Tai Murray  violin
Boris Berman  piano
with  Norfolk Fellows

It’s about time to celebrate Beethoven’s birthday! Since it was not possible to celebrate the composer’s 250th birthday in 2020, we decided the time to celebrate his birthday is now. This concert features chamber music that spans Beethoven’s early career, in a variety of instrumentations.

Tickets: $60 – $20, $10 Young Adults (18-25),
Kids Come Free! (under 18)

Click here to Buy tickets.

PRE-CONCERT CONVERSATION
7–7:40 PM | BATTELL RECITAL HALL

Join Paul Berry and other professors from the Yale School of Music before the Friday evening concerts to learn about the weekend’s programs. We know you will enjoy the fascinating insights to be shared.

Free and open to the public.

Saturday, July 9, 2022

8 PM: The Brentano Quartet

FRANZ JOSEF HAYDN   String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 33, No. 4
BELÁ BARTÓK    String Quartet No. 5
ANTONÍN DVO?ÁK   String Quartet in A-flat Major, Op. 105

Brentano Quartet
Mark Steinberg  violin
Serena Canin  violin
MIsha Amory  viola
Nina Lee  cello

Tickets: $60 – $20, $10 Young Adults (18-25),
Kids Come Free! (under 18)

Click here to buy tickets.

PRE-CONCERT CONVERSATION
7–7:40 PM | BATTELL RECITAL HALL

And new this season... Prior to the Saturday concerts, Festival Director Melvin Chen will be joined in conversation by Festival Artists to discuss the music, the life of a professional artist, and other on-stage and off-stage topics of interest. Don't miss this chance to peek behind the curtain.

Free and open to the public.

Friday, July 15, 2022

8 PM: Unquestionably American

ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK    Four Hymns Without Words
AARON COPLAND    Appalachian Spring
ERNEST BLOCH    Piano Quintet No. 1

Frank Morelli  bassoon
Mary Elizabeth ­­­Bowden  trumpet
Wei-Yi Yang  piano
with  Norfolk Fellows

Tickets: $60 – $20, $10 Young Adults (18-25),
Kids Come Free! (under 18)

Click here to buy tickets

PRE-CONCERT CONVERSATION
7–7:40 PM | BATTELL RECITAL HALL

Join Paul Berry and other professors from the Yale School of Music before the Friday evening concerts to learn about the weekend’s programs. We know you will enjoy the fascinating insights to be shared.

Free and open to the public.

Saturday, July 16, 2022

8 PM: Brentano & Upshaw

Dido Reimagined: A new performance inspired by the famous Dido’s Lament from Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas.

Dawn Upshaw  soprano

Brentano Quartet
Mark Steinberg  violin
Serena Canin  violin
Misha Amory  viola
Nina Lee  cello

A program of songs by Purcell and his Baroque contemporaries, mixed with string quartet arrangements of early English works for viol consort, that culminates in a response crafted by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Melinda Wagner and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann.

Tickets: $60 – $20, $10 Young Adults (18-25),
Kids Come Free! (under 18)

Click here to buy tickets.

PRE-CONCERT CONVERSATION
7–7:40 PM | BATTELL RECITAL HALL

And new this season... Prior to the Saturday concerts, Festival Director Melvin Chen will be joined in conversation by Festival Artists to discuss the music, the life of a professional artist, and other on-stage and off-stage topics of interest. Don't miss this chance to peek behind the curtain.

Free and open to the public.

Friday, July 22, 2022

8 PM: It’s About Time: Women Through the Ages

LILI  BOULANGER   D’un Matin du Printemps
JOAN TOWER   Elegy
LOUISE FARRENC   Sextet in c minor
NOKUTHULA NGWENYAMA   Primal Message
CLARA SCHUMANN   Piano Trio in g minor

Ransom Wilson  flute
Scott Hartman  trombone
with  Norfolk Fellows

A program highlighting female composers’ chamber music through the centuries. Featured are: Clara Schumann, who was discouraged from composing her own work because she was a woman, and became well known for performing and championing the work of her husband Robert; Louise Farrenc, who was appointed a professor at the Paris Conservatory in 1842, the only such appointment for a woman for the entire 19th century; Lili Boulanger, the first woman to win the prestigious Prix de Rome;  Nokuthula Ngwenyama, an acclaimed violist and composer; and Joan Tower, who is regarded as one of the most important American composers living today.

Tickets: $60 – $20, $10 Young Adults (18-25),
Kids Come Free! (under 18)

Click here to buy ticekts.

PRE-CONCERT CONVERSATION
7–7:40 PM | BATTELL RECITAL HALL

Join Paul Berry and other professors from the Yale School of Music before the Friday evening concerts to learn about the weekend’s programs. We know you will enjoy the fascinating insights to be shared.

Free and open to the public.

Saturday, July 23, 2022

8 PM: The Dover Quartet

FRANZ JOSEF HAYDN   String Quartet in D Major, “The Lark”
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART   Quartet in C Major, K. 465, “Dissonance”
MAURICE RAVEL   String Quartet in F Major

Dover Quartet
Joel Link  violin
Bryan Lee  violin
Milena Pajaro-van De Stadt  viola
Camden Shaw  cello

Tickets: $60 – $20, $10 Young Adults (18-25),
Kids Come Free! (under 18)

Click here to buy tickets.

PRE-CONCERT CONVERSATION
7–7:40 PM | BATTELL RECITAL HALL

And new this season... Prior to the Saturday concerts, Festival Director Melvin Chen will be joined in conversation by Festival Artists to discuss the music, the life of a professional artist, and other on-stage and off-stage topics of interest. Don't miss this chance to peek behind the curtain.

Free and open to the public.

Friday, July 29, 2022

8 PM: It’s About Time: Norfolk Then and Now

KRISTS AUZNIEKS   Brass
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS   Piano Quintet
SAMUEL COLERIDGE-TAYLOR   Nonet

featuring  Norfolk Fellows

As the oldest chamber music festival in America, Norfolk has always been a place where the world’s highest profile composers and performers regularly gathered. Composers in this concert are associated with the early Norfolk Festival—Ralph Vaughan Williams and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, who were both in attendance when their works were performed at the Music Shed—and Krists Auznieks, a Latvian composer whose work Brass premiered at Norfolk in 2018 when he was a Fellow.

Tickets: $60 – $20, $10 Young Adults (18-25),
Kids Come Free! (under 18)

Click here to buy tickets.

PRE-CONCERT CONVERSATION
7–7:40 PM | BATTELL RECITAL HALL

Join Paul Berry and other professors from the Yale School of Music before the Friday evening concerts to learn about the weekend’s programs. We know you will enjoy the fascinating insights to be shared.

Free and open to the public.

Saturday, July 30, 2022

8 PM: Music of Schulhoff & Brahms

ERWIN SCHULHOFF   Sextet for 2 Violins, 2 Violas, and 2 Cellos
JOHNANNES BRAHMS   Piano Quartet in A Major, Op. 26

Members of the St. Lawrence String Quartet
Owen Dalby  violin
Lesley Robertson  viola               
Christopher Costanza  cello

Melvin Chen  piano
with  Norfolk Fellows

Tickets: $60 – $20, $10 Young Adults (18-25),
Kids Come Free! (under 18)

Click here to buy tickets.

PRE-CONCERT CONVERSATION
7–7:40 PM | BATTELL RECITAL HALL

And new this season... Prior to the Saturday concerts, Festival Director Melvin Chen will be joined in conversation by Festival Artists to discuss the music, the life of a professional artist, and other on-stage and off-stage topics of interest. Don't miss this chance to peek behind the curtain.

Free and open to the public. Advanced registration required.

Friday, August 5, 2022

8 PM: It’s About Time: Music for Peace

VALENTIN SILVESTROV   Epitaphium (L. B.)
ARNOLD SCHOENBERG   Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte
OLIVIER MESSIAEN   Quartet for the End of Time

Albert Lee  narrator
David Shifrin  clarinet
William Purvis  horn
Ani Kavafian  violin
Natalie Zhu  piano
with  Norfolk Fellows

A program written in war and yearning for peace. Messian wrote his Quartet for the End of Time while in a POW camp during WWII, while Schoenberg’s Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte is a biting commentary on not only Napoleon, but also Hitler, inspired by a poem by Lord Byron. Silvestrov is a contemporary Ukrainian composer who wrote Epitaphium (L.B.) as an epitaph for his wife. Festival Director Melvin Chen “thought this epitaph was a fitting way of bringing attention to what’s happening there.”

Tickets: $60 – $20, $10 Young Adults (18-25),
Kids Come Free! (under 18)

Click here to buy tickets.

PRE-CONCERT CONVERSATION
7–7:40 PM | BATTELL RECITAL HALL

Join Paul Berry and other professors from the Yale School of Music before the Friday evening concerts to learn about the weekend’s programs. We know you will enjoy the fascinating insights to be shared.

Free and open to the public.

Saturday, August 6, 2022

8 PM: Music of Mozart and Dvo?ák

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART   Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, K. 493
ANTONÍN DVO?ÁK   String Sextet in A Major, Op. 48

Members of the St. Lawrence String Quartet
Owen Dalby  violin
Lesley Robertson  viola                
Christopher Costanza  cello

Natalie Zhu piano
with  Norfolk Fellows

Tickets: $60 – $20, $10 Young Adults (18-25),
Kids Come Free! (under 18)

Click here to buy tickets.

PRE-CONCERT CONVERSATION
7–7:40 PM | BATTELL RECITAL HALL

And new this season... Prior to the Saturday concerts, Festival Director Melvin Chen will be joined in conversation by Festival Artists to discuss the music, the life of a professional artist, and other on-stage and off-stage topics of interest. Don't miss this chance to peek behind the curtain.

Free and open to the public.

Friday, August 12, 2022

8 PM: It’s About Time: Directions

RICHARD STRAUSS   Sextet from Capriccio
GYÖRGY LIGETI   Six Bagatelles
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN   Septet in in E-flat for Strings and Winds

Romie de Guise-Langlois  clarinet
William Purvis  horn
Eugene Drucker  violin
Lawrence Dutton  viola
Ole Akahoshi  cello
with  Norfolk Fellow

This concert speaks to a composer’s use of time as an element of their works. Strauss is looking backward by composing something that was appropriate to 1753; Beethoven’s Septet is a piece that was in the moment when it was written; and Ligeti’s Six Bagatelles is modernist and forward looking.

Tickets: $60 – $20, $10 Young Adults (18-25),
Kids Come Free! (under 18)

Click here to buy tickets.

PRE-CONCERT CONVERSATION
7–7:40 PM | BATTELL RECITAL HALL

Join Paul Berry and other professors from the Yale School of Music before the Friday evening concerts to learn about the weekend’s programs. We know you will enjoy the fascinating insights to be shared.

Free and open to the public.

Saturday, August 13, 2022

8 PM: Festival Gala - It's About Time: Piano Extravaganza!

A fundraiser in support of the professional training of our outstanding young musicians.

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH  Concerto for Two Keyboards and Strings in c minor
IGOR STRAVINSKY  Concerto for Two Solo Pianos
BACH  Concerto for Four Keyboards and Strings in a minor

Robert Blocker  piano
Melvin Chen  piano
with  Norfolk Fellows

We’re thrilled to present another great evening with music for multiple pianos – including a rare opportunity to experience Bach's FOUR Keyboard Concerto, a spectacular feast for the ears AND the eyes!

This year’s gala concert takes a look at how a twentieth century composer used centuries old Baroque ideas and forms in their own music. Stravinsky’s concerto for two pianos is set alongside works of the Baroque master, Bach.

Ple­­ase join us for the all the Gala festivities, or just for the concert. Either way, you won’t want to miss it!

Click here to buy tickets.

Thursday, August 18, 2022

8 PM: Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra

GEORGE FREDERIC HANDEL    Overture to Orlando
ERROLLYN WALLEN, CBE and TARIK O’REGAN    Ancestor
HANDEL   Concerto Grosso in B-flat Major, Op. 6, No. 7
HANDEL   opera excerpts

Philharmonia Baroque
Richard Egarr  Music Director and conductor
Tim Mead  counter-tenor

Philharmonia Baroque returns to Norfolk, one of only five stops on their 2022 East Coast Tour. Known for their performances of Handel, this Grammy-winning orchestra has delighted Norfolk audiences in each of their previous appearances in the Music Shed.

Tickets: $60 – $20, $10 Young Adults (18-25),
Kids Come Free! (under 18)

Click here to buy tickets.

Saturday, August 20, 2022

4 PM: Choral Festival

With a stellar chamber choir and orchestra, coupled with Simon Carrington’s remarkable programming, this concert is alway a Norfolk summer highlight. The exquisite program showcases works  from four centuries — encompassing everything from majestic beauty to works of intimacy, and always a piece of great humor and joy. You will want to see this one!

Simon Carrington  Director / conductor
Andréa Walker  soprano
Ezra Selzer  cello
Ilya Poletaev  Associate Director / keyboards
Norfolk Festival Chamber Choir and Orchestra

sponsored by Yale Institute of Sacred Music

Tickets: $60 – $20, $10 Young Adults (18-25),
Kids Come Free! (under 18)

Click here to buy tickets.

Fest Date: July 6 - August 20, 2022

Location: Ellen Battell Stoeckel Estate Music Shed - 20 Litchfield Road Norfolk, CT 06058

Click here for more information.