CCCMF NEWS
2021 Season Tickets
Tickets for the 2021 Season will go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, May 26th!
Welcome to our new Executive Director Paul Schwendener!
We are pleased to announce that Paul Schwendener has been appointed Executive Director of the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival and will assume this role June 1. Elaine Lipton, who announced her retirement earlier this year, will continue as Executive Director Emeritus through August.
“It is an honor to carry on the great tradition of this Festival, and I am delighted to work together with Elaine, the Board, and with Artistic Directors Jon Nakamatsu and Jon Manasse to ensure a smooth transition back to concert life in these challenging times,” says Schwendener.
CCCMF Board President David Farer says, “we are fortunate to have Paul on board as our new Executive Director. The Festival is already benefitting from Paul’s experience and insights. The synergies we already see among Paul, Jon and Jon, Elaine and with the Board are exciting and inspiring.”
Most recently Schwendener served as Executive Director of the All-Star Orchestra, an ensemble comprised of top players from major American orchestras that has produced five seasons of Public TV programs, winning seven Emmy® awards. The All-Star Orchestra has also created extensive music educational content and lessons for the Khan Academy, providing free instruction to over six million students.
Over a 30-year career in the classical music recording industry, Schwendener has been instrumental in producing and marketing hundreds of recordings with leading artists and ensembles, including the Complete Mozart Edition (180 CDs) for Philips Classics and the Milken Archive of Jewish Music (600+ recordings.)
Schwendener is a Governor of the National Arts Club in New York City, and as co-chair of the Music Committee has programmed multiple seasons of chamber music concerts. Born in Michigan, Schwendener studied at the Eastman School of Music and at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna where he also performed with the Choral Union of the Vienna Philharmonic for several years.
Please join us in welcoming Paul, and we all look forward to seeing you this summer when live music returns to the Festival.
Mission
To present the finest classical and contemporary chamber music by both world-class ensembles and exceptional young emerging artists to Cape Cod audiences; to develop new and younger audiences for chamber music; to commission new chamber works whenever possible; and to provide educational activities and programs which encourage, broaden and deepen appreciation of the chamber music art form.
FEATURED ARTISTS
Jon Manasse and Jon Nakamatsu
Among the most distinguished classical artists of his generation, clarinetist Jon Manasse is internationally recognized for his inspiring artistry, uniquely glorious sound and charismatic performing style. As well as serving on the faculties of The Juilliard School, The Lynn Conservatory and the Mannes School of Music, Manasse is principal clarinetist of the American Ballet Theater Orchestra, the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.
Since winning the Gold Medal at the 1997 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Jon Nakamatsu tours year-round, working with many of today’s leading conductors and orchestras, and appears in recital and chamber collaborations at festivals and music centers world-wide. Nakamatsu is on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and is Artist-in-Residence of the Chautauqua Institution Piano Program.
Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo
Comprised of clarinetist Jon Manasse and pianist Jon Nakamatsu, two of America’s most distinguished artists, the Manasse/Nakamatsu Duo immediately established itself with a highly acclaimed 2004 performance in Boston. Subsequent coast-to-coast touring featured appearances on many of the country’s most prestigious series. Recent appearances abroad include the Duo’s first performances in Cuba in 2017. Since 2006, the Duo has served as Artistic Directors of the renowned Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, which celebrates 42 years of extraordinary concerts in its August 2021 season.
Escher Quartet
Hailed for its “sheer finesse” by Gramophone Magazine, the Escher String Quartet has received international acclaim for its expressive, nuanced performances that combine unusual textural clarity with a rich, blended sound. Currently String Quartet in Residence at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas and Tuesday Musical in Akron, Ohio, the ensemble serves as Season Artists of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The quartet has collaborated with numerous prestigious artists, including Leon Fleischer, Lynn Harrell and Joshua Bell. In 2013 the quartet became one of the very few chamber ensembles to be awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant.
Imani Winds
The Grammy-nominated Imani Winds have led both a revolution and evolution of the wind quintet through their dynamic playing, adventurous programming and imaginative collaborations. Imani Winds regularly performs in prominent international concert venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center. Their touring schedule has taken them throughout the Asian continent, Brazil, Australia, England, New Zealand and across Europe. About their most recent CD Gramophone stated “the ensemble’s hot rapport churns with conviction throughout.” In 2016 the ensemble was added permanently to the classical music section of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History.
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CCCMF programs are supported in part by grants from the Eastham and Wellfleet Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.