Regional premiere of Jonathan Bailey Holland’s ‘String Quartet’ Honors National Park Service Centennial
A $30K grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to Curtis Institute of Music in collaboration with Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival (CCCMF), has inspired an original chamber music commission and tour honoring National Park Service’s (NPS) centennial celebration this summer. Inspired by Cape Cod National Seashore ‘String Quartet’, composed by Jonathan Bailey Holland, premieres regionally at the CCCMF opening concert, The Next Generation on Friday, July 29, 7:30 pm at First Congregational Church, 200 Main Street, Wellfleet. A pre-concert talk featuring composer Jonathan Bailey Holland will be held on Thursday, July 28, 7 pm, at Cape Cod National Seashore’s Salt Pond Visitor’s Center, 50 Nauset Road, Eastham.
The Next Generation features the phenomenal students and faculty of Curtis on Tour, The Nina von Maltzahn Global Touring Initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music, performing Holland’s commissioned piece “Forged Sanctuaries” in the presence of the composer himself, paired with works by Schubert and Elgar. The concert also kicks off a season dedicated to honoring the collectively celebrated 10th anniversary of Artistic Directors Jon Nakamatsu and Jon Manasse, and Executive Director Elaine Lipton, and commemorates the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts, a salute quartet!
“For 37 years, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival has been presenting outstanding chamber music on Cape Cod in the heart of the national seashore,” shares CCCMF Executive Director Elaine Lipton. “Commissioning and performing a piece of music inspired by the Seashore seemed like a natural way to celebrate the park and the arts, we are thrilled that this grant allows us to do so.”
The grant award is part of the National Endowment for the Arts and National Park Service’s Imagine Your Parks initiative, supporting projects that utilize the arts to engage people with memorable places and landscapes of the National Park System. The total initiative includes $1,067,500 in support of 50 grants in 27 states. These awards are part of a larger NEA program offering 1,142 awards totaling $80.9 million to organizations in all 50 states and five jurisdictions. Additional performances of Holland’s original work will be held later in Curtis’ tour at Cape Cod National Seashore in Eastham, and in Pennsylvania.
“As part of the NEA’s 50th anniversary, this year we are celebrating the magnificence of America’s national cultural treasures through art,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “The Imagine Your Parks grant program unites our mission with the National Park Service by connecting art projects with the natural, historic and cultural settings of the National Park System and will inspire a new generation to discover these special places and experience our great heritage.”
Cape Cod National Seashore Superintendent George Price said, “We are so pleased to be supported by this grant. Cape Cod has a long and rich history with the arts, and this effort will not only help us celebrate the National Park Service Centennial, it will engage musicians and the public in this special place that is such an important part of the American experience.”
Curtis on Tour also directly benefits from this grant program, not only supporting Curtis alumnus Jonathan Bailey Holland’s composition, but allowing the initiative to embody the school’s “learn by doing” philosophy. The tour offers students real-world professional touring experience alongside celebrated alumni and faculty. This tour features Kevin Lin, violin; Laura Park, violin; Yoshi Nakano, viola; Youna Choi, cello; and Meng-Chieh Liu, piano. In addition to performances, musicians offer master classes, interactive programs, and community engagement activities while on tour. Curtis on Tour also facilitates solo performances of Curtis students and alumni with professional orchestras and recital series. Since the program was established in 2008, students, faculty, and alumni have performed more than 200 concerts in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
A native of Michigan, Jonathan Bailey Holland began studying composition while a student at the Interlochen Arts Academy, where he received a school-wide award for his very first composition. He later continued his composition studies with Ned Rorem at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he received a Bachelor of Music degree. He received a Ph.D. in Music from Harvard University, where his primary teachers were Bernard Rands and Mario Davidovsky. He has also studied with Andrew Imbrie, Yehudi Wyner, Robert Saxton and Robert Sirota. Currently, he is Chair of Composition, Theory and History at Boston Conservatory. Additionally, he is Professor of Composition at the Berklee College of Music, and a founding faculty member in the Low Residency MFA in Music Composition program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.
As Cape Cod’s premiere presenter of summer chamber music, CCCMF’s 37th summer season features 13 compelling concerts from July 29 through August 26 at 7:30 pm in locations throughout the region.
Tickets ordered on or before June 30: $34 General Admission; $15 for students over 18; Free for attendees 18 and under. General admission to three or more concerts $32. Tickets to Emerson String Quartet’s concert are $50 (individually or as part of a three concert series).
Tickets ordered on or after July 1: $38 General Admission; $15 for students over 18; Free for attendees 18 and under. General Admission to three or more concerts $36. Tickets to Emerson String Quartet’s concert are $55 (individually or as part of a three concert series).
Special benefit premium tickets are $100 to $125, including reserved seating and a pre-concert or post-concert reception for concerts on August 1, 4 and 9.
Festival seating is limited to venue capacity, advance purchase is recommended. Tickets ordered online are available at will call at the performances. Tickets may also be purchased by calling or visiting the box office at 508-247-9400 or at 3 Main Street Unit 6, North Eastham. Box office hours are 10 am to 3 pm, Monday through Friday. Phone orders are available until 12 noon on the day of each concert.
About the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival
Hailed by The New York Times as “A Triumph of Quality,” the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival (CCCMF) has been a year-round presenter of chamber music and a major contributor to the cultural life of Cape Cod since its inception in 1979. Founded as the Cape & Islands Chamber Music Festival by the late collaborative pianist Samuel Sanders, the Festival continues his legacy. Now entering its 37th season, CCCMF presents four weeks of intensive chamber music programming in a variety of Cape locations in July and August. Throughout the rest of the year, CCCMF presents autumn and spring concerts, a community outreach program, and benefit concerts in New York and on Cape Cod. Hoping to ignite the interest of a younger audience, CCCMF welcomes all youth up to age 18 to attend any regular concert free of charge. The Festival is also host to a Composer-in-Residence program, and features composers with Cape Cod connections. CCCMF is a private, non-profit organization supported by a volunteer Board of Directors with financial support from individuals, corporations, and foundations both local and nationwide. For more information about CCCMF’s programs, schedule or tickets, visit capecodchambermusic.org, call 508-247-9400 or follow Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival on Facebook and Twitter.
Photos:
Top Left: Curtis on Tour, image by David Swanson
Top Right: The dunes at Cape Cod National Seashore, courtesy of National Park Service
Bottom Left: Composer Jonathan Bailey Holland, courtesy image