Kindred Spirits announces summer outdoor concert series

Kindred Spirits Arts Program (KSAP) will hold its summer concert series under the open-air canopy at the pool pavilion at Grey Towers. The setting is spectacular as one looks at the view from the pavilion, surrounded by the magic of historic Grey Towers, the natural setting beyond it and the sounds of beautiful music by talented professionals wafting through the air.

It provides a serene moment of escape from the everyday and the music transports people to a special place.

KSAP has a long relationship with Grey Towers. In 2002, Nancy Pinchot approached Yosif Feigelson to do a series of concerts at the mansion. It was first known as “Music at Grey Towers” and with the efforts of co-founder Amy Litzenberger and Milford’s own Barbara Buchanan, the series filled a need for classical music in Milford. In 2006, KSAP became an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, but has still maintained its close ties to Grey Towers. Indeed, Pinchot and Litzenberger remain on the current board along with John Castellano, Yana Thatcher, Dale Thatcher, and Lisa Winkler.

KSAP’s mission is two-fold: to bring first-class music to Pike County that is affordable, and to enhance music education in our schools by bringing master classes and performances to the students by top musicians. The schools’ programs run by KSAP has, for more than a dozen years, become a part of the cultural life of the community. Yana Thatcher points to the example of her daughter, Evelyn Hupka, a former Delaware Valley student whose introduction to the French horn at school and through the KSAP’s programs was deeply impactful to her selecting a career as a musician. She is now continuing her studies of the French horn at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.

The summer concert series will include four concerts, with an additional free concert in August. Concerts will include a woodwind quarter, an eclectic concert of medieval and newly composed troubadour songs, a free concert of a brass quartet, a classical guitarist who will play with Yosif Feigelson, and a string quartet.

All tickets are $25 (except for the free concert on August 11) and will be sold at the event or in advance at Eventbrite.com. Space is limited. Concerts are at the Pool Pavilion on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m., except for the free mid-summer event sponsored by Grey Towers Heritage Association which will be at the Grey Towers Open Amphitheater on August 11 at 3:30 p.m. Bring blankets and chairs.

Artistic direction

Yosif Feigelson has had an illustrious career as a solo cellist, spanning over three decades. He has been praised for his singing tone, effortless technique, and enlightening interpretations. He studied with the legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich at the Moscow Conservatory and has toured all over the world playing with major orchestras.

In 1996, he and his wife came to Milford and were thrilled by its natural beauty. It was a respite from New York City. Soon he found that he was able to contribute to the local culture. And he has always wanted to help young people and to encourage them to get involved with music. So, when Nancy Pinchot and Amy Litzenberger called upon him at the beginning of what was to become Kindred Spirits, it was the perfect next step in his artistic evolution. Feigelson is held in the highest regard by many artists, and he has a large network of musician friends on which to draw. He has been able to encourage them to come here, enjoy the beauty of Milford, and share their musical gifts with the concerts and the master classes and presentations in the schools. For Feigelson, “The best part of music is listening to it.” And he, with his musician friends, supporters, and volunteers has given Milford that incredible opportunity.

June 15: Frisson Winds

This group of renowned virtuoso musicians has been called “brilliant” and “explosive.”

Their name, Frisson, taken from the French, means a short, sudden feeling of excitement or fear. They will be playing works of Debussy, Janacek, Villa-Lobos, and others. This woodwind quartet features Tom Gallant playing oboe, Bixby Kennedy on the clarinet, Taylor Smith playing bassoon, and Anna Urrey on the flute. Woodwind quartets are very different from string quartets and this group will provide a somewhat new experience for the audience.

July 20: Across the Atlantic — Freelance Nun and Weird Uncle

Enjoy an eclectic and experimental mixture of medieval and newly composed English and American troubadour songs and texts, strongly influenced by Celtic and African music, accompanied on some very strange instruments like a waterproof cello, an electric viola-da-gamba and a foot percussion.

August 11: The Chamberlain Brass

This free concert by the Chamberlain Brass features orchestra and ensemble players based in NYC offering selection from classics, opera, musicals and patriotic tunes, covering everything from Handel to Sousa.

August 17: Carlos Arturo Bedoya

The top prize winner of more than 20 national and international competitions, Carlos Arturo Bedoya, a Colombian-born musician, brings in an impressive repertoire spanning many cultures and centuries — Bach, Giuliani, Granados, Dvorak, Assad, Piazzolla. This performance includes participation by cellist Yosif Feigelson.

September 14: Vienna by Day and Night – Tesla String Quartet

Known the world over for their “superb capacity to find the inner heart of everything they play, regardless of era, style, or technical demand” (The International Review of Music), the Tesla String Quartet offers masterpieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert and Anton Webern.

For more information, go to kindredspiritsarts.org.