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Since 1981, Rockport Music has been committed to one enduring purpose: enriching lives through great music. Located in the scenic seaport village of Rockport, Massachusetts, Rockport Music presents exceptional musical performances and events year round, including the acclaimed Rockport Chamber Music Festival which is celebrating its 30th anniversary season with 22 performances during June and July 2011. Rockport Music also presents classical, jazz, folk and world music— as well as HD simulcasts from the Metropolitan Opera and England’s National Theatre. Educational enrichment programs reach over 7,500 youth and adults annually and include school outreach programs, family and community concerts, lectures, open rehearsals, and master classes.Rockport Music was founded in 1981 as the Rockport Chamber Music Festival by soprano Lila Deis, pianist/composer David Alpher (artistic directors from 1981-1994) and local businessman Paul Sylva. Under the artistic leadership of renowned pianist and MIT faculty member David Deveau since 1995, Rockport Music has grown steadily in stature and reputation and is now a nationally recognized organization. In July 2008, the Board of Trustees voted to adopt the name Rockport Music to represent an expanding organization. Rockport Music’s commitment to presenting the world’s finest music performed by internationally acclaimed musicians continues to be a defining characteristic. The 2010-2011 season featured a wide variety of offerings, including concerts by jazz great Dave Brubeck, Celtic fiddler Hanneke Cassel, folk/rock icon Roger McGuinn, and high definition broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera and from England’s National Theatre. The Rockport Chamber Music Festival presents some of today’s foremost classical musicians and ensembles, as well as the rising stars of tomorrow. Past programs have featured pianists Richard Goode, Marc-André Hamelin, Anton Kuerti, Garrick Ohlsson, and Dubravka Tomsic; the Brentano, Borromeo, Juilliard, and St. Lawrence String Quartets; the Boston, Eroica, and Triple Helix piano trios; and many other esteemed instrumentalists. Festival concerts are heard by an estimated audience of over two million on 99.5 All-Classical, National Public Radio, and the BBC. Rockport Music has commissioned works frommajor contemporary composers, most recently Granite Coast by Scott Wheeler in 2010, and for Opening Night this summer, Song Without Words in honor of co-founder Lila Deis. Last summer, Rockport Music celebrated a major milestone: the inaugural season of its new home, the Shalin Liu Performance Center, a world-class venue designed by lead architects Alan Joslin and Deborah Epstein of Epstein Joslin Architects and acoustician R. Lawrence Kirkegaard. The new 330-seat performance center features a state-of-the-art concert hall with a two-story stage window with direct ocean views; a third-floor reception room offers concertgoers an unmatched panorama of the coastline. The Center is unique in New England, combining intimacy, extraordinary acoustical quality, and a matchless natural setting, which attracts and inspires artists and audiences alike. |
