Halcyon Music Festival Set to Return to Portsmouth in June

PORTSMOUTH, NH - Now in its fifth year, the Halcyon Music Festival will be returning this summer to Portsmouth, June 21 through 30.

This year’s Halcyon Music Festival roster of international virtuosos includes cellists Jonah Ellsworth, Alexei Gonzales, David Hardy, Loewi Lin, Karen Ouzounian and Peter Stumpf; clarinetist Paul Cigan; double bassist Erik Higgins; pianists Lolita Lisovskaya-Sayevich and Heng-Jin Park; violinists Robyn Bollinger, Gabriela Diaz, Emma Frucht, Zenas Hsu, Solomiya Ivakhiv, Irina Muresanu, Monica Pegis and Ben Sayevich; and violists Tim Deighton, Jason Fisher, Robert Meyer, Carol Rodland and Jessica Thompson.

“What’s unique about these chamber concerts is the energy and synergy that comes from the musicians living, rehearsing and performing seven different concerts together over an intensive two-week period,” noted Heng-Jin Park, pianist and the Festival’s Artistic Director. “To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Halcyon Music Festival, we have expanded the number of musicians participating from 18 to 23. Among these, we are pleased to welcome 11 new-to-the-festival performers to our musician roster and expect this year's festival will feature some of our best performances yet.”

The 2018 Halcyon Music Festival schedule includes:

• Thursday, June 21: “Souvenirs” at Bratton Recital Hall at the University of New Hampshire in Durham featuring works by Smetana, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky.
• Friday, June 22: “Nocturne and Tango” at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth featuring works by Schubert, Piazzolla, Dvorak and Brahms.
• Saturday, June 23: “Accord and Contrast” at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth featuring works by Schumann, Janacek and Beethoven.
• Wednesday June 27: “Flowers in the Ruins” at Bratton Recital Hall at the University of New Hampshire in Durham featuring works by Meyer, Ravel and Dvorak.
• Thursday, June 28: “Lark Ascending” at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth featuring works by Haydn, Brahms and Mendelssohn.
• Friday, June 29: “Gravities” at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth featuring works by Bruch, Bartok and Brahms.
• Saturday June 30: “Things that Matter Most” at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth featuring works by Stravinsky, Telemann and Mendelssohn.

All concerts begin at 7:30pm. Full program details for each performance are available at www.halcyonmusicfestival.org.

Courtesy Photo / Halcyon Music Festival