A Celebration of Charles Ives and the American Tradition

Photos by Sonja Zinke 
The Brentano Quartet of Yale University, seen here performing in the Music Shed, will be in residence for the first two weeks of the summer season.

By Patricia Platt

The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, running from June 28 until August 17, 2024, will present a season of contemporary and classical music performed by world-class masters and up-and-coming young talents. 

“This summer’s theme, Charles Ives and the American Tradition, will be a celebration of American music and its influences, with a special emphasis on the work and legacy of Charles Ives,” explained Melvin Chen, the director of the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.

Ives (1875-1954) was a maverick in American music and had a huge influence on the music that came after him. “It is fitting to honor him at the Yale Music School, since he grew up in Connecticut, attended Yale, and had a great respect of the power of vernacular music. He incorporated New England hymns and Yale college songs and the popular music of his times in his repertoire. We are honoring Ives and using his works as a starting point to explore American music,” Chen said. 

The Grammy Award winning wood quintet Imani Winds will be a season highlight with a performance at the gala concert on July 20. Tickets are available for the dinner and concert or just the concert. “They don’t specialize in serious classical music; instead, they include energetic and upbeat music from different cultures and genres,” added Chen. 

Another outstanding event will be the world premiere of a piece by Vijay Iyer, one of the leading jazz pianists performing today. Other concerts that will explore American traditions in music include a concert focusing on folk inspirations; another dedicated to composers who also had other jobs, and a concert showcasing the current generation of American composers. 

The festival continues its tradition of presenting mostly classical music. Chen described the quartets performing this year as “the finest playing in the United States today.” The Brentano Quartet of Yale University will be in residence for the first two weeks, followed by the Dover Quartet for a week and then the Parker Quartet. The Parker Quartet’s members are alums of the Norfolk program and currently are on the Harvard faculty. 

The summer music school hosts 35 fellows, who come from all over the country. They work with visiting quartets work whose members help them polish a piece ahead of a performance at either student or Friday concert. Free student concerts are scheduled on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings. Fellows also perform with faculty during some Friday concerts.

A new feature of this summer will be the Choral Festival on August 17—in addition to the annual concert by the Litchfield County Choral Union on August 4. The festival concert will showcase the results of a week-long workshop for choral conductors and singers led by Jeffrey Douma, director of the Yale Glee Club. “The chorus is made up of 24 of the best music students from around the country and highly competitive choral conductors who will prepare the performance during the workshop,” said Chen. 

A New Music workshop will be offered the week before the Chamber Music Festival begins. Under the direction of composer Martin Bresnick, fellows participate in a series of coaching, masterclasses and rehearsals that culminate in a new music performance on June 28. 

Community volunteers are needed to work as ushers during each concert on Friday and Saturday nights, from 7 pm until the end of the concert, as well as for a few post-concert receptions. In exchange, volunteers will receive free concert tickets. If interested, please contact Tom Hodgkin at Hodgkin.tom@gmail.com.  

More information on these and other concerts at the Chamber Music Festival can be found on the festival’s website, https://music.yale.edu/concerts-events-norfolk and the insert included in this edition of Norfolk Now.