Clancy Newman on Rolling with the Unexpected
When interviewed for a KCMF Artist Profile last year, cellist Clancy Newman mentioned: “One of my favorite things about performing chamber music is that you never know what’s going to happen. Something unexpected always happens! Performing music is always fresh, always interesting, and always challenging in predictable and unpredictable ways.” His observation turned out to[…..]
Woodland Songs in The Strad
Our world premiere of Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate’s commissioned work for the Dover Quartet was chosen as the premiere of the month by The Strad magazine! Tate’s Woodland Songs celebrates animals that represent different clans of the Eastern Woodlands People through the use of traditional Chickasaw melodies mixed with classical techniques. “In the piece I’m influenced by the songs of my Chickasaw[…..]
Dr. Chiayu Hsu on Cultural Fusion
In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we’re delighted to share the work of Dr. Chiayu Hsu. Born in Banciao, Taiwan, Dr. Hsu is a prolific composer and associate professor of composition at The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. During our 2017 summer festival, pianist Hanchian Lee played a world-premiere of a solo piano[…..]
In memoriam
We honor the lives and legacies of two beloved members of the KCMF community: Margaret “Patty” Stout (1937-December 16, 2023) and Bettina “Tina” Letcher (May 11, 1938-July 16, 2023). “They were dear friends,” says David Kim, who founded KCMF in 1989. “As KCMF became bigger, I knew I needed help. The first person I went[…..]
Happy Women’s History Month!
In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating the many women who have brought their talent, artistry, and passion to the Kingston Chamber Music Festival! In particular, work by women composers has historically been neglected, unpublished, or undervalued. Through programming music written by women in the 1800s to the 2000s, Artistic Director Natalie Zhu has[…..]
Meet Lisa Nguyễn Bùi Gia An
The Kingston Chamber Music Festival (KCMF) established a scholarship in 2004 to support a student studying music at the University of Rhode Island (URI). It is the only scholarship award of its kind given to a student at the sophomore level, and the recipient is chosen by faculty in URI’s music department. The rising artist[…..]
An orchestra pit musician’s view of Broadway
While actors, dancers, and singers might be the most recognizable talents making Broadway shows come to life, it’s the people you don’t actually see who make an equally big impact on a show’s resonance: the musicians. Imagine The Phantom of the Opera without music, for example. Silence wouldn’t deliver the same rich experience for some[…..]
From Kingston to Broadway
Broadway’s hit musical comedy “Mr. Saturday Night” wrapped up last fall after a 5-month run. Among the musicians performing the show’s Tony-nominated score – written by three-time Tony award winner Jason Robert Brown – was Jesse-Ray Leich, a drummer, percussionist, and former recipient of a Kingston Chamber Music Festival (KCMF) scholarship. Although this was his[…..]
Clancy Newman and Natalie Zhu sign with Albany Records
Clancy Newman and Natalie Zhu have shared countless stages. They met in Philadelphia in 1998, and have collaborated often since then – Newman as a cellist and composer, and Zhu as a pianist and artistic director of the Kingston Chamber Music Festival (KCMF). They are now embarking on a new sort of stage: They signed[…..]
Why Chamber Music?
We posed this question at a recent Kingston Chamber Music Festival board meeting. Our board is a diverse group – young professionals and retired professionals, musicians and non-musicians, participants with backgrounds ranging from chemistry to composing – who come together out of a shared love of chamber music and a commitment to turning that appreciation into[…..]
