Community Calendar

Since ancient times, music has been heard to reflect the resonances of the natural world. Over time, composers of many cultures have taken inspiration from Nature and found ways of expressing it through sound. Get inside the music, including several Nature-inspired works to be heard on Festival programs this season by Vivaldi, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Dvořák, Vaughan-Williams, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate; and learn how your appreciation of Nature might aid your musical understanding. Hear exclusive live performances by Festival artists and mingle with your fellow music enthusiasts and Nature lovers afterward over a glass of wine.
Four weekly sessions are led by Artistic Director, Aaron Wunsch, who teaches at The Juilliard School.

Four Tuesdays, 7/29 – 8/19, 4:00-5:00 PM

After the lecture there will be a small wine reception.

This event is free and no ticket is required.

In order to get an accurate head count we ask that you please RSVP on the form below. An RSVP is not required but is appreciated.

RSVP: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5WHZ7H7

Across the centuries, composers have found resonance in Nature. This playful and delightful program features leading English violinist Anthony Marwood in Schubert’s beloved “Trout” Quintet; Xhosa composer Bongani Ndodana-Breen’s Intlanzi Yase Mzantsi (The Fish from South Africa, based on Schubert’s “Trout”); and music by Nino Rota, composer of the famous film score to The Godfather. Festival Artistic Directors Aaron Wunsch and Julia Bruskin join, along with Brandon Ridenour, who “heralds the trumpet of the future” (Chicago Sun Times).

Program:
NINO ROTA Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano
BARTÓK Romanian Folk Dances (Trumpet and Piano)
BONGANI NDODANA-BREEN Intlanzi Yase Mzantsi (The Fish from South Africa)
SCHUBERT Quintet in A Major, D. 667 (“Trout”)

Don’t miss this special enchanted evening of music and theater, featuring a dramatic interpretation of Stravinsky’s timeless drama, The Soldier’s Tale. Violinist Anthony Marwood (“brilliant,“ The Washington Post) also performs English master Thomas Adès’s magical, folk-inspired Dances from Fairy Tales. Robert Schumann’s Fairy Tales round out a colorful program that includes clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, bass and percussion.

Program:
ADÈS Märchentänze (Dances from Fairly Tales)
SCHUMANN Märchenerzählungen (Fairy Tales)
STRAVINSKY The Soldier’s Tale

Mark O’Connor is one of the most celebrated fiddlers of all time. His musical path has taken him from bluegrass to folk to classical, including his GRAMMY-winning collaboration with cellist Yo-Yo Ma. He performs his own music with the Skaneateles Festival Orchestra and his musical and life partner, Maggie O’Connor; the program also includes Mozart’s timeless music and new Nature- inspired music by Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate.

Program:
MOZART Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
MARK O’CONNOR Selection from American Seasons
JEROD IMPICHCHAACHAAHA’ TATE Woodland Songs World premiere arrangement
MARK AND MAGGIE O’CONNOR Strings and Threads Suite

Since ancient times, music has been heard to reflect the resonances of the natural world. Over time, composers of many cultures have taken inspiration from Nature and found ways of expressing it through sound. Get inside the music, including several Nature-inspired works to be heard on Festival programs this season by Vivaldi, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Dvořák, Vaughan-Williams, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate; and learn how your appreciation of Nature might aid your musical understanding. Hear exclusive live performances by Festival artists and mingle with your fellow music enthusiasts and Nature lovers afterward over a glass of wine.
Four weekly sessions are led by Artistic Director, Aaron Wunsch, who teaches at The Juilliard School.

Four Tuesdays, 7/29 – 8/19, 4:00-5:00 PM

After the lecture there will be a small wine reception.

This event is free and no ticket is required.

In order to get an accurate head count we ask that you please RSVP on the form below. An RSVP is not required but is appreciated.

RSVP: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5WHZ7H7

2025 GRAMMY winner Nicholas Phan is “one of the world’s most remarkable singers” (Boston Globe). Don’t miss the chance to hear him in Schubert’s timeless and heartrending love story in the form of a song cycle, Die schöne Müllerin (The Beautiful Miller’s Daughter).

The Jasper String Quartet (“flawless…expressively assured and beautifully balanced,” Gramophone) leads a program of music inspired by local and indigenous cultures. Gabriela Lena Frank draws upon her Peruvian roots in Leyendas, inspired by the sound of Andean folk instruments; Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate gives homage to Hopi and Pueblo music in Pisachi, accompanied by projected images of the American Southwest; and Czech master Antonín Dvořák pulls out the stops in his energetic, deliberately “Slavonic” String Quartet, Op. 51.

Program:
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout
JEROD IMPICHCHAACHAAHA’ TATE Pisachi (Reveal)
DVOŘÁK String Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 51 (“Slavonic”)

Tenor Nicholas Phan (“one of the world’s most remarkable singers,” Boston Globe) and the Jasper String Quartet explore the unique sound world of English music. Separated from the mainland by water, England developed its own folk, classical, and popular traditions; a sampling of each will be heard on this stirring program, including British music by Elgar, Vaughan-Williams, Britten, and Canadian composer Vivian Fung.

Program:
VAUGHAN-WILLIAMS On Wenlock Edge
ELGAR Salut d’Amour for Violin and Piano
BRITTEN Three Divertimenti for String Quartet & Selected Songs
REBECCA CLARKE Three Irish Country Songs
VIVIAN FUNG “O” from Lamenting Earth

Acclaimed Grammy Award-winning mandolinist, singer, songwriter, composer, and MacArthur Fellow recipient of the prestigious “Genius Grant”, Chris Thile is a multifaceted musical talent, described by The Guardian as “that rare being: an all-round musician,” and hailed by NPR as a “genre-defying musical genius.” Thile is a founding member of the highly influential string bands Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek, and has collaborated with countless luminaries from Yo-Yo Ma to Fiona Apple to Brad Mehldau. For four years, Thile hosted public radio favorite Live from Here with Chris Thile (formerly known as A Prairie Home Companion). With his broad outlook, Thile creates a distinctly American canon and a new musical aesthetic for performers and audiences alike, giving the listener “one joyous arc, with the linear melody and vertical harmony blurring into a single web of gossamer beauty” (New York Times).

Over the last year, Thile has been touring with Nickel Creek in support of the critically acclaimed 2023 release Celebrants, and captivating audiences with a playfully ambitious biographical composition entitled ATTENTION! (a narrative song cycle for extroverted mandolinist and orchestra).

The wide-ranging program of Thile’s 2025-2026 solo performances will feature selections from his acclaimed solo recordings of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas – including the upcoming second volume out this autumn – alongside his signature mix of classical, folk and improvisational brilliance.