In late summer of 1989, artistic directors John and Rosemary Harbison began the Token Creek Chamber Music Festival. Since then, it has been a popular two-week event to end the summer on, and has been praised for their musical lineups and creative directing. However, there are some changes being made.
Moving forward, instead of having just the two-week period in late summer, shows will on more of a year-round basis. To really kick the big changes off are two world premiers of a show called “Of Mere Being,” written by semi-local composer and pulitzer prize winner John Harbison.
They will be performed the evening of March 30 at 4 p.m in honor of the Distinguished Madisonian Dr. Dennis Maki.
While change is inevitable and sometimes doesn’t seem to be for the better, in this case, it is exciting for all those involved. Sarah Schaffer, who has been working with Token Creek Chamber Music since 1998, explained a bit more about the changes and why they’re being made.
“The two-week summer fest was always great, it was very intense during that time of year,” Schaffer said. “That said, after having to slow down due to the pandemic, now we want to try spreading out some and see if we can’t manage to have some more events here, both local and non-local performers. We’ve already had one this year, we have one scheduled for the end of this month for Dr. Maki, then three more through the end of June. We will have to hit our stride with the new workload, but it’s a good change in the right direction and will be good for the community.”
The venue itself is as unique as the performances that take place inside it. Originally an old dairy barn owned by Rosemary Harbison’s family, the venue was remodeled into a house for the couple in 1967 and can be turned into a small concert hall. According to the Harbisons, the structure has undergone many changes since then, and they hope that it will stick around for a while.
“We hope it will become a place for the community to continue to host shows appropriate to the venue,” explained Rosemary Harbison. “We do believe that art is a necessity for the health and viability of society, and the classical music and poetry, the history, time, and culture they bring with it, it too often goes by the wayside, and we want to give people things like that to get them thinking. “
As for the show dedicated to Maki , who has an international reputation as being one of the fathers of modern-day hospital infection prevention, John Harbison took the time to explain why it’s in in honor of him and why some of the pieces to be performed ended up the way they are.
“(Dr.) Maki is a long time friend for one,” Harbison explained. “He has been a big help to us personally over the years, as well as to the community. So we wanted to acknowledge his importance by dedicating the show to him. For the pieces we’re performing, the poetry I selected is hard to put to music, but I felt it was appropriate. On one piece, I think the listener will understand from certain lines why violin was added in to accompany the piano part.”
For more information about the upcoming show on March 30 or other shows in the near future, check out Token Creek Chamber Music online.
Most Popular
Comments / 0