Most of the world’s summer music festivals have already thrown in the towel, but for one of the most local, the show must go on. This year’s Raritan River Music Festival concerts will continue, though perhaps not wholly as planned.
Now in its 31st year, Raritan River Music has built a loyal following with its series of May concerts presented by a variety of professional musicians and ensembles at historic venues throughout – and adjacent to – New Jersey’s Raritan Valley.
The venues may be closed, but the performances will take place as scheduled.
The festival will open tonight with the Argus Quartet, performing music by Bach, Fanny Mendelssohn, and Christopher Theofanidis, including the New Jersey premiere of Theofanidis’ “Conference of the Birds.”
Next Saturday, the Newman & Oltman Duo will be joined by Cuban guitarist Rene Izquierdo for “A la Cubana: A Century of Music from the Pearl of Antilles.”
On May 16, the instrumental and vocal ensemble Meridionalis will present “Selva Musical/Transatlantic Baroque: Music of Spain and the New World,” featuring selections spanning the mid-1500s – a generation after Columbus sailed – through the Baroque.
On May 23, the Philadelphia Flute Quartet will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, with a program which will include works by award-winning American women composers and the New Jersey premiere of “Hidden River” by Eric Sessler.
The concerts will be streamed FREE, Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. EDT. If you enjoy them, please consider showing your support and helping to defray the costs by leaving a donation at the Raritan River Music website. Your generosity will help to secure the continuance of the festival in happier times ahead.
The Raritan River Music Festival was founded in 1989 by Michael Newman and Laura Oltman, of the Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo. The couple have strong ties to the area, making their home in lower Warren County along the Delaware River.
Newman is on the faculties of Mannes College of Music, in New York City, and The College of New Jersey. Oltman teaches at Princeton University and Lafayette College in Easton, PA. The duo co-founded the New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes. They have served as ensemble-in-residence there since 1987.
In reference to pulling together the technological threads to make this year’s Raritan River Music Festival possible, Newman writes, “It has been all-consuming for the past month, learning about audio engineering, video production, live streaming, etc., etc. But we were committed to making it happen, to pay the performers we had invited to play on the festival, and to bring the festival directly to all the friends and fans of the festival, many who have been attending every year for the past 31 years.”
The events will include introductions and discussions with participants and composers, live chats and Q&As, and of course plenty of great music-making.
The concerts will be streamed at Raritan’s homepage, http://www.RaritanRiverMusic.org, where you can also learn more about the organization and the upcoming concerts.
Follow Oltman’s advice in her recorded intro: open up a cold one and enjoy chamber music performances, Saturday evenings in May, from the resilient Raritan River Music Festival.
Newman & Oltman’s new recording of “El Libro de los Seres Imaginarios/The Book of Imaginary Beings,” by Cuban master Leo Brouwer, written specifically for the duo and given its world premiere at last year’s festival, is available now, on the MusicMasters label.
PHOTO: The Argus Quartet will perform, virtually, at the Raritan River Music Festival, tonight at 7:30 p.m.
