Concerts

Greetings from Artistic Director Tessa Lark

Dear Friends, 

The number three has held a profound significance for humankind’s entire history. It is considered the perfect number, representing a balance that satisfies both our intellectual curiosities and understanding the wonders of the natural world, and it’s a number that is within the DNA of virtually all musical masterpieces. Imagine, then, the magic that is bound to grace our ideal concert space that is the First Congregational church of Old Lyme in this year of not one but TWO threes: our 33rd season of Musical Masterworks. 

 

It so happens there seem to be three key components that contribute to the success of the past three decades of MM’s programming: the new, the familiar, and the extraordinary. 

 

This season we have a wealth of artists new to Musical Masterworks, making music heard nowhere else but here. The October and February concerts alone account for the debuts of eight Masterworks newcomers, including world premieres of works written specifically for their inimitable gifts. For example: one of history’s greatest trumpeters, Caleb Hudson, who happens to be my childhood friend from Kentucky, will be featured in February in works for a rarely heard ensemble of instruments, played by equally astounding artists: cellist Michael Nicolas of Brooklyn Rider; flautist and vocalist Emi Ferguson; and clarinetist Gabriel Campos Zamora. 

 

Familiar and beloved masterworks and artists will also bless our souls throughout the season. Grand works by Bach, Dvořák, Mendelssohn, Schubert and Schumann are present throughout the year; harpist Charles Overton returns to close out the season after his rousing debut last season; and we will reunite with MM’s nearest and dearest, AD Emeritus Edward Arron and Jeewon Park, in March for a glorious weekend of piano trios. 

 

The final component—the extraordinary—is certainly most important in Musical Masterworks’ history of presenting one incredible weekend of music making after another. Familiar or new, it just has to be “real darn good,” as we’d say down South. For an extraordinary musical experience, however, we find yet again another set of 3 key components: the music; the artists; and you, the audience. A concert experience is ultimately determined by the energy within the room, and the majority of that energy is generated by the crowd. Having now performed in Old Lyme for 10 years, I’ve experienced time and again the extraordinary energy you bring to these magical weekends, and YOU are the “secret sauce” that makes Musical Masterworks the extraordinary experience we’ve revelled in the past 32 years. 

 

Welcome, welcome, welcome to Season 33, and thank you for making it extraordinary. 

 

Sincerely,

Tessa Lark

Artistic Director

March 16 & 17, 2024

In March we will reunite with Musical Masterworks’ nearest and dearest, Artistic Director Emeritus Edward Arron and Jeewon Park, for a glorious weekend of piano trios.

Tickets & Concert Details

April 27 & 28, 2024

In April harpist Charles Overton returns to close out the season after his rousing debut last season.

Tickets & Concert Details