News Type: Our News

Musical Masterworks Opens Season 36 with an Exploration of America’s Musical Voice

As America commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Musical Masterworks opens its 36th season with a program that asks a compelling question: What makes music sound American?

Artistic Director Tessa Lark opens the 2026–2027 season around that idea, inviting audiences to explore the extraordinary diversity of American music while celebrating the traditions and cultural influences that continue to shape our nation’s artistic identity.

The 36th season begins on October 10 and 11 and features an acclaimed quartet of returning Musical Masterworks favorites: pianist Jeewon Park, violist Melissa Reardon, cellist Edward Arron, and violinist and Artistic Director Tessa Lark.

The thoughtfully curated program reflects both America’s rich musical heritage and the international influences that helped define it. Audiences will hear Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s Louisiana Blues Strut, Jessie Montgomery’s Duo for Violin and Cello, Aaron Copland’s Waltz and Celebration from “Billy the Kid,” Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata, and Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major, Op. 87.

“Season 36 begins during America’s 250th anniversary, so we’re celebrating and exploring the diverse sounds of American music,” said Lark. “My hope is to highlight how America’s uniquely rich cultural history is embodied in its wonderfully varied musical output. Across these programs, traditions blend to create new sound worlds, and the juxtaposition of contemporary works with enduring classics changes the way we hear the music.”

The concert also marks the return of longtime Musical Masterworks artists Edward Arron and Jeewon Park, whose artistic leadership helped shape the series for many years. Their return alongside Lark reflects the sense of continuity and artistic family that has become a hallmark of Musical Masterworks.

From the blues-inspired rhythms of Perkinson to the expansive American landscapes of Copland, the contemporary voice of Jessie Montgomery, the expressive brilliance of Rebecca Clarke, and Dvořák’s beloved chamber masterpiece (written after his influential years in America) the opening program offers audiences a musical journey that is both deeply rooted in tradition and unmistakably relevant today.

Concerts will be presented at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, whose intimate setting has become one of New England’s most treasured chamber music venues. The remarkable acoustics and close connection between performers and audience create an experience rarely found in larger concert halls.

Musical Masterworks’ 36th season continues through April 2027 with programs celebrating America’s rich musical landscape, including the series’ first performance featuring the church’s historic organ, the return of internationally acclaimed artists, and the annual appearance of the Irving M. Klein International Strings Competition First Prize Winner.

Concerts take place Saturday, October 10, at 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, October 11, at 3:00 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 4 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, Connecticut.

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Lark Announces 36th Season of Musical Masterworks

— By Meredith Guinness, 7.9.2026 for CT Examiner

OLD LYME — In honor of the nation’s 250th birthday, the town’s 36-year-old chamber music series, Musical Masterworks, dips its ladle into the melting pot of American composition and arrangement.

And, while you’re sure to find plenty of Yankee Doodle dandies from Copland and Gershwin on each of the series’ five main concert programs, you’ll also encounter a number of composers who are just getting their due and some instrumentation you might find nowhere else. Bluegrass sax, anyone?

The series starts October 10 and 11 with a quartet featuring violinist Tessa Lark, who is celebrating her fifth season as artistic director. She’ll be joined by violist Melissa Reardon and two Musical Masterworks veterans, pianist Jeewon Park and Edward Arron on cello. The program includes everything from Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson’s “Louisiana Blues Strut” to Antonín Dvořák’s “Piano Quartet No. 2, Op. 87.”

Lark said she is particularly happy to showcase a viola sonata by Rebecca Clarke, an internationally renowned viola virtuoso who stopped composing when she married in the mid-1900s. First performed in 1919, the sonata is her most successful work, Lark said.

Concerts on December 5 and 6 will feature another Musical Masterworks fan favorite, Emi Ferguson. The flutist is also taking curatorial credit for the program.

“It’s always fun to have one of the artists program works, just in case people get tired of my programming style,” Lark said, laughing.

The concert features the series debut of pianist/composer Peter Dugan, host of radio’s “From the Top,” with Lark’s father, Bob Frederick, on banjo. While Lark said she fondly remembers her dad, a wildlife biology professor by day, playing at their Kentucky home and in a gospel bluegrass band, this is the first time she’s coaxed him to Old Lyme for a performance.

The program includes a lengthy selection of American tunes, including Meredith Monk’s “Ellis Island” and “Phantom Waltz,” four works by Aaron Copeland, a John Cage, and “Unsquare Dance” by jazz great Dave Brubeck.

“It’s like a big variety show,” Lark said. “That’s what I love about [Emi’s] programming. It hits kind of like a playlist.”

February audiences will be treated to an appearance by Caleb Hudson, who Lark calls “one of the greatest trumpet players who ever lived.” He and organist Greg Zelek will play a special Valentine’s Day Weekend program to inaugurate the first series concert featuring the historic First Congregational Church organ.

Concerts on March 13 and 14 found inspiration in the final piece on that weekend’s program, William Grant Still’s “Ennanga.” Named for an African harp, the piece requires unusual instrumentation featuring a piano, two violins, cello and the harp, which will be played by returning musician Charles Overton.

“It’s very romantic and quite stunning,” Lark said of the composition, which will follow works by George Gershwin, Amy Beach, Camille Saint-Saëns and more.

As in the 2025-26 Musical Masterworks series, the April concerts, on April 24 and 25, will feature the winner of the Irving M. Klein International Strings Competition. This year’s performer, Starla Breshears, is just 18 and has already secured a job as a section cellist with the San Francisco Symphony.

Anticipating the concert, Lark caught some of the livestreamed competition and said she was floored by the young musician’s mature interpretation.

“I was truly enjoying the music she was making. She transcends the cello already,” Lark said. “I thought, if she’s not the winner, I’m terrified of who is!”

Breshears will be joined by Lark and Jesse Mills on violin, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt on viola and Sarah Rommel on cello. The program will include Felix Mendelssohn’s “String Octet in E-flat major,” which Lark believes is “one of the greatest achievements of mankind.”

Noting Mendelssohn composed the work when he was just 16, she said it was a fitting challenge for the young competition winner, who recently graduated high school. The composition is also the inspiration for the season’s brochure, a handmade work by artist Elizabeth Strazzulla, who said the piece’s youthful energy creates “an explosion of hot colors and exquisite harmonies.”

While the main concert series takes place on Saturdays evenings and Sunday afternoons at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, Musical Masterworks will present a more spontaneous program on April 2 featuring Lark and Eddie Barbash, a saxophonist best known for his work with Jon Batiste’s band on the “Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

The pair will play duets, dipping deeply into bluegrass, Scottish tunes and other styles, which may include a few new works written for each other and by musical friends. This one-hour MMModern concert, at a venue to be announced, will include cocktails and more time to improvise and “be adventurous,” Lark said.

“If Covid taught us nothing else,” she said, “once we have food, water and shelter, we need people.”

For more information or to buy tickets, visit https://musicalmasterworks.org/.

Season 35 Finale Weekend April 25th and 26th

Musical Masterworks proudly presents an extraordinary season finale weekend of chamber music featuring Julia Schilz, violin, winner of the prestigious 2025 Irving M. Klein International Strings Competition.

Schilz joins an acclaimed ensemble of artists including Tessa Lark, violin; Alice Yoo, cello; Nicholas Cords, viola; and Jeewon Park, piano.

The program showcases a dynamic and emotionally rich repertoire, including:

Still, Suite for Violin and Piano
Florence Price, Piano Quintet in A minor
Antonín Dvořák, Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 81

Audiences will experience both the brilliance of a rising international star and the artistry of some of today’s most compelling chamber musicians.

“This program beautifully bridges tradition and discovery,” says Artistic Director Tessa Lark. “Julia Schilz is an exceptional young artist, and this repertoire highlights both her voice and the incredible depth of this ensemble.”

Concerts will take place at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme. Click for tickets!

MMModern Returns!

Experience the electrifying artistry of Catalan singer and guitarist Lau Noah, hailed internationally for her spellbinding performances that blur the lines between classical, folk, and improvisation. For this MMModern concert, she joins forces with Cuban pianist Ahmed Alom, a returning Musical Masterworks favorite known for his extraordinary sensitivity and virtuosity.

Together, they will create an unforgettable evening of boundary-breaking music that defies genre and celebrates global traditions.

Join us for this one-night-only performance brimming with discovery and inspiration, hosted by Artistic Director Tessa Lark.

Lyme Academy of Fine Arts

84 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT
5:30 – 6:30 | Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres 6:30 – 7:30 | Concert

$55 admission includes complimentary beer, wine and appetizers before the concert.

Only 100 seats available. Get your tickets!

Musical Masterworks Explores The Sacred and the Profane in a Powerful March Program

Musical Masterworks presents The Sacred and the Profane, a striking chamber music program led by Artistic Director Tessa Lark, on Saturday, March 14 at 5:00pm and Sunday, March 15 at 3:00pm at the First Congregational Church in Old Lyme. Pre-concert talks with the artists will be featured 45 minutes prior to each performance.

The program traces a compelling arc across centuries, exploring the tension between devotion and desire, ritual and rebellion, light and darkness. Joining Lark are harpist Bridget Kibbey, violinist Chad Hoopes, violist Matthew Lipman, and cellist Mihai Marica, an ensemble renowned for both virtuosity and deep musical rapport.

Highlights include Debussy’s luminous Danses sacrée et profane, Bach’s iconic Toccata and Fugue in D minor in a riveting arrangement for solo harp, Britten’s introspective Lachrymae, and John Dowland’s timeless lament Flow My Tears. The program also features works by Henriette Renié and Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, alongside Bridget Kibbey’s own Bards and Griots.

The concert concludes with André Caplet’s The Mask of the Red Death, inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, bringing dramatic intensity and theatrical color to a program that invites listeners to confront music’s most profound emotional contrasts.

Musical Masterworks continues its tradition of presenting world-class chamber music in an intimate setting that fosters connection between artists and audience.

Tickets are $45, click to get yours!

FREE Community Concerts in November!

Musical Masterworks invites families, friends, and neighbors to experience the joy of live music with with two free community concerts by Decoda, Musical Masterworks’ Ensemble-in-Residence. These special events are part of Musical Masterworks’ ongoing Community Engagement Program, now in its fourth year of bringing world-class musicians into schools, correctional institutions, and community organizations across Connecticut.

Family Concert

Saturday, November 22, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library, Old Lyme
Explore tempo, dynamics, and tone through hands-on music-making, compose a new anthem of thanks and leave with creative prompts to continue the musical celebration at home during the holiday week.

Formal Concert & Reception

Sunday, November 23, 2025 from 2:00–3:30 PM
Saint Ann’s Church, Old Lyme
Enjoy music for flute and strings, spanning from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to vibrant contemporary reimaginings that include a fiddle-inspired duo by Decoda’s own George Meyer, and the radiant Maombi Asante (“Prayer of Thanks”), by flutist-composer Valerie Coleman, whose last collaboration with Decoda earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. You’ll also hear new compositions developed during Decoda’s just-completed residency at shoreline schools.  The concert will be followed by a light reception to meet the musicians and neighbors.

Both concerts are free and open to the public, no tickets or reservations required. Whether you’re a long-time classical music fan or experiencing it for the first time, these concerts offer an easy and welcoming way to connect through music.

“Our Community Concerts are about bringing people together,” said Mic Herring, Executive Director of Musical Masterworks. “Decoda’s energy is contagious, and their performances always create moments of joy and connection that stay with people long after the music ends.”

Musical Masterworks Hits High Notes in Launch of 35th Season

By Meredith Guinness, 

OLD LYME — When Tessa Lark, violinist and artistic director of Musical Masterworks, sat down to plan a program for the 35th-anniversary season, she worked with a simple rule.

“I go with my gut,” Lark told CT Examiner in a recent interview. “I program concerts that I myself would like to see. I enjoy different styles and my friends happen to be a diverse bunch.”

Fans of Musical Masterworks, which opens its season Oct. 4 and 5 at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, will be happy to hear her friends also happen to be some of the most lauded names in classical music. This season’s performers include Grammy-winning bassist and MacArthur Fellow Edgar Meyer, internationally acclaimed pianist Inon Barnatan, and Bridget Kibbey, who Vogue crowned “the Yo-Yo Ma of the harp.”

Called “one of the most admired pianists of his generation” by The New York Times, Barnatan will be part of the powerhouse quintet on the first program, which features three works by Franz Schubert, including the much-loved “Trout Quintet.”

“I call it a party piece. You can almost smell the wienerschnitzel,” said Lark with a laugh. “But the instrumentation is unusual and, like a lot of Schubert, in its simplicity I find there is quite a bit of poignancy and melancholy.”

While “the Trout” may be a familiar mainstay of the classical canon, Lark said she and her fellow performers look for surprising nuances that show chamber music is a vital form.

“‘Classical music’ is a misnomer,” she said. “It’s a living, breathing, forever-changing landscape.”

Highlights of her 2024-25 work includes returns to the BBC Symphony and Rochester Philharmonic, a debut with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and a recital for the San Francisco Symphony.

She was also named artistic director of the Moab Music Festival and is a mentor for the Irving M. Klein International String Competition.

That last connection introduced her to fellow violinist Julia Schilz, a Juilliard grad student who won the 2025 competition’s grand prize. Schilz will join Lark in Old Lyme for the April concert also featuring pianist Jeewon Park, who has performed extensively in North America, Europe and Asia.

In December, Meyer and Amy Yang, who The Washington Post called “a jaw-dropping pianist who steals the show … with effortless finesse,” will play a recital of their own compositions. Lark, who has collaborated with both, said she’s excited to see how the audience reacts to the pair.

“This will be their first time together in Old Lyme,” she said. “That’s just going to be mind blowing.”

The season’s first program also includes one of Lark’s compositions, “Appalachian Fantasy,” which draws on her own Kentucky roots.

February’s eclectic program of Joseph Haydn, English works and café music brings Lark together with genre-defying cellist Mike Block. March showcases Kibbey with a quintet for “The Sacred and the Profane,” a collection of works by Claude Debussy, J.S. Bach, Benjamin Britten and more.

In addition to the five main concerts at the church, Musical Masterworks will offer the annual MMModern concert at Lyme Academy of Fine Arts. Th event features Catalan singer and guitarist Lau

Musical Masterworks Opens their 35th Season

Musical Masterworks is pleased to announce its 35th Season at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme with their opening concert weekend October 4 and 5, 2025 featuring violinist Tessa Lark in her fourth year as Artistic Director.

The 35th season launches with a powerhouse ensemble featuring pianist Inon Barnatan, violist Hsin-Yun Huang, cellist Efe Baltacigil, double bassist Tim Cobb and Artistic Director Tessa Lark. The program pairs Schubert treasures including the beloved Trout Quintet and the poignant Arpeggione Sonata with Lark’s own Appalachian Fantasy, blending timeless classics and contemporary brilliance.

“This season, I’m drawn to music that feels deeply personal, exploring the sublime worlds of specific composers and sharing the places I love most. I hope these programs invite our concertgoers to linger, discover, and experience something new and meaningful along the way,“ said Tessa Lark.

Musical Masterworks 35th season runs from October 2025 – April 2026 at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme at 4 Lyme Street.  Click to purchase subscriptions ($175 each), mini-subscriptions ($115 each), individual tickets ($45 each), or student tickets ($5 each).

Musical Masterworks to Feature 2025 Klein Competition Winner Julia Schilz in April 2026 Performance

Musical Masterworks is thrilled to announce that Julia Schilz, first-prize winner of the 2025 Irving M. Klein International String Competition, will be featured as a guest artist in their April 2026 concert weekend. This collaboration brings together two champions of chamber music excellence and marks the first time Musical Masterworks has partnered with the prestigious Klein Competition to present a rising star in its Old Lyme concert series.

Celebrated for her expressive artistry and commanding technique, Julia Schilz, a violinist from New York, emerged as the top laureate of the 2025 Klein Competition, one of the most respected classical music competitions for young string players worldwide.
“We are delighted to begin this new partnership between the Klein Competition and the renowned Musical Masterworks series”, said Competition Artistic Director Mitchell Sardou Klein. “It is especially exciting to be collaborating with our 2008 first prize winner, Tessa Lark, a master chamber musician and visionary leader.”

“We’re honored to be welcoming Julia Schilz to our stage in April,” said Tessa Lark, Artistic Director of Musical Masterworks and herself a former Klein Competition winner. “As someone who knows firsthand the power of this competition to launch careers, I’m particularly excited to share Julia’s extraordinary talent with our community. Her artistry is fresh, magnetic, and deeply rooted in musical integrity.”

This engagement reflects Musical Masterworks’ ongoing commitment to celebrating both established and emerging voices in classical music. Now in its 35th season, the organization continues to spotlight world-class musicians in the intimate and acoustically rich setting of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme.

“Bringing the Klein Competition winner to Old Lyme is a wonderful expression of our mission to cultivate artistic excellence and connect audiences with transformative musical experiences,” said Alden Murphy, President of the Musical Masterworks. “We’re proud to support the next generation of great performers.”

Mic Herring, Musical Masterworks’ Executive Director, added: “This partnership reinforces our role as a cultural hub for chamber music in Southeastern Connecticut. Julia Schilz is a remarkable talent, and we’re delighted to introduce her to our devoted audiences here in Connecticut.”

Click here for more information on Musical Masterworks and the 2025–2026 season. For more about the Klein Competition, click here.

A Tribute to Charles Wadsworth

In Memoriam: Charles Wadsworth
Founding Artistic Director, Musical Masterworks

Musical Masterworks mourns the passing of our beloved Founding Artistic Director, Charles Wadsworth, whose artistic vision and charismatic leadership shaped the heart and soul of our concert series.

Charles came to Old Lyme in the early 1990s, initially as an accompanist for soprano Beverly Hoch, but his influence would prove transformational. A handwritten note he scribbled in a program during a later visit read, “Let’s do a few more, ok? I’m really happy we can make music together.” And indeed, we did.

At the time, Charles had already achieved international acclaim as the Founding Director of Chamber Music at both the Spoleto Festivals in Italy and South Carolina, and as the recently retired Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. His decision to bring his artistry, wit, and extraordinary musical network to Old Lyme launched Musical Masterworks into a new era. Under his leadership, the series quickly became known for its excellence, warmth, and adventurous programming, attracting world-class musicians and devoted audiences.

Charles served as Artistic Director from 1991 until his retirement in 2009, when he passed the baton to cellist Edward Arron. In his 18 seasons with us, Charles not only elevated the concert experience but also created a lasting legacy of joy, generosity, and musical brilliance.

We remember Charles not only as a great artist, but as a cherished friend—generous with his humor, gracious in spirit, and ever devoted to the magic of chamber music. His fingerprints remain on every note we play and every concert we share.

We are forever grateful to Charles Wadsworth for the indelible mark he left on Musical Masterworks and the hearts of all who experienced his music.

With deepest admiration and gratitude—
Musical Masterworks