Windham Chamber Music Festival Opens on Saturday

  |  July 16, 2015
Anna Polonsky

Anna Polonsky

[Editor’s Note: This piece originally appeared on Chronogram.com and has been reposted with the author’s permission.]

It was only four years ago that Hurricane Irene ravaged the Catskills, and Windham was one of the hardest-hit areas. It’s inspiring to see how far the Greene County town had bounced back in such a short time, and the opening of the Windham Chamber Music Festival this weekend is further evidence of Windham’s re-emergence.

The festival opens its summer season on Saturday with a standing-room only gala concert by the Windham Festival Chamber Orchestra conducted by Robert Manno. Featured artists include pianist Anna Polonsky and flutist Diva Goodfriend-Koven, each performing concertos by Mozart, along with the first performance in Windham of Schubert’s great Fifth Symphony.

Here’s Polonksy playing a bit of Verdi in 2009:

The Windham Chamber Music Festival’s Gala Opening Concert takes place on July 18 at 8pm at the Windham Civic Centre Concert Hall in Windham. Tickets are $35 general admission, $32 for seniors (65+), $30 for contributors: $30, and $5 for students (6-23). For those unable to attend the evening performance, there will be a free open rehearsal July 19 from 11:00am to 1:30pm. For more information, call (518) 734-3868 or visit www.windhammusic.com.

About Peter Aaron

In addition to being the assistant editor of Upstate House, Peter Aaron has been the music editor of Chronogram magazine since 2006 and is the author of If You Like the Ramones..., which was published last year by Backbeat Books. His writing has also appeared in the Village Voice, the Boston Herald, the Daily Freeman, and other publications. Photograph by Jennifer May.

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