Piano improvisationist set to end Wednesday summer concert series

Sunday, August 16, 2015
Courtesy photo
John Kamfonas (left) and Eric Edberg will join forces Wednesday for the finale of the 2015 Greencastle Summer Music Festival at Gobin Church. The 7:30 p.m concert is free and open to the public.

The 2015 Greencastle Summer Music Festival concludes its 13-week season Wednesday night with a return appearance by classical and improvising pianist John Kamfonas, who will be joined by the festival's founder, cellist Eric Edberg, the Cassel Grubb Professor of Music at DePauw University.

No tickets are required for the 7:30 p.m. recital in the sanctuatry of Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church.

The concerts are funded by individual donations, an endowment at the Putnam County Community Foundation, and local businesses including Hillside Farms, Collins Evans Real Estate and the Inn at DePauw.

This is the fourth festival appearance by Kamfonas, who grew up in Pennsylvania and currently lives in Paris, France.

"I met John at a workshop in New York in 2011," Edberg said, "and we hit it off right away. We are each classical musicians who improvise, and music plays an important role in our spiritual lives as well.

"He was the first musician we flew in from outside Indiana, as the festival and its budget were growing, and he's developed quite a following here. People have been telling me how excited they are to have him back. He's become part of the community."

Kamfonas will be performing solo music by Beethoven, Scarlatti and Katchaturian, and will be joined by Edberg for the cello sonata by Alan Hovhannes and "Speigel im Speigel" by Arvo Pärt.

"I've gotten to know the community," Kamfonas said. "I love playing not just for 'audiences' but for people I have a relationship with. Making the performing and listening experience more personal is something I value a lot, and this is something the Greencastle Summer Music Festival allows me to do. Playing and improvising with Eric is deeply gratifying."

Embracing his penchant for improvisation, the pianist has given wide-ranging performances including a fully improvised solo piano concert at Columbia University, solo and collaborative harpsichord performances with the Manhattan School of Music's Baroque Aria Ensemble and solo concerts featuring both composed works and free improvisations in cities around the country.

Kamfonas' summer festival performances include appearances at the International Academy of Music in Tuscany, Italy; Aspen Music Festival, PianoSummer at New Paltz and the Beijing International Music Festival and Academy.

Kamfonas organized the Bootstrap Arts Festival, a multi-disciplinary arts festival sponsored by the New York Foundation and has staged numerous events featuring dance, poetry, music and visual artwork in venues around New York.

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