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Greencastle Summer Music Festival announces 14th season; Tad Robinson first up
The Greencastle Summer Music Festival, dedicated to bringing the community together with free Wednesday evening concerts of "friends making music for friends," begins Wednesday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary of Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church.
The opening performance features Greencastle's own Tad Robinson, the eight-time Blues Music Award Nominee, performing with his full band.
As has been the case for its entire history, all events are free of charge, with the programs funded by donations from individuals, local businesses, and income from an endowment at the Putnam County Community Foundation. The endowment was the brainchild of Joanne Kissinger, and grew substantially with the leadership of the Festival's long-time board chairman, Stu Fabe.
The Festival began in the summer of 2005. Eric Edberg, the festival's founder and artistic director, had helped to organize the spring 2005 dedication concert for Gobin's new concert grand piano.
"I'd been thinking about how little music there was in Greencastle during the summers, especially back then," Edberg, who retired Sunday as the Cassel Grubb University Professor of Music at DePauw, explains. "The idea hit me that with this wonderful instrument, Gobin's beautiful space and warm resonant acoustics would make the ideal spot for a summer concert series.
"The leadership and membership at Gobin welcomed the idea, and we started that summer with six biweekly concerts. After a couple of years, there were more people wanting to play then we could fit in, which is still the case, even though we moved to weekly concerts."
Edberg recognized along the way that the concerts were about more than just the music.
"We had a visiting composer at DePauw who kept telling our students that 'the best way to spend your life is making music with your friends.' This was at a time in which I was thinking a lot about the role of classical music in contemporary culture, realizing the deep importance of human connection and relationships, and looking at the way live musical event can contribute to that. I saw that making music for our friends is as important as playing music with friends. And so our motto, really our mission, became clear: Bringing a community together with live musical events, celebrating both music and friendship. Or as we put it, friends making music for friends."
As the festival's activities have expanded over the years, a variety of interns and part-time administrators have worked with Edberg in presenting the concerts. Chris Flegal is now in his second year as the festival's Executive Director, and has worked with Edberg in expanding the festival's offerings beyond it's classical-music origins and coordinating a partnership with the Summer Enrichment Program, also hosted by Gobin. "Chris has been a fabulous addition. It is fantastic to have an imaginative and driven partner," Edberg added.
2018 Greencastle Summer Music Festival Schedule
All concerts on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary of Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church.
The full schedule is:
May 30 -- Tad Robinson and his band.
June 6 -- Brady Lanier (viola da gamba) and Daniel Inamorato (piano)
June 13 -- Percussion Ensemble DePauw: Ming-Hui Kuo, Ben Hogan, Abigail Foehrkolb and Seth Brawner.
June 20 -- Music of Mozart, Martinu, and Lekeu with Claude Cymerman (piano), Tarn Travers (violin), Nicole Brockmann (viola), Eric Edberg (cello).
June 27 -- Silkroad Global Musician Workshop faculty concert.
July 4 -- Celebrate Independence Day with Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" performed by pianist Claude Cymerman, special guests to be announced, and audience singalongs of patriotic songs.
July 11 -- Members of SYBARITE5, the innovative string ensemble known for cutting-edge programming, including arrangements of Radiohead songs.
July 18 -- Philly singer/songwriter Joy Ike.
July 25 -- An Evening of Jazz w/Steve Snyder and Friends.
Aug. 1 -- Pianist Taka Kigawa Celebrates Debussy.
Aug. 8 -- "Restless Meditations" with classical and improvising musicians John Kamfonas (piano) and Eric Edberg (cello).
Aug. 15 -- May Phang (piano) with Eric Edberg (cello).