Greencastle Summer Music Festival opens for 19th season on May 31

The Greencastle Summer Music Festival announces its 19th summer of weekly free concerts presented Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. in the air-conditioned comfort of Gobin Church.

Started in 2005 by cellist Eric Edberg, the festival has blossomed from six bi-weekly classical concerts to a series of 12 multi-genre programs, plus education programs presented for children participating in the Summer Enrichment Program also hosted by Gobin.

There’s no admission charge for the concerts, which are made possible by individual donors, an endowment at the Putnam County Community Foundation and the Inn at DePauw, host for the festival’s out-of-town performers. More information can be found at greencastlemusic.org.

This year’s festival includes many local favorites, as well as GSMF debuts by singer Mary Martin, pianist Maria Lyapkova, violinist Tegan Faran, duo pianists Anthony Weinstein and Tatiana Lokhina and flutist Leo Sussman.

This year’s schedule (programs subject to change):

May 31: “Friends Making Music For Friends.” The GSMF is a celebration of friendship and community as much as it is a celebration of music. Local musicians Claude Cymerman (piano), Eric Edberg (cello), Ben Hogan (percussion, mandolin and voice), Cathie Malach (keyboard and vocals) and Tad Robinson (vocals) come together in a variety of combinations with music ranging from Gershwin to improvisations to some surprise songs.

June 7: “New Friends, Part 1.” This concert features GSMF debuts by DePauw faculty members soprano Mary Martin (accompanied by pianist Allan Armstrong) and pianist Maria Lyapkova (joined by Edberg), with music from Schumann to Strauss to Debussy to musical theater.

June 14: “New Friends, Part 2.” Virtuoso multi-genre acoustic and electric violinist Teagan Faran, DePauw University’s innovative new violin professor, presents a wide array of music, joined in parts of the program by cellist Edberg and percussionist Hogan.

June 21: “Music and Dance of Northern India.” With Anindita Sen (dance choreographer), Kathak Dancers, Amudhan Venkateswaran (tabla) and longtime GSMF friend George Wolfe (tanpura and saxophone).

June 28: “One Piano, Four Hands: New Friends, Part 3.” Pianists Anthony Weinstein performs Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and is then joined by his wife Tatiana Lokhina for Anton Rubenstein’s Sonata for “four hands.”

July 5: “Celebrating America with Florence Price.” Pianist Claude Cymerman celebrates America, the day after Independence Day, with a program showcasing the music of Florence Price, the great Black American composer whose Romantic-style works have recently been rediscovered and are increasingly popular in the world of classical music.

July 12: “New Friends, Part 4.” Innovative flutist Leo Sussman, DePauw’s new flute professor, makes his GSMF debut, sharing a program with returning friends Toco Rio, specialists in traditional Brazilian choro music.

July 19: “Cathie Malach and Friends.” Greencastle’s beloved singer/songwriter/keyboard artist curates another amazing program of original music and covers, bringing together a musician community including Edberg, Hogan, Steve Snyder and Tad Robinson.

July 26: “Back to Bach.” Celebrate founder Edberg’s 65th birthday as he joins concert pianist May Phang in an evening of music by J. S. Bach.

Aug. 2 “Percussion Group DePauw,” led by Greencastle’s own Ming-Hui Kuo, returns for another evening the amazing sound world created by their jungle of percussion instruments.

Aug. 9: “Joe Peters and Michael Kelsey.” Long-time friends singer-songwriter Joe Peters and the creative multi-genre guitarist, who both performed on the GSMF in its early days, bring their unique musical chemistry in their first GSMF duo performance.

Aug. 17: “Tad Robinson Band.” As is now a tradition, the GSMF concludes its 19th season with the our very own, the internationally-celebrated blues singer Tad Robinson and his band.