Howland Chamber Music Circle

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Howland Chamber Music Circle

Howland Chamber Music Circle brings outstanding concerts to the Mid-Hudson valley in a venue wonderf These Christmas programs continued in the Church of St.

A Brief History of the Howland Chamber Music Circle

In the fall of 1992 Gwen and Bill Stevens attended an exhibit of historic photos at the Howland Center. They were immediately struck by the potential of that space for chamber music. Gwen had been arranging house concerts for several years and had been wondering how to expand them to a more general audience. The Howland Center soon agreed to pro

duce a series of concerts under their auspices, but with separate funding. The 1993-94 premier season of three concerts included the Meridian Brass Ensemble, the St. Lawrence String Quartet and a string duo of Ayako Yoshida and Semyon Fridman. The success of this first season led to an expansion to four concerts in the next season, to a fund drive to rebuild the Center's piano, and then to six concerts in the 1996-97 season. With continuing success, it became evident that the Howland Chamber Music Circle should be more formally established to ensure its future. In April 1999 it was incorporated as a not-for-profit membership corporation, independent of the Howland Center

The popularity of piano recitals in the Chamber Music Series led to the establishment of a winter Piano Festival of three concerts in 1999. The fall of 2001 saw the scheduling of New York's Ensemble for Early Music. This was well accepted, and led to adding a Christmas program by the same group in December 2002. Mary's in the Highlands, in Cold Spring, until 2010. The 2003-04 season introduced an occasional "world music" offering and saw the expansion of the Chamber Music Series to a total of eight concerts. In 2004 the Circle decided that a better piano was needed to satisfy the outstanding pianists appearing in our series. Ed Loizides spearheaded a search that resulted in the purchase of a new Steinway Model B grand piano. A fund drive that fall quickly raised the money to pay for it, and it is now being enjoyed by our audiences and performers. In our support of music in our schools the Circle has supported and arranged for residencies by professional string quartets in the high school of the Arlington school district. Interest in good classical music grows and many of our concerts are sold out. From only three concerts in the first season, the Circle now presents twelve this year, not including a bonus concert or other entertainment for the members at the annual meeting. Our proximity to New York City and our wonderful hall have enabled us to obtain some of the finest musicians performing on the concert stage today.

09/07/2026

Our season begins on September 20th with the long-awaited return of the Miró Quartet. It's hard to believe that it's been 24 years since they last performed for us. Since that performance, in 2002, they have had an illustrious career.

They'll perform works by Haydn, Caroline Shaw, Anton Webern and Antonín Dvořák. Tickets are $40 ($10 students). Get more info and purchase tickets at HowlandMusic.org.

07/17/2026

This Sunday's concert at Maverick Concerts in Woodstock, NY, should not be missed! The woodwind quintet WindSync performed for us a few years back to great acclaim. You'll have a chance to hear them again, and at the same time preview pianist Evren Ozel who will perform for us next season. Best of all, they'll be playing some of the most exciting music in the chamber music repertoire: Samuel Barber's "Summer Music"; Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue"; John Adams' "Short Ride in a Fast Machine"; Phillip Glass; and Elliott Carter. More info and tickets available at: https://maverickconcerts.org/event/windsync-evren-ozel-2026/

RHAPSODY IN BLUE — at the Maverick!
This Sunday, July 19 at 4pm, the acclaimed wind quintet WindSync joins forces with Van Cliburn Bronze Medalist Evren Ozel (in his Maverick debut!) for a program that ends in pure electricity: George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
The story behind the piece is legendary. In January 1924, Gershwin discovered — from a newspaper article! — that he was expected to deliver a "jazz concerto" for bandleader Paul Whiteman's big concert at Aeolian Hall... in just five weeks. The music came to him on a train between Boston and New York, in the rattle and clatter of the rails, where he suddenly heard the whole rhapsody from beginning to end — a musical kaleidoscope of America, as he later described it. On that snowy February night, with Rachmaninoff, Heifetz, and Stokowski in the audience, Gershwin improvised the piano part himself, the ink barely dry on the page.
A hundred years later, imagine that famous clarinet wail rising through the hand-hewn timbers of our rustic concert hall in the woods — Gershwin's metropolitan madness meeting the hush of the Woodstock forest. It doesn't get more magical than that.
Also on the program: Philip Glass, Samuel Barber's shimmering Summer Music, Elliott Carter, and John Adams's Short Ride in a Fast Machine.
🎟️ Sunday, July 19 | 4pm | Maverick Concerts, Woodstock
Tickets: https://maverickconcerts.org/event/windsync-evren-ozel-2026/

05/30/2026

Our final FREE Pop-Up concert of the season is TODAY, featuring Illari, a rhythm-driven ensemble led by Peruvian percussionist Angel Michael Lau. Concert at 2:00 PM at "Lucky Dog" in the Beacon Music Factory, 333 Fishkill Avenue, Beacon, NY.

05/18/2026

Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason gave a mesmerizing performance on Sunday. Her program contained both strength and delicacy just where it was needed. For such a young performer, she played with great maturity. Her Beethoven "Waldstein" Sonata was particularly effective, and her encore--the 2nd movement of Beethoven's "Pathetique" Sonata--was the perfect answer to the audience's thunderous applause.

05/17/2026

Thanks to the The Highlands Current and writer Marc Ferris for coverage of our concerts. Read more about today's sold-out concert with Isata Kanneh-Mason at the Howland Cultural Center.

Classical music star quickly sells out Howland

05/06/2026

Many thanks to The Highlands Current, and photographer Ross Corsair, for their coverage of our concert with the Parker Quartet and Fleur Barron, Mezzo Soprano at the Howland Cultural Center.

Darkness to dawn, pantry gift, quartet with voice, students of month

05/04/2026

Sunday's concert with flutist Brandon Patrick George was remarkable. Making it even more remarkable was the fact that guitarist Hao Yang stepped in as a replacement just days before the concert. The two played as if they had been performing together for years, rather than mere hours. The repertoire was particularly difficult to put together (Takemitsu, Piazzolla, Bach, de Falla), yet the pulled it off with great success!

Address

477 Main Street
Beacon, NY
12508

Telephone

+18457653012

Website

http://www.howlandmusic.org/

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