EASTON — Chesapeake Music celebrates the 35th Anniversary of the Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival this June with a virtual festival. Internationally known Artistic Directors Marcy Rosen and Catherine Cho have put together a series of concerts to bring extraordinary music to the Eastern Shore audience, given stay-at-home restrictions caused by COVID-19.

“It is a pleasure to welcome back the distinguished artists who have performed at the festival for years and to greet the outstanding new musicians participating in this year’s festival,” a statement from the organizers said.

This year’s festival will be presented as five online concerts made available through the Chesapeake Music website, www.chesapeakemusic.org. Concerts are free and will be available online for a 24-hour period, with 48 hours between concerts. All concerts will be posted at 5:30 p.m.
Two concerts, professionally filmed and recorded at Queens College, LeFrak Concert Hall, will bookend the festival. The opening concert, scheduled for June 4, features award-winning Steinway pianist Diane Walsh and cellist Marcy Rosen playing Sonatas by Beethoven and Chopin. The closing concert on June 16 is a program of Haydn, Debussy and Dvořák performed by violinist Catherine Cho, cellist Marcy Rosen, and acclaimed pianist Robert McDonald.

The second concert will highlight several of festival artists playing works recorded at home. Ieva Jokubaviciute, much sought-after chamber musician, will perform solo piano works of Bach/Busoni and Schumann; pianist Diane Walsh will play the four Chopin Impromptus; outstanding violinist Todd Phillips will be joined by pianist Rachel Yunkyung Choo performing the Beethoven Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor, and violinist Francesca dePasquale and the wonderful pianist Adam Golka will share the Dvorák Romance in F minor.
In addition, there will be an evening with the fabulous flutist Tara Helen O’Connor and her equally fantastic husband violinist Daniel Phillips, performing from their New York City living room.
This year Chesapeake Music planned to inaugurate a Young People’s Concert Project as part of the Chesapeake Chamber Music Festival’s 35th year. The mission was intended to engage students of all ages and families in a musical experience that would nurture a love of music and concert-going.

Catherine Cho’s vision was to “ignite the curiosity of children through a program engaging their senses and inspiring their interest and need for expression through musical experiences.” This Young People’s Concert, designed specifically for young people but open to all, will be presented on June 10. The concert will feature four members of the Juilliard/Carnegie Hall sponsored Ensemble Connect, a two-year fellowship program that prepares extraordinary young professional classical musicians for careers that combine musical excellence with teaching, community engagement, advocacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership. The young musicians offering this concert are Violinist Jennifer Liu, Violinist Gergana Haralampieva, Violist Caeli Smith, and Cellist Ari Evans.

Visit the Chesapeake Music website for more information on Virtual Virtuosi, a Chesapeake Chamber Music Virtual Concert Series beginning June 4.