Continuing to balance the fun and romance of the dance floor with the elegance and beauty of chamber music is Music Mountain in Falls Village, Connecticut. It is, amazingly enough, America’s oldest continuing summer chamber music festival, currently celebrating its 83rd Anniversary. Tanglewood just passed 75 with fireworks and a parade of celebrities, while Music Mountain continues to delight its audiences with a combination of superb music and lots of opportunities to dance and socialize. The weekend of July 28 and 29 will continue this winning formula.

Audience favorite Swingtime Big Band will be “Swingin’ the Classics” on Saturday, July 28th (6:30PM) and the highly praised all-women ensemble Colorado String Quartet, with special guest artist Roger Tapping, viola, performs on Sunday, July 29th (3PM). The weekend concerts are a sampling of the many chamber, country, and jazz groups that are slated to perform at Gordon Hall this summer. Music Mountain’s concert season in Falls Village is scheduled thru September 9th.

The Dancing

Swingtime Big Band will have the dance floor hopping on Saturday evening with their exciting program featuring music from the libraries of such stellar bands as Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey and Count Basie, plus a special 100th Birthday tribute to Les Brown and his Band of Renown! Led by Steve Shaiman, Swingtime Big Band is a 20-piece orchestra dedicated to the performance of America’s greatest popular standards of the swing era. Female vocalist Bobbie Ruth recreates the “gal-vocal” style of such legendary singers as Peggy Lee, Eydie Gorme, and Anita O’Day, while male vocalist Jerry Costanzo channels the crooners of the past – Louis Prima, Bobby Darin, and Dean Martin.

The Classics

The music of Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms will fill Gordon Hall on Sunday afternoon when the Colorado String Quartet performs a stunning program that will include Mozart: String Quartet in C Major, Opus 157; Beethoven: String Quartet in F Major, Opus 59 #1; and Brahms: Viola Quintet in G Major, Opus 111. Guest artist, Roger Tapping will join the group in Brahms’ Viola Quintet.

The Colorado String Quartet was the first all-women quartet to achieve international stature and is the first female quartet in history to perform the complete Beethoven Quartet cycle in Europe and North America. With a career spanning three decades, The Colorado String Quartet is committed to bringing music to audiences of all ages; the ensemble is currently Artistic Director of the Soundfest Chamber Music Festival and Quartet Institute on Cape Cod.

Grammy Award-winning Roger Tapping has enjoyed an illustrious international career. He has been a member of many acclaimed chamber orchestras and quartets in Britain.For ten years he was the violist of the justly renowed Takacs Quartet. He currently chairs the Chamber Music Department of the New England Conservatory of Music.

The Tickets and Details

Tickets: Saturday (6:30PM) – $30 at the door/$27 in advance; Sunday (3PM) – $35 at the door/$30 in advance. Discounts available. Admission is FREE for those 18 and under when accompanied by ticket holder.

www.musicmountain.org or call 860-824-7126.
Music Mountain, 225 Music Mountain Rd, Falls Village, CT 06031.

Located in Falls Village, Connecticut, Music Mountain is located on Music Mountain Road, where a short scenic drive will bring music lovers to Gordon Hall with ample & free parking. Beer and wine are available and, as is the Music Mountain custom, audience members are invited to picnic before the concerts on the scenic grounds.