(l to r) Dover String Quartet: Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola; Camden Shaw, cello; Joel Link, violin; Bryan A. Lee. Photo by Pete Checchia

Falls Village, CT – America’s oldest continuing summer chamber music festival, Music Mountain, continues its 83rd anniversary season celebration with two Music Mountain firsts —- on Saturday, August 18th (6:30PM) join the ever popular Galvanized Jazz Band as they break the record for Music Mountain jazz artist appearances! And on Sunday, August 19th (3PM) The Dover String Quartet makes their Music Mountain debut! This weekend is an example of the diverse talent that has visited Music Mountain over its 83 years – Falls Village and Gordon Hall are full of rich musical history with chamber, jazz, and country concerts scheduled through September 9th.

The Galvanized Jazz Band.

The Galvanized Jazz Band will return for their 19th appearance at Music Mountain on Saturday evening to conclude this year’s jazz & big band series. The Galvanized Jazz Band is acclaimed for their high energy performance. A dynamic ensemble of Connecticut musicians devoted to the vibrant performance of Dixieland, New Orleans jazz, blues, rags, stomps, struts, spirituals, swing, and classic popular songs from the past century. Bring your dancing shoes and see why readers of CT Magazine voted them Connecticut’s number one jazz band!

Sure to thrill audiences, The Dover String Quartet makes their first appearance at Music Mountain on Sunday afternoon. The program will include Ravel: String Quartet in F; Schumann: String Quartet in A Major, Opus 41 #3; and Dohnanyi: Piano Quintet in C Minor, Opus 1. The Ravel quartet is the only string quartet that Ravel ever wrote – it has long been a part of Music Mountain’s repertory, performed at the very first Music Mountain concert in 1930. Guest artist Pamela Mia Paul will join the quartet for the Dohnanyi piano quintet.

Formed in 2008 at the Curtis Institute, this fresh quartet brings a youthful enthusiasm and technical confidence to their repertoire, creating a musical quality that is truly its own. Most recently, the group (formerly The Old City String Quartet) was named Gold Medalist and Grand Prize winner of the 2010 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. The group is currently the Graduate String Quartet in Residence at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Texas. Pianist Pamela Mia Paul is a distinguished and widely respected artist. A Julliard graduate, Ms. Paul has performed with the Vienna Symphony, The New York Philharmonic, and The Boston Pops. She is currently Regents Professor of piano at the University of North Texas. Ms Paul has appeared at Music Mountain every year since 1990.

A special post concert discussion: The String Quartet Literature through The Lens of the Music Mountain Repertory will be lead by Music Mountain president, Nicholas Gordon. This will be the last of three post-concert discussions led by Mr. Gordon that are designed to explain how Music Mountain creates its annual schedule, and how one should look at the String Quartet literature. All ticket holders for the concert are welcome to stay for the discussion.

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.

Tickets: Saturday (6:30PM) – $35 at the door/$30 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. Group rates and pre season ticket vouchers are available. Discounts apply through participating organizations. For a complete summer schedule, special ticket prices, and to download a ticket order form visit http://www.musicmountain.org or call 860-824-7126.