The Pine Mountain Music Festival is proud to announce an exciting season. Perhaps the most notable new dimension comes from the inclusion of the UPStarts, young performers from across the U.P., joining Miles Massicotte, pianist, and Giovanni Perez, flutist, both from New York who will act as mentor professionals to the UPStarts. PMMF will present the group of nine dynamic young performers in a single show opening as the finale of Marquette's Artweek celebrations, in the Presque Isle Bandshell, Friday, June 28th. Free to all thanks to Travel Marquette, the City of Marquette, Arts and Culture Division, and Eagle Mine. The group will travel to Iron Mountain and Houghton on June 29 and 30th. Of special note to opera fans, UPStart soprano, Liz Grugin will join mezzo soprano Karen Albert in Delibes' Duo des fleurs / Sous le dôme épais from Lakmé. Arias from Rossini and Bizet will echo thirty years of PMMF's presentation of opera.
The classical foundation of PMMF for years has been the Bergonzi String Quartet. This year Scott Flavin and Ross Harbaugh are joined by the young piano virtuoso, Lindsay Garritson. The new group is guaranteed to delight! Beethoven's Archduke Trio is being prepared for this season by special request. In addition to offering concerts in Iron Mountain, Marquette and at the Rozsa Center in Houghton, The Bergonzi Trio will be presenting Free Family Concerts in libraries in all three towns in the afternoon.
Making a big statement in Traditional and World Music circles is Moira Smiley who will also offer choral workshops as part of The Pine Mountain Music Festival. "Wow!" said Erin Colwitz, Head of Choral music at N.M.U. "I've been trying to get her here for years!" Erin's Community Chorus will join Moira and Jefferson Hamer in the Reynolds Recital Hall at N.M.U. on Tuesday, June 18th. (Please see the calendar for dates and venues of Pine Mountain's fifteen unique concerts and workshops in all five towns for 2019).
Jefferson Hamer, like Moira Smiley, is the performer other performers want to be beside onstage. His sensitive guitar accompaniment may be part of the reason Moira Smiley agreed to put Pine Mountain on her busy summer schedule. And Jefferson is a monster in his own right! Jefferson astounds as singer/songwriter and as an interpreter of Child ballads and, when he plugs in, as a dynamic rocker. The highlight, (in this director's opinion) of the festival he attended last summer was Jefferson's version of the Kinks' Victoria. He brought down the house. We expect that the combination of Jefferson Hamer with Moira Smiley will bring down all the houses on their U.P. tour as part of The Pine Mountain Music Festival.