2023 Season
Maine Suzuki Association Masterclass
Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 10 AM
Hannaford Hall, USM | Portland
PCMF Artistic Director and Borromeo String Quartet violist Melissa Reardon will give a chamber music masterclass to students in partnership with the Maine Suzuki Association. The masterclass will run for approximately one hour, and is free and open to the public to attend.
Reminder that tickets to the Borromeo String Quartet concert later in the day are FREE for those ages 21 and under!
Borromeo String Quartet
Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 3 PM
Hannaford Hall, USM | Portland
Celebrated around the world for their “edge-of-the-seat performances” (Boston Globe), PCMF Artistic Director Melissa Reardon is the newest member of the award-winning Borromeo String Quartet. This dazzling ensemble makes its PCMF debut with a program that runs the gamut of glorious string quartet sounds: from playful, gracious Haydn to a folk-infused fantasia by Bartók, to Debussy’s inventive, shimmering sensuality.
Haydn String Quartet Op. 74, No. 2
Bartók String Quartet No. 2
Debussy String Quartet, Op. 10
Summer Salon & Social
Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 3:00 PM
Shore Road | Cape Elizabeth
Enjoy informal performances and conversation with extraordinary musicians, elegant refreshments from Bread & Butter Catering Company, and the company of fellow chamber music enthusiasts in a delightfully intimate setting.
PCMF Insights:
Charles Overton Artist Talk
Wednesday, August 9, 2023 at 5:00 PM
Portland Conservatory of Music | Portland
Join us for this free event to hear how PCMF Resident Artist Charles Overton approaches improvising on the harp, and how his classical and jazz backgrounds have helped inform his musical voice. This moderated talk will include live demonstrations, with time at the end for an audience Q&A.
Program I:
First Impressions
Thursday, August 10, 2023 at 7:30 PM
Hannaford Hall, USM | Portland
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Clarinet Quintet is filled with lush, youthful extravagance, incorporating traditions from both his African and English heritage. Ravel’s highly original Piano Trio is an exquisite work of consummate lightness and stunning power.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Clarinet Quintet in F-sharp Minor, Op. 10
Maurice Ravel Piano Trio in A Minor
Program II:
Summer Dreams
Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 7:30 PM
Hannaford Hall, USM | Portland
Step right up for an utterly delightful mini musical vacation with sounds and scenes of the English countryside for piano four-hands, a poetic harp quintet, the jazzy flavors of Gershwin and the folksy flair of Dvořák’s masterful piano quartet.
Amy Beach Summer Dreams, Op. 47 for Piano Four-Hands
Arnold Bax Quintet for Harp and Strings
George Gershwin (arr. for Clarinet and Piano) Three Preludes
Antonín Dvořák Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major, Op. 87
Program III:
The Kreutzer Connection
Thursday, August 17, 2023 at 7:30 PM
Hannaford Hall, USM | Portland
Beethoven’s brilliant “Kreutzer” Sonata serves as a primary plot point of Tolstoy’s controversial novella of the same name, which in turn inspired Janáček’s powerful string quartet. Intertwining these two landmark works with selected readings, this fascinating program explores the nature of artistic inspiration.
Ludwig van Beethoven Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47, "Kreutzer"
Leo Tolstoy The Kreutzer Sonata (1889), selected readings
Leoš Janáček String Quartet No. 1, "Kreutzer Sonata"
Program IV:
Grand Finale
Saturday, August 19, 2023 at 7:30 PM
Hannaford Hall, USM | Portland
PCMF’s 30th summer season concludes with Schubert’s sunny Octet, with its bountiful array of strings and winds, hummable tunes, and genial Viennese charm, paired with the witty sophistication of Germaine Tailleferre and a passionately dramatic trio rooted in Armenian folk music.
Germaine Tailleferre Image for Piano Four-Hands
Arno Babadjanian Piano Trio in F-sharp Minor
Franz Schubert Octet in F Major, D. 803
PCMF with Heifetz on Tour
Songs, Dances, and Romances
Wednesday, October 11, 2023 at 8 PM
Portland Conservatory of Music | Portland
Introducing an exciting new collaboration! PCMF Artistic Director Melissa Reardon joins Heifetz on Tour, which pairs professional musicians with promising young alumni of the Heifetz International Music Institute, connecting “rising stars” of the chamber music world with diverse communities around the country.
C. Schumann Three Romances, Op. 22
De Falla Suite Populaire Espagnole
R. Schumann Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Minor
Sicong Ma Rondo No. 2
Brahms Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor