2026 Summer Festival
“Welcome to PCMF's 33rd summer of bringing magnificent chamber music to Maine! Putting this season's programs together has been a truly collaborative effort, featuring a number of works that particular musicians have especially close connections to. Speaking of close connections, we're also celebrating the 25th anniversary of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra! This extraordinary group of players has been making music together for most of our professional lives, and the combination of consummate musicianship and genuine affection is really magical. We hope you'll join us!"
—Melissa Reardon, Artistic Director
Program I:
Great Explorations
Thursday, August 13 at 7:00 PM
Three centuries of chamber music in one unforgettable evening: Music by Bach, Loeffler, and Brahms's masterful Piano Quartet.
J.S. Bach Chaconne from Partita for Violin No. 2
Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson Louisiana Blues Strut
Charles Loeffler Deux Rhapsodies
Johannes Brahms Piano Quartet No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25
Program II:
Rites and Delights
Saturday, August 15 at 7:00 PM
This kaleidoscopic program combines luminous songs reimagined, a richly woven sextet, and a tour de force arrangement of Rite of Spring.
Caroline Shaw “And So” and “Other Song”
Igor Stravinsky The Rite of Spring for Piano Four Hands
Ernst Dohnányi Sextet in C Major, Op. 37
Program III:
ECCO Visions
Thursday, August 20 at 7:00 PM
The East Coast Chamber Orchestra is back! Baroque swagger, a haunting violin concerto, Bartók's irresistible folk dance party, and more are in store.
Franz Biber Battalia à 10 ("Battle for Ten")
Pēteris Vasks Violin Concerto “Distant Light”
Henry Kramer Dirigo (“Dare I Go”)
Béla Bartók Divertimento
Program IV:
ECCO Jubilee
Saturday, August 22 at 7:00 PM
Happy birthday, ECCO! Celebrate this extraordinary ensemble’s 25th anniversary season with dances, drama, and Dvořák's radiant Serenade for Strings.
Edvard Grieg Holberg Suite, Op. 40
Franz Liszt Concerto for Piano and Strings in E Minor, 'Malédiction'
Jessie Montgomery Musings
Antonín Dvořák Serenade for Strings