MUSICAL PAIRING
SPAC, Pitney Meadows to bring back Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Saratoga Performing Arts Center is partnering with Pitney Meadows Community Farm to bring back the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for its annual Saratoga Springs residency.
Kicking off on Sunday, June 13, the new “CMS at the Meadows” series marks the first live performances that SPAC has presented since the 2020 season was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The performances, limited to 200 attendees per show, will be held in Pitney Meadows Community Farm’s beautiful openair High Tunnel greenhouse, adhering to carefully mapped out, socially-distanced seating and rigorous COVID-19 protocols, according to a press release from SPAC.
“We are blessed to have so much outdoor space in the park and its environs that we were inspired to bring our beloved chamber musicians back in a new and innovative location — right around the corner from the SPAC grounds. Instead of presenting CMS in their usual home in the Spa Little Theater, which presents COVID-era challenges, we are delighted to partner with Pitney Meadows Community Farm to give our community the opportunity to experience great music-making in a safe and beautiful outdoor setting surrounded by gardens and farmland,” SPAC president and CEO Elizabeth Sobol said in the release.
“Our farm is a unique resource for the community and we are thrilled to have our preserved land used for such a unique opportunity. We are excited to provide a space where individuals can safely gather to enjoy the arts once again and celebrate our pastoral landscape and agricultural mission. We appreciate SPAC’s ability to adapt and collaborate with the Pitney Meadows Community Farm to grow community,”
Pitney Meadows Community Farm executive director Lynn Trizna added.
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s reimagined 2021 season at SPAC, with 12 performances from June through August, will feature masterpieces from Beethoven’s preeminent string quartets to Schumann’s timeless Piano Quartet in Eflat major, alongside the U.S. premiere of Twelve Blocks by pianist Michael Brown. Also highlighting the residency is the return of CMS co-artistic directors David Finckel and Wu Han and the SPAC debut of the Calidore String Quartet.
“Everyone at CMS is beyond thrilled to be back in Saratoga Springs after what has been too long of an absence from the stage. We cannot wait to reconnect with our friends and community at SPAC, and to invite audiences back to share with us what we love best: live performances with the best chamber musicians in the world today,” the directors said in the release. “We can’t thank our partner SPAC enough for making this opportunity a reality, and for what we know will be a fantastic expanded summer visit for everyone.”
The series will take place rain or shine at Pitney Meadows Community Farm, under the High Tunnel greenhouse, a large outdoor event space. Maximum capacity will be limited to 200 persons, per performance. Performances will all be 75 minutes long with no intermission. Socially distanced pods of two will be allocated and reserved for ticket buyers. Seats will be provided.
More information about the upcoming CMS at the Meadows series is available online at spac.org.