“Growing up, percussionist and composer Paul Frucht thought every town in Connecticut had its own version of the Danbury Music Centre,” writes Michael Hamad in Sunday’s (8/6) Hartford Courant (Conn.). “Not so. The nonprofit, which was founded in 1935, attracts aspiring musicians of all ages. There are three different orchestras, a chorus, a madrigal singing group and a long-running Nutcracker ballet production. The Centre stages public concerts … and doesn’t offer private lessons….There’s another reason the Danbury Music Centre stands out: the [August 6-12] Charles Ives Concert Series … four intimate chamber music recitals in various [Danbury] locations…. They’re all free…. Calling it the Chamber Music Initiative, Frucht, its artistic director, [Executive Director Mary E.] Larew and associate director Barbara Adams Jaeger launched the series in 2015, luring recent conservatory graduates and emerging artists from New York to Danbury to lead chamber music rehearsals, masterclasses, lessons and concerts with community musicians. The hunch paid off. ‘I’d never seen such enthusiastic audiences for concerts of modern music,’ Larew says. ‘Teenagers were going crazy for it. Older folks … were loving it, too.’ ” Says Frucht, “It wasn’t just about the music of Ives. There’s an interaction with aspiring musicians, which is very Ives-ian.”
Posted August 8, 2017
