About the Festival

Chamber music concerts and events in Newburyport, Massachusetts

Newburyport Chamber Music Festival is a community-based series of chamber music concerts and events in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The summer Festival format has evolved to a two-week series that takes place each year in August. Additional events are programmed throughout the year.

Backstage access, front-row experience

The Newburyport Chamber Music Festival fosters an interactive partnership between residents and visiting artists by engaging the community in the process of creating and presenting chamber music in Newburyport’s unique architectural spaces.

History

From 3 artists and concerts in 2002 to 11 artists and 20 events in 2020!

Founded in 2002 by Artistic Director David Yang and Newburyport resident Jane Niebling, this August weeklong series of classical chamber music events has grown from three musicians and three concerts to, this summer, twelve artists, thirteen events and six venues. Originally sponsored by St. Paul’s Church in Newburyport. 

The festival now functions as an independent not-for-profit organization.

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Backstage access, front-row seats

Transforming little black marks on a page into a work of art

I have a friend who is a pastry chef. She takes flour, water, sugar, and a whole lot of butter, and from these simple ingredients conjures up magnificent desserts. Come to an open rehearsal and you'll see what goes into transforming little black marks on a page into a work of art. The process may seem unremarkable for its attention to things technical - working out dynamics, ensemble, intonation, articulation - yet somewhere along the way something precious and fleeting is created: real music.

Bringing the music of Beethoven, Brahms, and Bartók to life

People wonder sometimes what musicians do during the day. There is a romantic notion of the solitary artist in some dusty loft full of scurrying rats and bat guano. The fact is that we do laundry, pay bills, and answer emails like everyone else. In addition to all that banality we also spend hours every day bringing the music of Beethoven, Brahms, and Bartok to life.

In-the-moment experiences

Why go to a concert when you can listen to music at home while doing the dishes? There's the obvious stuff: live sound, live performers, no distractions and the joy of a shared experience. But add to that the fact that it is an in-the-moment experience. That's why you can be overwhelmed at a concert one night but listen to a recording of the same concert weeks later and wonder why you can't hear what you heard the first time. Music doesn't even exist until you perform it. A concert is something made fresh in front of you: electric, live, and raw.

David Yang, Artist Director

Violist David Yang was the recent recipient of a coveted Independence Foundation Fellowship awarded to exceptional artists. He has been heard throughout North America and Europe in collaboration with members of the Borromeo, Brentano, Lark, Miro and Tokyo string quartets.

more about David

Members of the Board

Newburyport Chamber Music is a community-based series of chamber music concerts and events in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The summer Festival format has evolved to a two-week series that takes place each year in August. Additional events are programmed throughout the year.

  • Beth Clary, President
  • John Moreland, Treasurer
  • Gage Cogswell
  • Bronson deStadler
  • Maryellen Moreland
  • Sherry Rogers
  • Paul Swindlehurst
  • Anne Verret-Speck

Where you can find us

Our first venue was the 1863 granite Neo-Gothic St. Anna’s Chapel on the campus of St. Paul’s church. With no stage and with seating in the round the 90-seat chapel provides the degree of intimacy for which chamber music was originally intended. Since then we have added the larger St. Paul’s Church as our principal venue, and we continue to take advantage of an eclectic collection of spaces, both public and private, indoors and out, historic and modern, which are available in the greater Newburport community.

Brown Chapel at Oak Hill Cemetery
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First Religious Society (Unitarian) of Newburyport
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Hausmusik 1

Hausmusik is held at a private residence and the address will be printed on the tickets.

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Hausmusik 2

Hausmusik#2 is held at a private residence and the address will be printed on the tickets.

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Illume Books
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Jabberwocky Bookshop

https://www.jabberwockybookshop.com/

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Mass Audubon Joppa Flats Education Center
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Newburyport Art Association

https://newburyportart.org/

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Newburyport Public Library

https://www.newburyportpl.org/

Multipurpose Room, First Floor

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Parker River National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center

https://www.fws.gov/refuge/parker-river

Phone: (978) 465-5753

Note: This venue is the Visitor Center on Plum Island Turnpike, not the refuge itself.

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Private Venue - Spring Concert

The Spring Concert will be held at a private venue, "The Barrage," and the address will be printed on the tickets.

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St. Paul’s Church

Founded in 1711 as a mission parish of the Anglican Church in British American during the reign of Queen Anne of Great Britain, St. Paul’s is the oldest continuous Episcopal Parish in Massachusetts and one of the oldest in America. The current building is the fourth, the third on this site at 166 High Street.

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TBA
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The Barrage

"The Barrage" is an intimate performance space created for live acoustic music, discussion forums, lectures, and…quiet woodworking. It sits on the property of a private home in Newbury. The address will be printed on each ticket.

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The Space @ Zach Fields Drums & Music

Trades Mill, 6 Chestnut St., Amesbury, MA 01913

thespacezfdm.com

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Theater in the Open
THEATER IN THE OPEN: CURATORS OF THE HISTORIC GATEKEEPER'S HOUSE AT MAUDSLAY STATE PARK

From our origins as a children’s theater to the dynamic, multi-faceted organization you see today, Theater in the Open continually evolves to meet the community’s needs. Under its current leadership, Theater in the Open is delivering on all aspects of its mission — as a professional theater company, as a center for youth arts education and as a community partner with the vision to create art that is accessible to all.

In 2017, Theater in the Open was named the curator for the Gatekeeper's House by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, which officially grants Theater in the Open the ability to restore this historic building that has been our headquarters since 1987. As Historic Curators of the property, Theater in the Open is committed to making lasting, historically conscious improvements to the Gatekeeper's House, to preserve it for generations to come.

The Gatekeeper's House, originally known as the Forester's House, was constructed in 1903 at the southwest corner of the Maudsleigh Estate and served as a welcoming location and landmark to its visitors. The house was designed by William Gibbons Rantoul of the Boston firm, Jacques & Rantoul and is a classic example of American Shingle style. Rantoul’s distinctive use of Shingle style can be seen throughout the remaining estate buildings.

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Our major corporate sponsors

We are grateful to our corporate sponsors for their support.

Help ensure our continued success

NCMF relies on the assistance of corporations, foundations, and most importantly, you.

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Season
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