News

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August feels like a distant memory. Since then, I’ve been all over, including Nova Scotia (windy!), a few precious days home (a last-minute tour cancellation provided a brief respite from travel), and currently in Norway (dark and Nordic-y). Last week, during the 728-mile drive from New Brunswick to Philly I made a small detour to grab an almond croissant at Lil’s in Kittery, a place I visit with my bike buddies from Newburyport – Ted, David B., Pete, Doug, and John. It felt like stopping at home as I headed home, if that makes sense.

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As we gear up for Winter Baroque and start to prepare for our 25^th anniversary season next year, I wanted to glance back at the summer. We had ace photographer Matthew Muise chronicling the festival this year.

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It takes a small army of people working their tuchases off to keep NCMF running smoothly and I want to shout out the members of the NCMF board: Beth (ex-officio), Laurel, John, Christopher, Jenny, Paula, and Bronson make this festival possible, along with amazing volunteers like Anne and all the hosts who took in an itinerant musician for a week or two (Dan & Katchen, Beth & Bill, Marti & John, Ruth & Randy, Monica & Sean, Michael & Kristina, Vern & Susan & Nash).

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The Hausmusiks would not have been possible without Chuck, and Marti and John, and the places that put on open rehearsals – Chococoa, Newburyport Art Association, Jabberwocky Books, Newburyport Public Library, and Immaculate Conception – provided a space for a unique feature of NCMF: allowing people to observe, unedited, how concerts are put together.

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There was also our first NCMF salon (accompanied by an extraordinary mid-summer lightning display) at Christopher and Lindsay’s house; Caroline at Joy Nest putting on a culinary display for the NCMF Cabaret; and our annual collaboration with Teddy Speck and Theater in the Open with shows at Maudslay State Park and Salisbury Public Library.

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I want to thank everyone who made a donation of any size, along with businesses like Chococoa and M. Cacao; banks like the Institution for Savings Charitable Foundation and Newburyport Bank Charitable Foundation; and the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the cultural councils of Merrimac, Newbury, and Newburyport. Every summer, every concert, requires a full-on team effort, and I think we’ve got the best team ever.

And hey, if you would like to join the NCMF team, we are always looking for volunteers for all sorts of stuff, not just in summer but throughout the year. Next year is our 25th Anniversary (whoa...) and now is the perfect moment to get involved. You can email info@NewburyportChamberMusic.org.

Thank you, thank you, everyone.  

‍David Yang, Artistic Director

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