PS21
June 2-September 30
The musical component of multi-arts PS21 festival in Chatham is chock full of engaging acts, to match the content of the other artistic disciplines it encompasses. New York’s NEXT Festival of Emerging Artists presents world premieres by Yvette Young, Leilehua Lanzilotti, Che Buford, Peter Askim, and Matthew Evan Taylor (June 2) and the lineup also boasts the Resistance Revival Chorus (June 17), Plena Libre (July 2), La Banda Morisca (July 14), and Susie Ibarra (July 15). The “House Blend” chamber music mini-series has Miranda Cuckson, Eric Huebner, and Adrian Sandi (July 16), the Ulysses Quartet for two different programs (August 5), and Gerard Grisey, Angelica Negron, Johann Beyer, and Annea Lockwood (August 25).
Aston Magna
June 22-July 22
The Great Barrington, Massachusetts, music series Aston Magna is celebrating its 50th year in 2023. For the milestone summer, the celebration opens with “The Devil’s in the Tales” with Alessandro Scarlatti’s “Humanitá e Lucifero” and Igor Stravinsky’s “L’Histoire du Soldat” (June 22 and 24) and continues with “Robert Levin’s Mozart” with Robert Levin on fortepiano and Daniel Stepner on violin (June 29 and July 1), “The Art of Dominique Labelle” with music of Monteverdi, Purcell, Vivaldi, Handel, and Rossi sung by soprano Dominique Labelle with ensemble (July 6 and 8), and “Baroque Celebration I” with selections by Corelli, Vivaldi, Rosenmuller, and Bach (July 13 and 15) before closing with “Baroque Celebration II” featuring the works of Bach, Villa Lobos, and Purcell (July 20-22).
Tanglewood
June 23-August 27
The world-famous festival at the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the Berkshires kicks off with the Steve Miller Band and Bruce Hornsby (June 23) and unfurls with the Emerson String Quartet and Emanuel Ax (June 28); Elvis Costello plus Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets (July 1); Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (July 2); a “Ragtime” symphonic concert (July 8); Andris Nelsons conducting Brahms, Habibi, and Montgomery with soprano Julia Bullock and violinist Hilary Hahn (July 9), Ravel, Stravinsky, and Debussy (July 10), and Mozart’s “Cosi fan tutte” (July 15); Pamela Z (July 9); Train (August 24); “Star Wars: The Story in Music” (August 27); and more. (Festival staple James Taylor on July 3 and 4 is sold out.)
Maverick Concerts
June 24-September 10
America’s oldest continuous summer chamber music (and more) festival is back, filling its historic hand-built hall outside Woodstock with exceptional music, just as it has since 1916. The 2023 season brings Brahams Requiem (June 24-25), the Pablo Ziegler Jazz Tango Trio (July 1), the Miro Quartet (July 9), Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams (July 15), the Escher String Quartet (July 16), Jeremy Bar-Illan and his Dragonfly 13 R&B Ensemble (July 21), the Danish String Quartet (July 30), Arturo O’Farrill (August 12), the Dali Quaret (August 12-13), the Bill Charlap Trio (September 2), Happy Traum and Cindy Cashdollar (September 9), among others.
Hudson Valley Jazz Festival
August 9-13
The name of this ambitious event is literal: The 14-years-and-running jazz summit Hudson Valley takes place at various venues throughout the Hudson Valley. Check the website for newly added artists locations, but at press time the program finds such hot-and-cool players as the Sean Crimmins Heart Stings Band (August 9), the Bill Pernice Trio (August 10), Judi Silvano and Friends (August 11), the Soul Jazz Collective with Steve Raleigh (August 11), David Amram (August 12), the Nancy Tierney Trio (August 12), Jeff Ciampa with Chris Pasin (August 12), Billy Stein, Joe Giardello, and Harvey Sorgen (August 13), Bob Shaut and Sax Life (August 13), the Analog Jazz Orchestra (August 13), and more.
Caramoor
Through August 18
Held at the Caramoor Center for Music and Arts on the grounds of the historic Rosen family estate in Katonah, is the Caramoor Summer Season. A schedule standout is Brooklyn-based singer and composer Arooj Aftab, the first Pakistani female Grammy winner, who will perform with jazz pianist Vijay Iyer and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily (July 29). Other highlights include Audra McDonald on opening night (June 17), Brandy Clark (June 24), Francesca Caccini’s opera “Alcina” (June 25), DakhaBrakha coming (July14), Oumou Sangare (July 15), the Orchestra of Saint Luke’s with Yue Bao conducting (July 16), Cecile McLorin Salvant (July 22), Samara Joy (August 4), Mary Chapin Carpenter (August 5), and Alisa Weilerstein (8/6).
This article appears in June 2023.
