It’s spring in the Catskills, which means the music is about to return to the woods. And not just any music—world-class chamber music, jazz improvisations, toy piano virtuosos, and Appalachian reimaginings—all in the rustic acoustical marvel that is the Maverick Concert Hall in Woodstock.
Nestled under the pines on Maverick Road, this hand-hewn, barnlike temple to sound has been hosting concerts since 1916. If the building creaks a little, that’s just Hervey White’s spirit settling into his seat. Maverick Concerts returns June 28 through September 14 with a 2025 season that strikes a fine balance between the reverent and the raucous, mixing chamber staples with new commissions, rising stars with seasoned masters, and jazz legends with Himalayan singing bowls.
“I couldn’t be more excited about the diverse range of performances we’ve put together for Maverick’s 2025 season,” says Music Director Alexander Platt, now in his 22nd season. “This season is about honoring the past while embracing new, bold musical voices, and I can’t wait to share it all with our community.”
Maverick’s Sundays belong, as ever, to the Chamber Music Festival, opening June 29 with Trio Celeste performing Mendelssohn, Dvořák, and new work by Hudson Valley composer Gilda Lyons. From there, it’s a parade of excellence: the Manhattan Chamber Players tackling Mozart and Valerie Coleman (July 6); the Miró Quartet revisiting Ginastera (July 13); the Pacifica Quartet bringing back Bartók (July 20); the Horszowski Trio celebrating Ravel and Russell Platt (July 27); and many more. The season finale on September 14 features pianist Magdalena Baczewska and the Cassatt String Quartet premiering Joan Tower’s latest string quartet, alongside Schumann’s Piano Quintet.
The Saturday night series broadens the spectrum. It kicks off June 28 with a powerhouse roots/blues/soul lineup of Cindy Cashdollar, Joan Osborne, and Rachael Yamagata. Jazz pianist Connie Han makes her Maverick debut July 5, followed by tributes, reimaginings, and freewheeling explorations: Elizabeth Mitchell reinterprets Joan Baez (July 12), the Fred Hersch Trio returns (July 27), Joel Harrison’s Free Country Quintet mashes up mountain music and modal jazz (August 9), and sitar meets tabla meets bansuri flute with Steve Gorn and friends (August 16).
Family Saturdays, Maverick’s gift to the young and curious, serve up free, 45-minute shows every week at 11am, starting with Trio Celeste (June 28) and ending with a shadow puppet Peter and the Wolf (August 9). In between: jazz primer with Connie Han, singing bowls with Peter Blum, and the world’s premier toy piano player, Margaret Leng Tan.
There’s something sacred about hearing a Ravel quartet played live, surrounded by pine trees and the occasional woodpecker solo. Maverick Concerts offers that rarest of things in today’s cultural landscape: a deep-rooted, open-hearted, community-forward music series that never stops evolving.
