April 7th, 2010 by Sarah
The Quartet at Bandelier National Monument
Hello everyone!
During our time in LA, whenever we would tell people we were headed to Santa Fe, they would invariably gasp and tell us how much we were going to love it! We were given restaurant recommendations (forewarned of our choice of red or green chile at every meal, although no one told us that we would also be given a ‘Christmas’ choice, which was my favorite), scenic roads, and galleries to explore, so we were quite excited to get to Santa Fe. Already on our drive in from the airport, the landscape was strikingly unique, and what I loved were all the adobe buildings so low that the land itself didn’t seem disturbed. After exploring the central plaza area, with all the galleries, shops, museums (visited the wonderful Georgia O’Keefe museum), and restaurants, I could see why we kept getting what we ended up calling, the “Santa Fe reaction.”
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Tags: Domestic Tours, New Mexico, Playing for Peace
Posted in Western States Tour | Comments (0)
April 2nd, 2010 by Sarah
Preparing for this trip to LA and Santa Fe seemed an entirely different matter in my mind than preparing for the trips overseas that we take in the fall and winter. And of course it is much easier to travel in one’s own country than to make the long trip to, for example, the Middle East. But as we flew across the country over the Rockies and the Grand Canyon and finally into LAX, I was struck by the vastly different scenery of the West, and I realized to my own surprise that I usually feel that way in a foreign country, like at the Wadi Rum in Jordan or while admiring the blooms of the sunny streets of Cyprus. Even as we flew into the tiny airport of Santa Fe, the plane dropping us off right at the door, the first thought I had was that it reminded me of the tiny airport we flew into in Dalat, Vietnam, in 2006.
Our first event in California was a short performance at an arts middle and high school, the Renaissance Arts Academy. After sharing with the students about Apple Hill and hearing about the inspirational mission behind the school, I came away with the feeling that just as my similar reactions had connected experiences we’ve had in both the U.S. and in faraway places, so too did it seem more than ever that what we experience through Apple Hill is not just about bringing people of conflict areas together or bringing people from hidden corners of the world to New Hampshire (which are amazing things in themselves); it is about participating in the way that great music, in our case chamber music, brings people together no matter where or who we are.
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Tags: Domestic Tours, Los Angeles, Playing for Peace
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January 11th, 2010 by Apple Hill
The Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music elected two new trustees at the annual meeting of the organization held on December 4th in the Hoffman Auditorium at the Apple Hill Center. Elected to the Board of Trustees were Charles Bingaman of Walpole and John Tonkinson of Keene.
Bingaman, an attorney by training, lived in the Chicago area most of his life where he was Executive Director of Illinois Institute of Continuing Law Education and was a leader in the Association of CLE Administrators. He also served on the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Judicial Performance Evaluations and served as a Hearing Board Chair for the Illinois Supreme Court Attorney Registrations and Commission. After his retirement and move to Walpole, he has worked as an organizational consultant for non-profits throughout the United States. Most recently he has established Leadership Walpole. He also served briefly as the interim Executive Director at Apple Hill during the summer of 2007 prior to the appointment of current Apple Hill Executive Director Leonard Matczynski.
Tonkinson, trained as a biochemist, earned his PhD at Columbia University from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. He was previously vice president of business development at HistRx and has also held positions at Hybridon, Schleicher & Schuell BioSciences, and most recently Protein Forest, Inc. Presently he works in new business development in the biotechnology field establishing start up companies, developing growth strategies and business models, and negotiating research and business partnerships with multinational companies. In addition to his professional background, Tonkinson served two terms as a member of the Keene Board of Education, including as chair of the board’s Finance Committee. Mr. Tonkinson lives in Keene with his wife and two children.
Officers of the Board of Trustees elected at the annual meeting were Jack Calhoun of Harrisville as President; Donall B. Healy of NYC and Stoddard, NH as Vice President; Emily Carr of Saunderstown, RI and Jaffrey, NH as Secretary, and Jan Weekes of Richmond as Treasurer. Alfrieda J. Englund was recognized for having served three years as president of the Board of Trustees, and Alfred H. Weeks, Esq was honored for having completed two terms on the Board.
Tags: Board of Trustees
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January 5th, 2010 by Sarah
The View at the Gartan Centre
After an icy four-hour drive from Donegal to Dublin, a surreal stop at the Shannon airport, a six-hour flight, and finally the drive back to Keene from Boston, we are home! In the last few years, going to Ireland has become synonymous with cozy warmth to me, both in terms of staying warm in the Gartan Centre when the weather outside is chilly and blustery and also the good cheer that seems to always be present at the AH Donegal workshop.
Last year, the string quartet gave a public concert at the Conwal Church in Letterkenny, and we loved the acoustics so much, Lenny had the idea of recording our concert there this year. Our first two days in Ireland were spent rehearsing and recording in the church, a beautiful space. Mike and Lenny were busy with the very important task of getting the equipment and sound in the mikes just right, so the days were quite long with rehearsing and testing the mikes. It is a good thing our first day ended with a wonderful dinner at the house of Leslie Brown, an adult Apple Hill participant of two summers.
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Tags: International Tours, Ireland, Ireland Tour, Playing for Peace
Posted in Ireland Tour, Tours | Comments (0)
November 30th, 2009 by Apple Hill
Tomorrow, December 1st, is the early application deadline for the 2010 Summer Chamber Music Workshop. If you haven’t already done so, apply now and your $75 application fee will be waived! Have questions? Call us at 603-847-3371 or email music@applehill.org.
> Apply Securely Online Now
More information:
About the Summer Chamber Music Workshop
2010 Dates & Fees
Frequently Asked Questions
Tags: Summer Workshop
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November 18th, 2009 by Sarah
View of the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque across the Bosphorous
After over twenty-four hours of travel, we’ve arrived safely at home and have been enjoying the sunny New Hampshire skies. The four days in Istanbul were a wonderful way to end our tour. I was reminded often of my first trip to Turkey with Apple Hill in 2006. I was so taken then with the city, I immediately picked up the book Constantinople by Edmondo di Amicis, and as we flew over Istanbul with the boats visible in the Bosphorous and the city coming into view, I was reminded of Amicis’ first view of Istanbul years ago:
At last came glimmering through the veil some whitish spots, then the vague outline of a great height, then the scattered and vivid glitter of window panes shining in the sun, and finally Galata and Pera in full light, a mountain of many colored houses, one above the other; a lofty city crowned with minarets, cupolas, and cypresses… a glow of colors, an exuberance of verdure, a perspective of lovely views, a grandeur, a delight, a grace to call forth the wildest exclamations.
Our present day view of the city is certainly very different, but Istanbul still carries with it the ability to captivate and fascinate.
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Tags: International Tours, Middle East Tour, Turkey
Posted in Education & Outreach, Middle East Tour, Tours | Comments (1)
November 13th, 2009 by Sarah
Lenny and the Apple Hill String Quartet with King's Academy workshop participants
Hello from Istanbul!
We left Kings Academy yesterday morning, very sad to say goodbye to Reem and our good friend Emer, a long-time Irish participant who came to Jordan to visit and spend the week with us. Our time in Jordan was full of so many amazing experiences, it is hard to know how to begin!
Some of you may remember from last year that King’s Academy is a private school started by King Abdullah in 2006 and modeled after Deerfield Academy, where the king went to high school. It is a beautiful, spacious campus with green lawns (sometimes a little hard to believe you are in Jordan) and uniformed students bustling about. This year the student population was over 400, double the size of last year. Reem, who has been at Apple Hill the past seven summers and was also a Playing for Peace scholarship student at Keene State College, has started a wonderful strings program that includes an orchestra (which she conducts!) as well as chamber music.
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Tags: Education & Outreach, International Tours, Jordan, Playing for Peace
Posted in Education & Outreach, Middle East Tour, Tours | Comments (1)
November 12th, 2009 by Meg
Apple Hill educational outreach includes tours from Turkey to California, but workshops also happen right here in New Hampshire. The Meeting School recently visited Apple Hill and wrote about their experience on The Meeting School Blog:
Thanks to board member Nancy Lloyd, on September 16 students had the opportunity to visit the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in Nelson, New Hampshire, and hear the Apple Hill String Quartet play a piece called the Third String Quartet by the Czech composer Viktor Ullmann.
The quartet was written in 1943 during the two years Ullmann spent in the Nazi concentration camp, Theresienstadt. Ullmann was a student of Arnold Schoenberg and was a prolific composer, writer, and critic before he was deported to the camp, although sadly, only thirteen musical works remain from that time. In October 1944, Ullmann was transferred to Auschwitz where he was killed in the gas chambers.
The quartet itself is written in two movements. The piece is only about 12 minutes in duration, but it encompasses a range of colors and moods, from lush romanticism to wildly intense characters to complete desolation.
TMS senior student Stephen reflects on his experience: “It was awesome - the four musicians were captivating and incredibly talented, and explained the piece in detail.” Another student, Charlotte (who is a cello player herself) liked the experience of meeting the musicians and watching them practice.
It was great to host the Meeting School students, and we look forward to future collaborations!
Tags: Education & Outreach, Monadnock Region, NH
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November 6th, 2009 by Sarah
The Apple Hill String Quartet performs with George Georgiou at the Pharos Arts Foundation, Nicosia
We’ve just arrived at the beautiful grounds and guesthouse of King’s Academy, so happy to be here and see former Playing for Peace participant and good friend Reem, music teacher and dean of freshman here at the school. We flew in this afternoon after a wonderful and very busy week in Cyprus.
We arrived in Cyprus late Thursday evening last week and were greeted at the airport by George, another good friend and clarinetist who was the Cypriot organizer of our workshop in Limassol this year. We were reminiscing on this trip about the summer in 2003 when both George and Reem first came to Apple Hill (which also happened to be my first summer as faculty). Our immediate impressions having just finished our time in Cyprus are so positive, and the week was full in every sense – full of a variety of musical experiences, full of old friends, full of many new friends, and full of good food and Cypriot hospitality, which seem to always be in abundance on our visits there.
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Tags: Cyprus, International Tours, Jordan
Posted in Cyprus, Middle East Tour, Tours | Comments (1)
November 5th, 2009 by Meg
Fall is always exciting at Apple Hill. September is relaxed, a great time to regain energy after a program-packed summer. But just as the trees along Apple Hill Road burst into color, our schedules fill with performances, preparations, and… plane rides.
Currently, Lenny and the Quartet are on tour in the Middle East - hosting workshops, conducting master classes, and performing in Cyprus, Jordan, and Turkey. (Coming soon: tour journals detailing their trip!) But their travels don’t end there. Not long after returning in late November, they will then head to the Republic of Ireland for the 2009 Apple Hill Ireland Workshop at the Gartan Centre.
As always, Apple Hill alumni, donors, and supporters are encouraged to participate in these events! Dust off your instrument and attend a workshop, or temper the recession blues with an Apple Hill String Quartet concert.
View the schedule now: APPLE HILL 2009-2010 TOUR SCHEDULE
Tags: International Tours, Monadnock Region
Posted in Concerts, Education & Outreach, Tours | Comments (3)
