The Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival was founded in 2001 by Christopher Rex, a vacationer on Amelia Island and principal cellist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Now entering its 24th season, the festival has developed into one of the most prestigious events of its kind in the nation. Grants from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, National Endowment for the Arts, generous contributions from sponsors and donors, and a dedicated corps of hard-working volunteers help support the festival.
William Ranson joined the festival team as Artistic Director after the passing of Rex in 2022, carrying on the tradition of bringing the finest world-class musicians to Northeast Florida. “The festival has enjoyed a glorious past, and its future is even more exciting,” says Ransom. “This season brings lots of variety, with great pianists, string quartets, incredible musicians, good friends, and interesting programs. Our concerts are uniquely curated, intended for the pure delight of our audiences.”
Pianist, artistic director, master teacher, editor, and judge for international competitions, Ransom regularly appears in recital, as a soloist with orchestras and as a chamber musician in Eastern and Western Europe, Japan, Korea, South America, Mexico, Canada, and throughout the United States. He has performed in New York’s Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Town Hall, and Merkin Hall; in Orchestra Halls in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Atlanta; at the National Gallery in Washington D.C.; and in Philadelphia, Boston, Miami, and Dallas.
AICMF’S 24TH SEASON DEDICATED TO FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JOSEPH A. MARASCO
This year, the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival is dedicating its 24th season to their former Executive Director, Dr. Joseph A. Marasco, who passed away in July of this year. The new Executive Director, Robyn Lamp, is dedicated to moving the festival forward into the future, as Rex and Marasco would have wanted. “Chris’s and Joe’s passion and enthusiasm for sharing the music they loved helped to ensure the quality and the depth of excellence that our audiences – as well as those who have performed here – expected,” says Lamp. “We remain committed and inspired by the music!”
Lamp is a powerful and celebrated Florida-based performer. She has had recent performances with Boston Lyric Opera, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Sarasota Opera, Opera Tampa, Winter Opera St. Louis, Master Chorale of South Florida, Palm Beach Symphony, and others. She is also a member of the GRAMMY-nominated vocal ensemble, Seraphic Fire. “I’m thrilled to be working with the festival,” says Lamp.
The array of internationally acclaimed artists who have headlined the festival over the years is impressive, including Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Hilary Hahn, Pinchas Zukerman, Joshua Bell, Chick Corea, Bela Fleck, Chris Thile, Emanuel Ax, Valentina Lisitsa, and Wynton Marsalis. The festival’s list of star-studded headliners also include GRAMMY-winning violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, bluegrass singer Ricky Skaggs, and soprano Renée Fleming. The acclaimed Dover Quartet was named the organization’s first quartet-in-residence.
“AN APPALACHIAN CHRISTMAS” WITH BLUEGRASS GREAT MARK O’CONNOR AT WALKER’S LANDING
The 24th season kicks off on December 15 with Mark O’Connor’s An Appalachian Christmas featuring Maggie O’Connor, held at Walker’s Landing at 5 p.m. GRAMMY-winning composer and fiddler O’Connor has created several arrangements of Christmas classics and fashions a wondrous mixture of both instrumental and vocal music in bluegrass and other American music genres. Concertgoers are treated to fresh takes on traditional songs with a few original compositions included.
“Appalachia is the original melting pot of our country, featuring more diverse styles of American music than just about anywhere,” says O’Connor. Mark and Maggie have performed An Appalachian Christmas together as husband and wife for nearly 10 years. An additional An Appalachian Christmas performance will be held on December 16 at 7 p.m., also at Walker’s Landing.
GUITARIST SHARON ISBIN AT AMELIA PLANTATION CHAPEL
On January 19 at 5 p.m., the Festival presents Sharon Isbin, guitar, with the Pacifica String Quartet. Hailed as “the pre-eminent guitarist of our time,” multiple GRAMMY Award-winner Sharon Isbin was named Musical America Worldwide’s Instrumentalist of the Year, the first guitarist in their 59 year award history. She joins forces with one of the most exciting String Quartets active today, the Pacifica, themselves winners of multiple GRAMMYs.
Sharing the stage with Simin Ganatra, violin, Austin Hartman, violin, Mark Holloway, viola, and Brandon Vamos, cello, the program features Vivaldi’s Concerto in D Major for Guitar and Strings, RV 93, along with works by Turina, Dvořák, Boccherini, and more. The concert will be held at Amelia Plantation Chapel.
VIOLINIST ROBERT MCDUFFIE AND THE TAKACS QUARTET
Robert McDuffie, violinist, a festival favorite, will perform on January 27 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church at 7 p.m. While appearing as soloist with renowned orchestras on five continents, McDuffie has also shared the stage with eclectic musicians such as R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills and Rolling Stones pianist Chuck Leavell. Philip Glass dedicated his Violin Concerto No. 2, The American Four Seasons to Mr. McDuffie, and he has performed it more than 100 times around the world.
In celebration of Mozart’s 269th birthday this year, McDuffie will perform a Mozart sonata accompanied by William Ransom, piano. They’ll also play the Tartini Devil’s Trill Sonata, Brahms great G Major Sonata, and a collection of showpieces during the second half of the program.
On February 11 at 7 p.m. at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, the Takács Quartet takes center stage as they celebrate their 50th anniversary season in 2024/2025. The quartet isa critically acclaimed around the world for their virtuosic performances, ingenious programming, and unsurpassed recordings. Featuring Edward Dusinberre and Harumi Rhodes, violins, Richard O’Neill, viola, and András Fejér, cello, their AICMF performance includes Beethoven’s String Quartet in F Major, Op. 59, No. 1, along with works by Haydn and Hough.
PIANIST JEREMY DENK AT THE RITZ-CARLTON, AMELIA ISLAND
The Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival welcomes acclaimed pianist Jeremy Denk on February 23 at 5 p.m. at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. His stunning performance features 11 works, including Robert Schumann’s Fantasie in C, Op. 17 and Clara Schumann’s Romance No. 1, Op. 22. Considered one of America’s foremost pianists, Denk is winner of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and the Avery Fisher Prize. Recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Denk returns frequently to Carnegie Hall and in recent seasons has appeared with the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Cleveland Orchestra.
Hear melodies and stories woven into an exceptional musical experience on February 28 by the brothers Jens and Uwe Kruger, alongside their musical partner, Joel Landsberg. With a unique blend of bluegrass, folk, and classical influences, every note conveys a feeling, each melody holds a memory. Their songs speak of love, loss, and hope, touching the soul, and uniting listeners in a shared experience. The Kruger Brothers have received numerous awards and accolades for their exceptional talent and innovative approach to music. Their artistry has been recognized worldwide, captivating audiences with both their technical prowess and emotional depth. Their concert will be held at Walkers Landing at 7 p.m.
For the young and the young at heart, the festival’s annual Family Concert, Musical Animals, will delight your imagination and fill your heart with joy! Featuring the humorous musical suite Carnival of the Animals and The Pied Piper of Hamelin, the concert will be performed by pianists Julie Coucheron and William Ransom, violist Yinzi Kong, and narrated by Amelia Island’s favorite actor, Frank O’Donnell. The performance will be held at Fernandina Beach Middle School at 3 p.m. Tickets are free, but reservations are necessary.
DAVID & JULIE COUCHERON ANDTHE AMERICAN STRING QUARTET
Celebrate the arrival of spring with two monumental works in this unique program: Beethoven’s glorious Spring Sonata and Stravinsky’s earth-shaking Rite of Spring with festival favorites David, violin, and Julie, piano, Coucheron, and Elizabeth Pridgen, pianist. An active recording artist, David’s recordings with sister and pianist Julie Coucheron include David and Julie (Naxos/Mudi) and Debut (Naxos). He is also the featured soloist on the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s recording of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, which was released on ASO Media.
Julie enjoys a various and wide range of styles and repertoire emerging from her highly trained classical background to the more contemporary and popular music. Recent collaborations include performances with artists such as the Steve Miller Band and Elton John. Elizabeth Pridgen was for many years a Distinguished Artist and Piano Chair at the McDuffie Center for Strings and held the G. Leslie Fabian Piano Chair at the Townsend School of Music at Mercer University. She received her Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School, where she studied with Joseph Kalichstein, and she earned her bachelor’s degree at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. The Rites of Spring concert will be held on April 27 at 5 p.m. at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.
The festival’s 24th season comes to an exciting end with its annual Christopher Rex String Seminar, bringing together two rising star young quartets, the AICMF’s Beth Newdome Fellows and the distinguished American String Quartet, for a week of coaching, community outreach activities, and public concerts. This year’s “Beethoven & Beer” concert at Mocama Beer Company on June 11 will feature the American String Quartet, an ensemble recognized as one of the world’s finest quartets.
Featuring Peter Winograd and Laurie Carney, violins, Matthias Buchholz, viola, and Wolfram Koessel, cello, the Quartet celebrated its 45th anniversary in 2019 and has performed in all fifty states and appeared in the most important concert halls worldwide. The group’s presentations of the complete quartets of Beethoven, Schubert, Schoenberg, Bartók, and Mozart have won widespread critical acclaim, and their MusicMasters Complete Mozart String Quartets, performed on a matched quartet set of instruments by Stradivarius, are widely considered to have set the standard for this repertoire.
The Festival Finale will feature both the American String Quartet with the Beth Newdome Fellows on June 14 at 3 p.m. at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, wrapping up six months of world-class chamber music artists!
MUSIC EDUCATION AND MASTERCLASSES
Music education for concert audiences, students, and aspiring young musicians has been a core mission of the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival since its founding, which includes the Beth Newdome Fellowship, Masterclasses, and the Christopher Rex String Seminar. This year, the festival is hosting three Masterclasses at Jacksonville University, which include GRAMMY Award-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin on January 18, Takács Quartet Masterclass on February 10, and Jeremy Denk Masterclass on February 24. These masterclasses are free and open to the public, and they are a great way for audience members to deepen their understanding of classical music and open their ears to detailed sounds in the music. For more information, visit www.aicmf.org/programs.
“Education and outreach are an important part of our mission,” says Ransom. “This season promises an exceptional lineup of the best musical talent from around the world. Personally, I look forward to engaging with the Amelia Island community and continuing to inspire a whole new generation of festival fans!”
For more information and concert tickets, or to learn more about becoming a volunteer or supporter, visit the website at www.aicmf.org or call (904) 261-1779. Follow the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival on Facebook and Instagram. The office is located at 1405 Park Avenue, Suite 101, in Fernandina Beach.