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December Performances

Greetings from In Praise of Music!

We hope 2025 has been good to you so far. As we look toward the upcoming holiday season, we want to share information about the concerts and services that will feature our musicians. Please check each venue’s website (listed below) for tickets and additional details.

In Praise of Music, founded in 2011 as the renamed continuation of a long-standing, musician-run resource, has grown into a trusted connector between professional musicians and the communities that welcome them. Over the years, we’ve become the go-to for high-quality, thoughtfully curated performances that reflect the character and needs of each venue, while keeping everything accessible, welcoming, and rooted in shared community spirit.

Musicians and their Communities Celebrating Music

Please click here for a calendar view of performances.

Aug 17: Fenimore String Quartet

Cherry Valley Star Theatre: Artworks Concert Series

15th Anniversary Concert and Celebration

  • August 17, 2025, 7:30 pm, doors open at 7:00 pm
  • Star Theater, 44 Main St., Cherry Valley, NY
  • Admission: $25 for general public, $20 for Glimmerglass staff, free for Glimmerglass Orchestra Musicians, includes champagne reception. Click here to purchase tickets.

The Fenimore String Quartet

  • Ruotao Mao, violin I
  • Robyn Quinnett, violin II
  • Amy Tompkins, viola
  • Ruth Berry, cello
  • Jeremiah Blacklow, guest artist, viola

Join us for a radiant evening of music, memory, and celebration as the Fenimore String Quartet returns to Cherry Valley Artworks, the place where it all began in 2011. Over the past 15 summers, the Quartet has evolved into one of the summer season’s most beloved chamber ensembles—praised for its expressive depth, technical precision, and the unmistakable warm of long-standing musical relationships.

Every summer, members of the Fenimore String Quartet converge in beautiful upstate New York, where several perform with the Glimmerglass Festival Orchestra and all immerse themselves in chamber music whenever time allows. The Quartet blends the seasoned experience of world-class chamber musicians with the joy of personal connection, creating collaborations that are both artistically rich and deeply human. Their performances have become a cherished highlight of the Cherry Valley Artworks series and surrounding communities.

The program begins with Pannonia Boundless by Aleksandra Vrebalov, whom followers of Glimmerglass will recognize from her opera The Knock, commissioned by the Festival. Here, Vrebalov conjures the windswept spirit of the Pannonian Plain, evoking a sense of place, ancestry, and expansiveness—a perfect metaphor for the Quartet’s own journey through landscapes both musical and personal.

At the heart of the gala is Maurice Ravel’s String Quartet in F major, the very piece that launched the Quartet’s debut in 2011. Shimmering, rhythmic, and full of nuance, it stands as a signature of the group’s interpretive voice—a voice that gains new dimensions with each passing season.

The evening culminates with W.A. Mozart’s String Quintet in G minor, K. 516, featuring guest violist Jeremiah Blacklow. Inspired in part by Michael Haydn’s innovation of adding a second viola, Mozart elevated the form to unprecedented heights. A favorite instrument of Mozart’s in chamber settings, the viola’s inner voice opportunities and harmonic richness anchor a work now recognized as a landmark of 18th-century chamber music. Like his greatest operas, the quintet captures the art of conversation (not just in sound, but in action)through solo “arias,” spirited ensemble exchanges, flashes of wit, and deep introspection. Its emotional breadth and structural brilliance mark it as one of Mozart’s most iconic and influential achievements.

Program

Pannonia Boundless (1999)

Aleksandra Vrebalov (b. 1970)

String Quartet in F major (1903)
I. Allegro moderato – très doux
II. Assez vif – très rythmé
III. Très lent
IV. Vif et agité

Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)

Intermission

String Quintet in G minor, K. 516 (1787) for two violins, two violas, and cello
I. Allegro
II. Menuetto: Allegretto
III. Adagio ma non troppo
IV. Adagio – Allegro

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

For more information, please click on the links below:

Nov 23: Castalia String Quartet

The Castalia String Quartet is named for the Greek nymph Castalia—who, in myth, became a spring sacred to the Muses and a source of inspiration for artists. The Quartet embraces the idea that music can both reflect and renew the creative wellsprings from which it comes.

  • November 23, 2025, 3:00 pm
  • Phelps Mansion Museum, 191 Court Street, Binghamton, NY
  • Click here to purchase tickets

Musicians

Uli Speth, Debrah Devine, violins
Amy Tompkins, viola
Ruth Berry, cello

Program

String Quartet in C minor, op. 95 ‘Serioso’
I Allegro con brio
II Allegretto ma non troppo
III. Allegro assai vivace ma serioso
IV. Larghetto espressivo – Allegretto agitato – Allegro molto		 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
Pannonia Boundless (1999) Aleksandra Vrebalov (1970 – )
~ Intermission ~
Strum for string quartet (2006)
 Jessie Montgomery (1981 – )
String Quartet No 1 ‘Already it is Dusk’ op. 62 Henryk Górecki (1933 – 2010)
Diamonds from the Duke
I. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore
II. Take the ‘A’ Train
III. In a Sentimental Mood
IV. It Don’t Mean a Thing		 Duke Ellington (1899 – 1974), arr. Michael Braz

Mar 9: Castalia String Quartet

  • March 9, 2025, 3:00 pm
  • First United Methodist Church, 66 Chestnut St, Oneonta, NY 13820
  • Tickets: $25 general public, $10 student
Castalia String Quartet

Musicians

Uli Speth and Debrah Devine, violins
Amy Tompkins, viola
Ruth Berry, cello

The Castalia String Quartet is named for the Greek nymph Castalia, who evaded Apollo’s pursuits by diving into a spring. The spring became sacred to the Muses and was a source of poetic inspiration for all who drank from it. Like the Castalian spring’s mythical visitors, the Castalia String Quartet is dedicated to seeking the sources of inspiration that flow through every musical composition.

Program

String Quartet in C major op. 50 No. 3
I. Introduzione. Andante con moto – Allegro vivace
II. Andante con moto quasi Allegretto
III. Menuetto grazioso
IV. Allegro molto		Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
Intermission
Strum for String Quartet op. 3Jessie Montgomery (1981 – )
String Quartet in D major op. 76 No. 5
II. Largo. Cantabile e mesto		Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809)
Pannonia Boundless (2006)Aleksandra Vrebalov (1970 – )
Diamonds from the Duke for String QuartetDuke Ellington (1899 – 1974)
arr. Michael Braz

Jan 12: Ensemble Intermezzo

Ensemble Intermezzo

Sunday, January 12, 2025 @ 3:00PM 
Phelps Mansion Museum, 191 Court Street, Binghamton, NY 

Cathryn Jones, oboe
Ruth Berry, cello
John Colonna, piano 

Béla Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances
Yann Tiersen: Music fromAmélie 
Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 5 No. 2
Francis Poulenc: Sonata for Oboe and Piano
Traditional American: The Wayfaring Stranger
William Grant Still: Selections from Miniature
Sigmund Romberg: Selections from Maytime and The Student Prince   

Aug 4: Fenimore String Quartet

Cherry Valley Star Theatre: Artworks Concert Series

  • August 4, 2024, 7:30 pm
  • Star Theater, 44 Main St., Cherry Valley, NY
  • Admission: $20 general public, $15 Glimmerglass Orchesta/Staff

The Fenimore String Quartet

  • Ruotao Mao, violin I
  • Robyn Quinnett, violin II
  • Amy Tompkins, viola
  • Ruth Berry, cello
  • Anna Betka, piano

The Fenimore Quartet blends the experience of seasoned chamber players with the richness of long friendships to create a perfect backdrop for the exciting musical collaborations which are fast becoming an eagerly awaited summer treat at the Cherry Valley New York Artworks Concert Series and the surrounding area communities in beautiful upstate New York.

Program

String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10
Animé et très décidé
Assez vif et bien rythmé
Andantino, doucement expressif
Très modéré – En animant peu à peu – Très mouvementé et avec passion		 Claude Debussy (1862 –1918)
Intermission  

Piano Quintet , Op. 44
I. Allegro brillante
II. In modo d’una marcia. Un poco largamente
III. Scherzo: Molto vivace
IV. Allegro ma non troppo

 Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856)

For more information, please click on the links below:

2024 August Performances by Musicians in Otsego County

  • August 4: Fenimore String Quartet at the Star Theatre, 7:30 pm
  • August 11: Ensembles Large and Small at the Star Theatre, 7:30 pm
  • August 12: Florence High Chamber Music at Pierstown Grange, 7:30 pm

For more information, please click below: