Salon Series With The Hamptons Festival of Music

The Hamptons Festival of Music (TH·FM) is hosting a Summer Salon Series, three collaborative events in all, taking place this April and August in advance of the TH·FM Festival.

These “music and art in concert” events feature creative collaborations with two distinguished, well-established entities in the Hamptons cultural arts community: LongHouse Reserve and the Hamptons International Film Festival.

The series kicked off on Saturday, April 15, at LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton which was the site of a cocktail reception and benefit event to celebrate the partnership of LongHouse and The Hamptons Festival of Music (TH·FM). Guests had the opportunity to meet TH·FM’s artistic director, Maestro Michael Palmer, hear details of the 2023 season from both arts organizations and experience a performance of Beethoven’s Spring Sonata in the LongHouse Pavilion by pianist Brandt Fredriksen and violinist Nicolas Danielson, two of TH·FM’s chamber players.

TH·FM has other partnerships scheduled for this summer. On Monday, August 14, in partnership with the Hamptons International Film Festival, TH·FM will present a screening of Charlie Chaplin’s classic silent film “A Dog’s Life,” with a live film score by Chaplin (arr. Brock) performed live by TH·FM Salon Orchestra. The film will begin at sundown at Herrick Park in East Hampton Village. In this free concert, the community, family, and friends will have the opportunity to enjoy a unique experience of “Music & Film ... in Concert.”

On August 19, TH·FM will return to LongHouse Reserve for a final salon performance at 5 p.m., “The Seasons @ LongHouse,” in an immersive concert experience focused on Astor Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.” The concert presents Piazzolla’s tango-inspired, virtuosic music in the unique setting of the glassed-in lower level of the LongHouse Pavilion, featuring violin soloist Annie Chalex-Boyle with Maestro Palmer conducting the TH·FM Salon Orchestra, performed against the backdrop of the natural beauty and art on the LongHouse Reserve.

This Salon Series is witness to TH·FM’s deep engagement with and commitment to the East End community and serves as an attractive “appetizer” leading up to the main course in early September when The Hamptons Festival of Music returns for its second mainstage season of three orchestral concerts featuring The New American Sinfonietta, a 41-member orchestra made up of top-level musicians and principal players with major North American orchestras led by Palmer.

Michael Palmer began his professional career in music at age 21 when he became assistant conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 1967, under its legendary music director Robert Shaw, and was later named associate conductor. In that capacity, he founded and became the first director of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra in 1974. In 1975 he was one of the first young American conductors selected as an EXXON/Arts Endowment Conductor by the National Endowment for the Arts.

He left the ASO in 1977 to become music director of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra (1977-1990), followed by the posts of music director of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra (1989-1997) and the American Sinfonietta (1991-2002), with whom he toured Europe for 10 consecutive seasons. Since 1993 he served as founder and artistic director of the Bellingham Festival of Music in Washington and, as of 2023, is conductor laureate.

Palmer also was guest conductor for three seasons for the Houston Symphony Orchestra (1978-1981) and co-principal guest conductor of the Denver Symphony Orchestra (1979-1982) and has made international appearances as a conductor in Canada, Europe, and China. He has also held academic conducting posts as director of orchestras for Wichita State University (1999-2004) and distinguished professor of orchestral studies at Georgia State University (2004-2023).

The Hamptons Festival of Music (TH·FM) is the brainchild of Palmer, who recognized the artistic gravitational pull of the East End, which is deeply rooted in the works of many legendary artists. As he did in Bellingham, Washington, he set in motion plans to create a similar yet unique classical music and festival experience, specifically serving the local, year-round residents in East Hampton and the surrounding area.

Following the success of its inaugural pilot season in 2022, TH·FM returns to the East End this year to provide concertgoers the opportunity to experience full orchestral concerts in the intimate performance space at LTV Studio 3. Festival performances will present audiences with unforgettable experiences of live performances of some of the greatest classical masterworks performed by internationally recognized guest artists with The New American Sinfonietta, the resident orchestra of TH·FM. This orchestra is made up of top orchestral musicians from across the US, Canada and abroad, including many who hold principal positions with leading orchestras and ensembles.

For more details, visit thehamptonsfestivalofmusic.com.