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Taconic Music’s 10th Summer Festival
- The Guide's Grab Bag
- Jun 16
- 4 min read
Hi, Friends. This Sunday, June 21, is the Summer Solstice, our longest day and shortest night of the year. It’s also Father’s Day. If your dad, husband, grandfather, or father figure loves music, why not treat him to the kick-off concert for Taconic Music’s 10th annual Summer Festival this weekend? There’s nothing like sharing live music with friends and family; to me, these types of experiences are the greatest gifts.
This year’s Summer Festival includes three Chamber Music Saturdays, the first of which is the Opening Concert and Celebration on June 20 at 7:30pm at the Riley Center for the Arts. Attendees are invited to celebrate the 10th anniversary with cake and bubbly during intermission. It sounds like a wonderful way to honor both Father’s Day and the Summer Solstice!
The opening concert begins with Astor Piazzolla’s tango-inspired Estaciones Porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires) a suite of pieces written between 1965 and 1969 for the Argentine composer’s quintet of violin, piano, electric guitar, double bass and bandoneón. On Saturday it will be performed by Joana Genova and Heather Braun, violins; Ariel Rudiakov, viola; Hannah Holman, cello; Troy Rinker, double bass; and Drew Petersen, piano.
The evening’s second half features Genova, Braun, Rudiakov, Holman, and Petersen in Vittorio Giannini’s Quintet for Piano and Strings. Written in 1931 and considered one of the Philadelphia-born, Milan-trained composer’s most compelling works, it is a passionate ending to the opening concert and fitting welcome to the rest of the 10th season.
Taconic Music 10th Summer Festival features classical, jazz, and a pops orchestra
Taconic Music will celebrate its 10th summer season with a six-concert series spanning classical and contemporary chamber music to jazz, pops, and more. The 2026 Summer Festival, which will take place from June 15–July 13, is anchored by three Chamber Music Saturdays (June 20, 27, and July 11) at the Riley Center for the Arts at Burr and Burton Academy and a Pops Concert with full orchestra at Southern Vermont Arts Center (July 4). Two Monday-evening Young Artists Concerts (June 29 and July 13) featuring students from Taconic’s full-scholarship Chamber Music Intensive, a benefit concert at Dionondehowa in Shushan, New York, and midweek and weekend performances around the region round out the offerings.
Comments co-Artistic Director Joana Genova, “This season, the programming is a clear snapshot of our mission and motto, ‘Where music meets life.’ There are classical touchstones, jazz-influenced music, and a symphony orchestra playing music that pretty much everybody loves.” Co-Artistic Director Ariel Rudiakov adds, “I’m really looking forward to conducting the Taconic Pops Orchestra. Our last pops concert sold out well in advance, and with good reason. We’re bringing back an all-star lineup of musicians from near and far, and our friend Maxine Linehan will be the featured guest singer. It promises to be a truly fun evening with tunes from Sousa, Bernstein, and Gershwin, to Star Wars, James Bond, hits from Broadway, and so much more.”
Avery Fisher Career Grant winner Drew Petersen returns as piano faculty and will perform in the festival’s June 20 concert. Fellow piano faculty Willis Delony, who has wowed local audiences with his Jazz in the Barn performances, will bring Louisiana jazz to the Riley stage with his trio on June 27, where flutist Susanna Loewy will also be a featured guest. And the acclaimed Indianapolis Quartet will be showcased on July 11. In addition to Petersen, Delony, violinist Genova and conductor/violist Rudiakov, veteran faculty include Heather Braun (violin), Hannah Holman and Tom Landchoot (cello). Taconic also welcomes new piano faculty Young Woong Cho.
All Chamber and Young Artists concerts will again be both live in Manchester and livestreamed on Taconic’s YouTube channel. For those able to attend in person, Chamber Music Saturdays are $30 for adults, free for students and kids, while Young Artists concerts have a suggested donation of $15 for adults, and free for students and children. Tickets for the Pops concert range from $20 to $85, and reservations are highly recommended. Rudiakov and Genova both note, “As an organization with deep roots in the area, we are always expanding both our year-round offerings and our audience reach. But the Summer Festival has a special place in our hearts where we can tie together our joy in bringing live music to the community, pride in providing employment, and live performance opportunities for the musicians who are at the core of our Festival, and hope and inspiration in helping train the next generation of chamber music performers.”
For more information about Taconic Music’s summer festival and year-round programs, visit here.
Taconic Music’s 10th Summer Festival concerts
THIS SATURDAY, June 20: Opening Concert and Celebration
June 27: Musical Crossovers
June 28: Dionondehowa Benefit Concert
June 29: Young Artists Concert I
July 4: Taconic Pops Orchestra!
July 11: Vibrant Masterpieces
July 13: Young Artists Concert II
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