2026 FESTIVAL
Chamber Music
Tuesdays at 7pm
PSU Silver Center
Special Event
Orchestra
Thursdays at 7pm
PSU Silver Center
Music In the Mountains
July 4 – Waterville Valley
July 8 – Plymouth Town Hall
July 8 – Owl’s Nest Resort
July 9 – Local Foods Plymouth
July 11 – Cafe Monte Alto
July 12 – Hermit Woods Winery
July 17 – West Rattlesnake Mountain
July 18 – Cafe Monte Alto
July 25 – Cafe Monte Alto
July 26 – Starr King Fellowship
July 27 – Taylor Community Laconia
Free & Open to the Public
In celebration of our nation’s 250th Anniversary, we are highlighting US composers throughout this summer’s Festival. US composers are denoted by an asterisk (*) next to their name.
Waterville Valley Fourth of July Parade & Family Carnival
July 4, 2026 | 11 AM & 1 PM
Waterville Valley, NH
Free & Open to the Public (Donations Greatly Appreciated)
Celebrate the Fourth of July with NHMF in beautiful Waterville Valley in the annual 4th of July Parade! The fun doesn’t stop there – after the parade, NHMF will take the stage at the Family Carnival. Bring the whole family for a day of music, festivities, and Fourth of July fun in the heart of the White Mountains!
NHMF Brass Quintet
Bob Marlatt, horn
Grace O’Connell, trumpet
Wiff Rudd, trumpet
David Loucky, trombone
Don Robinson, bass trombone
7:00 pm
PSU Silver Center For The Arts – Plymouth, NH
From the golden splendor of Renaissance Venice to the wit and warmth of the 20th century, this program takes audiences on a grand tour through four centuries of chamber music. Hear the majestic brass of Giovanni Gabrieli and the intimate vocal songs of William Byrd transformed for instruments, the elegant classicism of Johann Christian Bach, and the glittering, Paris-inflected neoclassicism of Alexandre Tansman’s exuberant Septet – with Schumann’s passionate Adagio and Allegro and Böhme’s shimmering St. Petersburg nocturne along the way. It’s a celebration of just how many moods and worlds chamber music can inhabit, all in one evening.
PROGRAM
Gabrieli, Giovanni – Canzona per sonare No. 2
Byrd, William – A Byrd Collection
Grace O’Connell, trumpet; Wiff Rudd, trumpet; David Loucky, trombone;
Donald Robinson, trombone
Bach, Johann Christian – Quartet in C major, Op. 19, No. 1
Valerie Watts, flute; Shawn Welk, oboe; Bernard Di Gregorio, viola;
Tido Janssen, cello
Intermission
Böhme, Oskar – Soirée de St. Petersburg, Op. 23
Wiff Rudd, trumpet; Erin Brooker-Miller, harp
Schumann, Robert – Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70
Tido Janssen, cello; Stacy Kwak, piano
Tansman, Alexandre – Septet (1932)
Valerie Watts, flute; Shawn Welk, oboe; Elizandro Garcia-Montoya, clarinet; Nicolasa Kuster, bassoon; Bernard Di Gregorio, viola; Walter Gray, cello
Sharing the Spirit of America – America 250
July 8, 2026 | Music begins at 5:40 PM, Reading starts at 6:00 PM
Plymouth Town Hall, 6 Post Office Square, Plymouth, NH
Free & Open to the Public
100+ Communities in all 50 states and the US territories are gathering for local readings of the Declaration of Independence – at the same time, on the same day in commemoration of the first public reading of the Declaration on July 8, 1775. Organized nationally by America 250 Hawaii and locally by Plymouth Historical Society, NHMF musicians will provide fife & drum performances before and after the reading. Music will begin at 5:45pm.
Valerie Watts, fife
Richard Kelly, drum
Owl’s Nest Resort
July 8, 2026 | 7:30 PM
Outdoor Entertainment Stage
40 Clubhouse Lane, Thornton, NH 03285
Free & Open to the Public (Donations Greatly Appreciated)
Experience a perfect summer evening of classical music set against stunning mountain views at Owl’s Nest Resort. NHMF’s brass quintet will bring fanfare to the resort’s Outdoor Entertainment Stage. Bring a chair, gather your friends and family, and enjoy an evening of brass harmonies in the summer mountain air.
NHMF Brass Quintet
Bob Marlatt, horn
Grace O’Connell, trumpet
Wiff Rudd, trumpet
David Loucky, trombone
Don Robinson, bass trombone
Local Foods Plymouth
July 9, 2026 | 3:30 PM
14 Fairgrounds Rd, Plymouth, NH
Free & Open to the Public (Donations Greatly Appreciated)
Join the New Hampshire Music Festival and PAREI for an afternoon of music, community, and fresh local flavor to celebrate our love of music and Local Foods Plymouth’s 20th anniversary. From 3:30-4:30pm, an NHMF Brass Quintet will perform a Music in the Mountains concert. Please bring a blanket or chairs to sit and listen, and join us for celebratory anniversary cake and drinks during the concert.
Have an old clarinet or trumpet sitting in your closet? At this event, NHMF will also be accepting used band or orchestral instruments (no pianos) to support our Lonely Instruments in Need of Kids (L.I.N.K.) which matches instruments with local kids who want to learn to play.
We look forward to seeing you at this special event to listen to some incredible music, drop off your gently used instruments, pick up your virtual market order, and celebrate together!
NHMF Brass Quintet
Bob Marlatt, horn
Grace O’Connell, trumpet
Wiff Rudd, trumpet
David Loucky, trombone
Don Robinson, bass trombone
ORCHESTRA – Illuminations
July 9, 2026
7:00 pm
PSU Silver Center For The Arts – Plymouth, NH
American voices and luminous reflections open the season in radiant style. Aaron Copland’s beloved Appalachian Spring evokes wide-open landscapes and quiet hope, while Max Richter’s On the Nature of Daylight offers aching, meditative beauty. The evening culminates in Elaine Hagenberg’s soaring Illuminare, a breathtaking choral journey from darkness into light featuring the NHMF/Pemi Festival Chorus.
ARTISTS
Alice Hallstrom, Concertmaster
William Gunn, Guest Choral Conductor
PROGRAM
Diamond, David* – Rounds for String Orchestra
Copland, Aaron* – Appalachian Spring Suite
Intermission
Richter, Max – On the Nature of Daylight
Hagenberg, Elaine* – Illuminare
featuring the NHMF/Pemi Festival Chorus
Alice Hallstrom
Guest Concertmaster
William Gunn
Guest Choral Conductor
This concert is made possible through a partnership with the Pemigewasset Choral Society and support from Heart & Hands Thrift Shop
Cafe Monte Alto
July 11, 2026 | 10 AM
231 Main St, Plymouth, NH
Free & Open to the Public (Donations Greatly Appreciated)
Start your Saturday with live music and fresh coffee at Café Monte Alto. Relax, sip on fresh coffee, and enjoy a beautiful morning of music featuring an NHMF bassoon duo!
Nicolasa Kuster, bassoon
Stephanie Patterson, bassoon
Hermit Woods Winery
July 12, 2026 | 6 PM
72 Main Street, Meredith, NH
Free & Open to the Public (Donations Greatly Appreciated)
Join four New Hampshire Music Festival musicians for an evening of wine & music at Hermit Woods Winery as part of NHMF’s free Music in the Mountains series. The program will open with Brahms’ lyrical Sonata No. 1 in G Major and follow with Shostakovich’s haunting and rhythmical Piano Trio No. 2.
This event is free to attend, however, seat reservations and a $10 deposit (+$2.45 service fee if reserving online, otherwise call Hermit Woods Winery at 603-253-7968) that will be credited toward a food/beverage order are required. Space is limited to 60 individuals. Please click link below to reserve your seat.
Lidija Peno-Kelly, violin
Tido Janssen, cello
Elizabeth Higgins, piano
Stacy Kwak, piano
July 14, 2026 – Paris in the Air
7:00 pm
PSU Silver Center For The Arts – Plymouth, NH
Wit, elegance, and the irresistible rhythms of the Jazz Age converge in this sparkling program with a distinctly Parisian spirit. Martinů’s La Revue de Cuisine, a zany ballet whose plot centers on the romantic entanglements of kitchen utensils come to life, brims with tangos and Charlestons drawn straight from the Paris of the 1920s, while the rediscovered voice of Marie Clémence de Grandval, a celebrated figure in 19th-century French salon culture, adds a lush and sophisticated counterweight. The evening concludes with the work Mozart himself called “the best work I have ever written” – his ravishing Quintet for Piano and Winds – a masterpiece of conversational elegance that no concert hall can contain.
PROGRAM
Martinů, Bohuslav – La Revue de Cuisine, H161
Elizandro Garcia-Montoya, clarinet; Nicolasa Kuster, bassoon; Wiff Rudd, trumpet; Alana Carithers, violin; Tido Janssen, cello; Leslie Amper, piano
De Grandval, Marie Clemence – Grand Trio for Piano, Oboe, and Bassoon
Shawn Welk, oboe; Nicolasa Kuster, bassoon; Stacy Kwak, piano
Intermission
Marx, Bill* – Friends
Walter Gray, cello; Rachel Ferris, harp
Mozart, W.A. – Quintet in E-flat for Piano and Winds, K. 452
Andrea Hixon, oboe; Elizandro Garcia-Montoya, clarinet; Stephanie Patterson, bassoon; Scott Brubaker, horn; Leslie Amper, piano
ORCHESTRA – Italian & American Summers
July 16, 2026
7:00 pm
PSU Silver Center For The Arts – Plymouth, NH
Art, memory, and sun-drenched color take center stage. Ottorino Respighi paints Botticelli’s masterpieces in shimmering orchestral hues, and Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 captures the warmth of an American childhood evening. After intermission, Anna Clyne’s Restless Oceans unleashes surging power, before Felix Mendelssohn’s exuberant “Italian” Symphony brings the night to a brilliant close.
ARTISTS
Conner Gray Covington, Guest Conductor
Ashley Marie Robillard, Soprano
PROGRAM
Respighi, Ottorini – Trittico botticelliano, P.152
Barber, Samuel* – Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24
Intermission
Anna Clyne – Restless Oceans
Mendelssohn, Felix – Symphony No. 4, Op. 90, “Italian”
Conner Gray Covington
Guest Conductor
Ashley Marie Robillard
Soprano
West Rattlesnake Mountain
July 17, 2026 | 7 PM
Old Bridle Path, Route 113, Holderness, NH
Free & Open to the Public (Donations Greatly Appreciated)
What’s better than music with a view? Bring a picnic and enjoy the scenery while listening to an NHMF Woodwind Quintet on top of W. Rattlesnake Mountain overlooking Squam Lake.
Gather at the trailhead at 6:15pm to hike up with us!
Old Bridle Path is a two-mile roundtrip path with approximately 450 feet of elevation gain. The trailhead is located along Route 113, about 5.5 miles north of Holderness. Please tread lightly while visiting W Rattlesnake Mountain and make sure to leave no trace. Thank you to the Squam Lake Association for their partnership in presenting this concert.
Valerie Watts, flute
Andrea Hixon, oboe
Alexis Lanz, clarinet
Nicolasa Kuster, bassoon
Molly Norcross, horn
Cafe Monte Alto
July 18, 2026 | 10 AM
231 Main St, Plymouth, NH
Free & Open to the Public (Donations Greatly Appreciated)
Start your Saturday with live music and fresh coffee at Café Monte Alto. Relax, sip, and enjoy a beautiful morning of music featuring an NHMF string duo.
Katie Kennedy, cello
July 19, 2026 – An Enchanted Evening
Van Horn Estate, Holderness, NH
The New Hampshire Music Festival invites you to experience An Enchanted Evening — a celebration of music, elegance, and community set against the timeless beauty of the Van Horn Estate.
Guests will begin the evening at 5:00 PM with a cocktail hour and cash bar, offering an opportunity to gather with friends, stroll the estate grounds overlooking Squam Lake, and enjoy the charm of a midsummer evening before dinner.
At 6:00 PM, attendees will be seated for an elegant three-course dinner thoughtfully prepared by Van Horn Estate’s Executive Chef Kevin Schmidt to complement the evening’s atmosphere of refinement and celebration. The menu will include both vegetarian and meat options.
The enchantment continues at 7:30 PM with a special performance by nine Festival musicians in varying ensembles from trios to a nonet. Featuring acclaimed musicians of the New Hampshire Music Festival, this intimate concert promises an extraordinary musical experience.
Whether shared with friends, colleagues, or fellow music lovers, An Enchanted Evening offers a rare opportunity to enjoy world-class performance in one of New Hampshire’s most beautiful settings.
Reserve your seats early for this unforgettable evening of fine dining and exceptional music in support of the New Hampshire Music Festival.
Featured Musicians
Valerie Watts, flute
Shawn Welk, oboe
Alexis Lanz, clarinet
Nicolasa Kuster, bassoon
Molly Norcross, horn
Kristin van Cleve, violin
Bernard di Gregorio, viola
Walter Gray, cello
Joe Higgins, bass
Ticket Information
- Individual Seats: $150
(If your party does not fill a table of four, you may be joined by another party.) - Table for 4: 5% discount, $570/table
- Table for 6: 10% discount, $810/table
- Table for 8: 15% discount $1020/table
July 21, 2026 – Landscapes of the Soul
7:00 pm
PSU Silver Center For The Arts – Plymouth, NH
This is an evening of music that peers beneath the surface of things, conjuring landscapes both outer and inner. Charles Martin Loeffler’s Two Rhapsodies, based on poems about death and lost love, evoke a world of moonlit ponds and ancient bagpipes through a hauntingly beautiful trio of oboe, viola, and piano; the program then culminates in one of the most shattering works in all of chamber music. Written in 1944 as the horrors of the Holocaust were reaching Shostakovich, his Piano Trio No. 2 can be heard as an elegy both for his closest friend and for the war’s millions of victims — filled with pain, anger, melancholy, and mordant wit. Pierre Gabaye’s Récréation opens the evening with sunlight and laughter, making what follows all the more profound.
PROGRAM
Gabaye, Pierre – Récréation
Grace O’Connell, trumpet; David Loucky, trombone; Molly Norcross, horn; Leslie Amper, piano
Loeffler, Charles Martin* – 2 Rhapsodies (1901)
Andrea Hixon, oboe; Michael Molnau, viola; Stacy Kwak, piano
Intermission
Shostakovich, Dmitri – Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 67
Lidija Peno-Kelly, violin; Tido Janssen, cello; Stacy Kwak, piano
ORCHESTRA – Romantic Horizons
July 23, 2026
7:00 pm
PSU Silver Center For The Arts – Plymouth, NH
Sweeping melodies and deep emotion define this exuberant celebration of the Romantic spirit. Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 dazzles with poetic lyricism and virtuosic brilliance, paired with the warm, pastoral glow of Johannes Brahms’s Symphony No. 2. Opening the evening, William Grant Still’s graceful Serenade sets a tone of elegance and charm.
ARTISTS
Samuel Lee, Guest Conductor
Avery Gagliano, Piano
PROGRAM
Still, William Grant* – Serenade
Chopin, Frédéric – Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11
Intermission
Brahms, Johannes – Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73
Samuel Lee
Guest Conductor
Avery Gagliano
Piano
Avery Gagliano is represented by Curtis Artist Management at Curtis Institute of Music.
Cafe Monte Alto
July 25, 2026 | 10 AM
231 Main St, Plymouth, NH
Free & Open to the Public (Donations Greatly Appreciated)
Start your Saturday with live music and fresh coffee at Café Monte Alto. Relax, sip, and enjoy a beautiful morning of music featuring an NHMF string duo.
Julie Fox Henson, violin
Starr King Fellowship
July 26, 2026 | 9:30 AM
101 Fairgrounds Rd, Plymouth, NH
Free & Open to the Public (Donations Greatly Appreciated)
Join us in the beautiful sanctuary at Starr King Fellowship for a morning of chamber music. NHMF musicians will share two chamber music masterworks – Brahms’ Sonata for Viola and Piano and Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 5.
A special thank you to Starr King Fellowship for their support in offering rehearsal space to our musicians during the season!
Jonathan Sturm, violin
Julie Fox Henson, violin
Bernard Di Gregorio, viola
René Reder, viola
Andrea Di Gregorio, cello
Leslie Amper, piano
Taylor Community Laconia
July 27, 2026 | 3 PM
Woodside Building, 227 Ledges Drive, Laconia, NH
Free & Open to the Public (Donations Greatly Appreciated)
Gather with friends and neighbors for an afternoon of music in the Woodside Building at Taylor Community.
Jonathan Sturm, violin
Julie Fox Henson, violin
Bernard Di Gregorio, viola
René Reder, viola
Andrea Di Gregorio, cello
Leslie Amper, piano
July 28, 2026 – Wit, Wonder, & Variation
7:00 pm
PSU Silver Center For The Arts – Plymouth, NH
This final program delights in the art of transformation – of a simple theme spun into infinite possibility, and of everyday life elevated into music. Philip Bimstein’s Cats in the Kitchen blends flute, oboe, and an astonishing array of kitchen sounds – meows, cracked eggs, sizzling skillets, and pepper grinders – into something genuinely hilarious and surprisingly touching. Dorothy Howell’s lyrical Air, Variations & Finale showcases a long-neglected master who was once called the “English Richard Strauss.” Brahms’s autumnal Viola Sonata and Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 5, with its celebrated set of variations, round out an evening that reminds us music can be tender, playful, and transcendent all at once.
PROGRAM
Howell, Dorothy – Air, Variations & Finale for Violin, Oboe, and Piano
Shawn Welk, oboe; Alana Carithers, violin; Leslie Amper, piano
Brahms, Johannes – Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op. 120, No. 2
Bernard Di Gregorio, viola; Leslie Amper, piano
Intermission
Bimstein, Philip* – Cats in the Kitchen
Valerie Watts, flute; Shawn Welk, oboe
Beethoven, Ludvig van – String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op. 18, No. 5
Jonathan Sturm, violin; Julie Fox Henson, violin, René Reder, viola; Andrea Di Gregorio, cello
ORCHESTRA – Legends and Light
July 30, 2026
7:00 pm
PSU Silver Center For The Arts – Plymouth, NH
Our traverse concludes with music that tells shimmering stories. Carlos Simon’s City of Lights sparkles with modern energy as it depicts an elevated train weaving in and out of a cityscape. It is followed by the profound lyricism of Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto. Our season concludes with the lush orchestral spectacle of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, a dazzling tapestry of storytelling with adventure, romance, and mystery.
ARTISTS
Maurice Cohn, Guest Conductor
Nicholas Canellakis, Cello
PROGRAM
Simon, Carlos* – City of Lights from Profiles
Dvorak, Antonin – Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104
Intermission
Rimsky-Korsokov, Nikolai – Sheherezade, Op. 35
Maurice Cohn
Guest Conductor
Nicholas Canellakis
Cello