Chamber music is a conversation between friends and families, with the past and present, and with places and events. As we enter our sixth season, there will be much to talk about at the Chenango Summer MusicFest -- June 20-23 in the Village of Hamilton and on the Colgate University campus.

Internationally acclaimed classical and popular musicians will offer you a different theme for every day of the festival. A "concert conversation" will precede each performance as the artists, composers, and experts share their thoughts on the evening's program. Opening night will feature "Gourmet Fare," a delectable treat of Mozart and Beethoven followed by a festive traditional German dinner.

On Friday, bring your family for the official start of summer, as we are guided through the "Journeys" of Don Quixote and Till Eulenspiegel and take a quintessentially American railroad trip. On Saturday, as we celebrate our first Village Day on the newly renovated Village Green, Hamilton will meet and greet the Caribbean for a day of musical fun and activities with a wide array of local talent and a Caribbean steel pan band! On Sunday, we'll be bewitched by the "Folk Magic" of Vienna and Bohemia.

Between concerts and events, the other performers and I hope to converse with you in person as we take advantage of all Hamilton and Colgate have to offer in relaxing and renewing summertime activities.

So, as the lemon lilies bloom, the swans Adam and Eve grace Colgate's Taylor Lake, and the village gleams in the June sunshine, I invite you to be part of the conversation in Hamilton, NY this June.

Laura Klugherz
Festival director