December, 2022
Dear Friends of the Rural Musicians Forum,
As we move into the pleasant rush of the holidays, we want to take time to wish you a merry celebration of the season, and to wish you good humor, good health and great music for 2023.
The 2022 RMF season offered a return to (mostly) normalcy. After presenting a March chamber music event at the Slowpoke Lounge in Spring Green (which we are planning to do again in 2023), the seven concerts in our summer series, split among the Unity Chapel in Spring Green, the Pavilion in Mazomanie, and the Wyoming Valley Cultural Arts Center, offered a wide span of sounds and spirits throughout the long days and slow-fading nights of summer.
Our Winter concert, offering chamber music at Spring Green’s newest and boldest live music venue, the Slowpoke Lounge and Cabaret, was in March, and featured the players of the LunART Quartet in a program of works by extraordinary women composers. This was a striking set of selections, and the intimate setting made for a moving listening experience. We are pleased to bring the Rural Musicians Forum to new venues, and new audiences, work we plan to continue in 2023.
To remind you of last year’s summer series, we started in June with a return to Unity Chapel, and the Mosaic Chamber Players, who filled the classic space with glorious string selections. Switching to the outdoor Mazomanie Pavilion, Common Chord, with their blend of close harmonies on“folk, swing, and lots in between” shared a special night on the lawn.
In July, back at Unity, our Artistic Director Iva Ugrcic, partnered with pianist Satoko Hayami, gave us all an enthralling virtuoso evening of flute and piano duets. Then in the next concert in Mazomanie the Shawndell Marks Trio combined original songs with thoughtfully re-engineered pop hits from the 1970s and on, for a fun and spirited performance.
August started with our third Unity Chapel concert of the series, with the remarkable Acromusical, who perform on Afro-Brazilian musical bows called berimbaus. They brought us something unique and special. Our final Mazomanie presentation starred the always-energetic Panchromatic Steel, who delivered a thrilling, percussive performance that delighted the summer crowd.
And then, as the summer light began to fade, the bold and powerful guitar jazz sounds of Caravan filled the lawn behind the Wyoming Valley Cultural Arts Center. Their endlessly listenable mix of originals and jazz standards closed up another summer series of glorious music in our glorious surroundings.
We have been planning for the RMF 2023 Summer Concert Series, still considering where and how to make hearing diverse, wonderful music as accessible and available to our community as we can. In that spirit, please mark your calendars with these Monday dates - and note the slightly earlier start time of 7 pm.
June 12, June 26, July 10, July 24, August 7, August 21. And a final summer concert in the afternoon of Sunday, September 3, Labor Day weekend.
We will be sending another more detailed announcement and summer calendar once the 2023 RMF Summer Concert Series is fully planned. And we think you will look forward to the music and musicians with as much anticipation as we do.
All this is possible because of our financial support from our donors, what we collect at concerts, and small grants from area sources. We pay our professional artists and musicians who perform at our programs, and cover the costs of using and preparing venues. Otherwise, our all-volunteer Board supplies the energy and time needed to bring Rural Musicians Forum programs to our community. We are fueled by a passion for music, and the community it convenes.
Our warm regards to you. If you are able to help support our efforts to bring a wide variety of excellent music to the River Valley and beyond, you have our deep gratitude. We thank you profoundly for your generosity.
We’ll see you at the concerts.
With best wishes for the holidays and into 2023,
The RMF Board