Lakes Area Music Festival Gears Up for Annual Events
The Lakes Area Music Festival’s Prelude Series will feature rising stars and award-winning talent in a tour of Central Minnesota. Over three weekends, July 9-24, LAMF artists will give free concerts in Aitkin, Nisswa, Brainerd, Crosslake, and Deerwood.
On July 9 at Aitkin’s Butler Building, and July 10 at Lutheran Church of the Cross in Nisswa – both at 7:30 p.m. – a string quartet from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra will kick off the season. Beethoven’s first string quartet will be featured alongside works by American composers Samuel Barber and Jessie Montgomery.
Then, the Lakes Area Music Festival welcomes the 2022 laureates of its String Quartet Fellowship – the Maryland-based Thalea Quartet – for a showcase event at Tornstrom Auditorium in downtown Brainerd, July 15 at 7:30 p.m. Fueled by the belief that chamber music is a powerful force for building community and human connection, the Thalea String Quartet has performed across North America, Europe, and China, and has appeared at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Their program will feature Antonin Dvorak’s “American” String Quartet.
On Sunday, July 17 at 2 p.m., internationally acclaimed pianist, Henry Kramer will present a solo recital at Brainerd’s Gichi-ziibi Center for the Arts, showcasing the nine-foot Steinway Model D piano which was recently acquired for that space.
Emerging classical singers from the LAMF’s Vocal Fellowship will then wrap up the Prelude Series with a three-city tour. These artists, chosen from the nation’s top conservatories and training programs, will present a potpourri of opera arias and beloved songs at Crosslake Lutheran Church (July 23, 7:30 p.m.), Salem Lutheran Church of Deerwood (July 24, 2 p.m.), and Nisswa’s Lutheran Church of the Cross (July 24, 7:30 p.m.).
All Prelude Series concerts are free of charge, and tickets are not required.
Prelude events will serve as a warm up to the Lakes Area Music Festival’s 14th annual festival season. From July 29 through August 22, the festival will feature over 180 of the world’s top classical musicians in more than 25 events, from an original opera production, to symphony orchestras, learning opportunities, and “casual classics.” Name-your-price tickets for the season concerts are now available through the festival’s website, lakesareamusic.org. For assistance call the ticket hotline: (218) 831-0765.
Founded in 2009, the Lakes Area Music Festival connects the nation’s best performers and audiences through excellent classical music and inspiring education.