Newport Classical Music Festival Releases 2024 Concert Lineup

Duo Kayo — comprising cellist Titilayo Ayangade and violinist Edwin Kaplan — is among the artists that will perform at the 2024 Newport Classical Music Festival. (Photo courtesy of Newport Classical)

Newport Classical Music Festival has released its 2024 concert lineup, and classical music fans of all ages and tastes will want to take a look at the jam-packed schedule.

The three-week series, running July 4–21, features twenty-seven performances, including four by Grammy-nominated artists, an appearance by a star of HBO’s “The Gilded Age,” free family performances and the world premiere of a new piece celebrating unbreakable women. The festival also highlights diverse venues throughout Aquidneck Island and the East Bay, from seaside mansions to a concert in nature at the Norman Bird Sanctuary.

“Every summer, Director of Artistic Planning and Engagement Trevor Neal and I aspire to curate a festival that celebrates the legacy of Newport Classical and introduces our audience to the musicians who are shaping the future of classical music,” says Gillian Friedman Fox, executive director of the Newport Classical Music Festival. “This year, for our fifty-fifth anniversary, we continue to honor music executed at the highest level and performed in magical settings. We are proud to offer an experience unlike any other.”

Among the highlights of the 2024 event is the world premiere of Whispers from the Pirate Queen by Clarice Assad, this year’s Grammy-nominated composer-in-residence. The work celebrates the bond between Grace O’Malley, a sixteenth-century Irish pirate queen, and Anne Hutchinson, the Puritan leader who founded Portsmouth. The piece will be performed on Saturday, July 20, at 8 p.m. at the Breakers by mezzo-soprano Renée Rapier and PUBLIQuartet.

In addition to its composer-in-residence, the organization also welcomes five festival artists-in-residence to foster emerging talents for an intense period of rehearsal and music-making. This year’s artists include Ariel Horowitz (violin), Jordan Bak (viola), Llewellyn Sánchez-Werner (piano), SooBean Lee (violin) and Jonathan Swenson (cello). The artists will present at eight concerts as well as free community events.

Read on for more highlights of the 2024 Newport Classical Music Festival. For a full lineup or to purchase tickets, visit newportclassical.org/music-festival.

• The festival opens with a July 5 concert at the Breakers by Sphinx Virtuosi, a professional chamber orchestra comprised of eighteen of the nation’s top Black and Latinx classical soloists. The program includes works by historically marginalized composers including Quenton Blache, Javier Farias, Andrea Casarrubios, Adolphus Hailstork, and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson.
• Prior to the formal opening, Fenway Quintet will perform a free, Fourth of July Patriotic Pops concert at King Park preceding the July 4 fireworks at 7:30 p.m. The free concert is part of the BankNewport Community Concerts Series and supported by a Rhode Island Foundation Community Grant.
• On Sunday, July 7, at 9 a.m., Newport Classical’s Festival Artists present Italian Strings in Nature at the Norman Bird Sanctuary. Guests can enjoy chamber music surrounded by the wonders of natural scenery.
• That evening at 8 p.m., Grammy Award-winning men’s ensemble Chanticleer will perform at the Breakers. The “orchestra of voices” makes its return following a sold-out show during the 2021 festival.
• On Tuesday, July 9, and Wednesday, July 10, Broadway’s Laura Benanti performs at the Breakers with pianist Billy Stritch, musical director for Tony Bennett and Liza Minnelli. Benanti is known for her Tony Award-winning performances as well as her appearance in HBO’s “The Gilded Age,” filmed in Newport.
• On Thursday, July 11, at 8 p.m., Opera Night at the Breakers will feature a semi-staged production of La tragédie de Carmen is directed by Tara Branham. The cast includes Dane Suarez as Don José, Stephanie Sanchez as Carmen, Maria Brea as Micaëla and Jeffrey Hoos as Escamillo, with music direction by Charles Kim.
• On Friday, July 12, and Friday, July 19, join Newport Classical at Marble House for Sunrise Meditations at the Chinese Tea House. Both performances begin at 5:15 a.m. and feature chamber performances by the festival artists while witnessing the sunrise over Narragansett Bay.

• On Tuesday, July 16, at 11 a.m., the festival heads to Bristol for Classical Music Movie at Blithewold Mansion. The performance by festival artists features the iconic music of John Williams from such films as Schindler’s List, E.T., Indiana Jones and Harry Potter as well as other movie favorites.
• On Sunday, July 21, at 11 a.m. at the Colony House, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion will perform music from their newest album, Rectangles and Circumstance, blending voice and percussion quartet. The album features verses from nineteenth-century poems by Christina Rosetti, Emily Brontë, Emily Dickinson, Gertrude Stein, and William Blake.
• At 8 p.m. that evening, pianist Lara Downes will offer a closing night performance of This Land at the Breakers. The program will feature music from 100 years of American transformation. Earlier in the day, Downes will offer a free family concert at Temple Shalom.

A performance at the 2023 Newport Classical Music Festival. (Photo by Charlie Albright)

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