CLARYVILLE – At the historic Claryville Reformed Church, 946 Claryville Rd, the inaugural Headwaters Chamber Music Festival will bring world-class classical musicians together for two concerts celebrating the music of Bach, Mozart, Schubert, and Dvořák – and the extraordinary natural beauty of the watershed communities that surround us.

The program:

Saturday, September 5, 7pm

Schubert: Piano Quintet ("The Trout")

Bach: Piano Concerto in d minor, BWV 1052

Sunday, September 6, 3pm

Mozart: Quartet No. 17 ("The Hunt")

Dvorak: String Quartet No. 12 ("American")

The festival is led by classical musician and artistic director Eli Spindel, a part-time resident of Denning for the past decade. For Eli, this is more than a series of concerts. It is an invitation to experience the region in a different way: to listen closely, gather together, and discover the connection between great music and the landscape that inspires it.

The theme of the inaugural festival is Hunting & Fishing, reflected in two beloved works on the program: Mozart’s “Hunt” Quartet and Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet. These pieces bring the natural world into the concert hall through rhythm, character, movement, and imagination. Heard in the intimate setting of the venerated Claryville Reformed Church, they promise an experience that is both musically extraordinary and deeply rooted in place.

There is something particularly fitting about gathering for chamber music in a watershed community. Chamber music is intimate. It asks musicians to listen to one another, respond to one another, and create something together. A watershed works in much the same way: countless streams and tributaries coming together to form something larger than any one of them.

The hope is that the Headwaters Chamber Music Festival can become something bigger than two concerts. By bringing exceptional musicians and audiences into the area, the festival aims to shine a light on the beauty of the Catskill headwaters and spark curiosity about the rivers, forests, farms, communities, and people that make this region so special. The Headwaters Chamber Music Festival hopes to make music part of the conversation about this place, its beauty, and its future.

Come for the incredible music. And stay to discover – or rediscover – the remarkable landscape and communities of the Catskill headwaters and spark curiosity about the rivers, forests, farms, communities, and people that make this region so special. The Headwaters Chamber Music Festival hopes to make music part of the conversation about this place, its beauty, and its future.

You can find more details on the Headwaters Chamber Music Festival Website www.headwatersmusic.org.