As Fivesparks’ fourth annual Harvard Music Festival (June 20-27) takes shape, we, the festival’s artistic directors, are appreciating how special it is.
Most music lovers too rarely have access to the beautiful, fascinating, and nuanced work of preparing a concert. Being active performers as well as teachers, we wanted our festival’s emphasis to be on exploring and sharing how chamber music is made. The community and the town of Harvard itself were integral to our original vision, which has been so generously realized by the Fivesparks board and volunteers. In our first two summers (2018 and ’19), the schedule welcomed everyone to get closer to the process by attending rehearsals, coachings, and workshops, listening to presentations, and simply having conversations with the musicians while walking or riding around before and after each event or potluck supper—at churches, private homes, the General Store, the Harvard Public Library, and of course the old library.
Last spring, as we pivoted to create an entirely virtual festival, it was hard to imagine how sitting in front of computers for a week could generate the sense of daily togetherness we treasured. But the enthusiasm from both returning and first-time participants and listeners helped the Fivesparks festival website become a dynamic hub, like someplace that one was actually “going to” each day. And Fivesparks really is a kind of place—rooted in a commitment to the power of connection through watching, listening, playing, and learning together. During the pandemic, with few chances for in-person activities, it has stayed open and continuously generated and supported opportunities for people to gather online. We’re grateful to partner again with this organization, excited about this year’s “hybrid” festival (virtual, with selected live presentations as health and safety guidelines allow) and also about next year, when we hope to be fully back “on Earth.” Join us.
Judith Eissenberg, violinist and Fivesparks board member,
Roslindale, MA (formerly of Harvard)
Judith Gordon, pianist,
Florence, MA
Rhonda Rider, cellist,
Jamaica Plain, MA
