What began as an intimate concert held in a local library has evolved into the nearly month-long, award-winning Skaneateles Festival that brings together a collection of renowned professional musicians year after year. 

Turning the ripe age of 40 and running from Aug. 1-24, this year’s festival will look back on the accomplishments of its organizers. One upcoming performance will be a piano recital featuring all previous and current artistic directors along with a final concert to honor the late founder, Louise Robinson, according to the festival’s website.

The majority of the festival is classical music from both modern and classic composers, although the lineup is sprinkled with jazz and bluegrass acts performing their own compositions. Already, the show for the nine-time Grammy winning jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis is sold out.

“It’s always worth a pilgrimage to either listen to or participate in these concerts,” cellist Steven Doane said, in an email. Doane will perform on Aug. 2 and 16.

Since the first concert in 1980, the festival has focused on two aspects: music and community. Founders Lindsay Groves and Louise and David Robinson designed together a music festival that united a community through classical music. For the next 35 years, the Robinsons opened their home at Brook Farm for the musicians to eat and live though the month of August, said Diane Walsh, the former artistic director. 

The Aizuri Quartet will perform on Aug. 2 at the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles. Courtesy of Jessica Boyce

With nearly a decade of successful concerts, pianist and former professor at Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music, Robert Weirich came onto the scene in 1991 and was the new artistic director until 1999. In the position, Weirich was tasked with selecting the musicians and choosing complementary music pieces to build a cohesive setlist. 

The festival earned three Adventurous Programming Awards from Chamber Music America/ASCAP and a “Best Chamber Music” award at the Syracuse Area Music Awards’ inaugural year under Weirich’s guidance. Along with his team, Weirich doubled the average attendance and boosted fundraising from $90,000 to $250,000, he said. 

While Weirich focused his efforts on expanding the scale of the event, Walsh – the next artistic director – sought to diversify the setlist. 

Walsh assumed the role from 1999-2004, and she presented a “mix of a traditional classical repertoire,” Walsh said. She searched for songs by famous composers like Mozart, Dvořák and Bach not often played and inserted these into the set. 

“When I was artistic director, it felt like I knew everybody in town” Walsh said. “It was really a nice feeling to feel like the whole town was flowing together with you to make the festival a success.” 

In addition to music, every year the artistic directors incorporate a less conventional show to round out the festival. Walsh recalled holding a comedy show by famed actor and clown Bill Irwin. This year’s show – entitled “Bon Appétit!”– will feature soprano singer Abigail Fischer embodying famed cook Julia Child and reenacting an episode of Child’s iconic cooking show through song.

As in past years, co-artistic director and Aaron Wunsch will be holding courses with their program “SkanFest U,” that explores the intersectionality between visual art and music, specifically how composers like Debussy were influenced by artwork being produced in the same decade. 

The 21 musicians and groups for 2019 hail from all over the country and even the world. Marketing and events manager Jessica Boyce cited that diversifying the music of the festival has brought a younger audience demographic, which in turn has led to larger crowds. 

“It’s a family affair,” Boyce said.

Boyce and Walsh said the festival must be finalized by Jan. 1 of the next year so the remainder of the year can be utilized for promotional purposes. Boyce added this was the first year in which they successfully maintained their marketing throughout the year.  

Walsh, Boyce and Weirich all noted that while the festival has national recognition and is able to attract marquee musicians, it is “unique” in that the festival still sustains its communal relationships with musicians and the residents of Skaneateles. 

In the first few decades of the festival, incoming musicians relied on locals to house them each week and ate picnic-style meals on Brook Farm, Weirich said. While musicians might not be as reliant upon members of the community for food and lodging anymore, musicians are still welcomed to eat dinner together on Brook Farm.

“Everything about the festival had authenticity,” Weirich said. “It wasn’t about career. It was true friendship and true music making, which is a very rare occurrence in most classical musicians’ lives.”

Published on July 1, 2019 at 11:15 pm