OKM MUSIC: Celebrating its 40th Festival “Mostly Mozart”

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — OKM’s acclaimed Music Festival will be entering its 40th season and remains Oklahoma’s premier and longest running music festival. Tickets are now on sale! In honor of the very first Festival OKM Music will return to its roots of an all Classical-Three Day- Festival this season, June 7th through June 9th.
The Mostly Mozart 40th Anniversary Festival will kick off on Friday, June 7, “Under the Stars” at the popular and beloved Woolaroc (Bartlesville). The evening’s concert opens with upcoming Oklahoma artist Jecelle Dobson, violinist and vocalist. Jecelle is a freshman at Oklahoma State University, pursuing a degree in music industry. Jecelle has performed for OKM Music on numerous occasions and is a crowd favorite. Her talents are years beyond her age and her voice is powerfully soulful. Jecelle currently interns for OKM Music through the OKM Music College Internship program.
The Manhattan Chamber Players (MCP), an eighteen-piece chamber orchestra will headline the night with beautiful pieces by Mozart, Bach and Tchaikovsky. MCP are a chamber music collective of New York-based musicians who share the common aim of performing the greatest works in the chamber repertoire at the highest level. Formed in 2015 by Artistic Director and violist Luke Fleming, MCP is comprised of an impressive roster of musicians who all come from the tradition of great music making at the Marlboro Music Festival, Steans Institute at Ravinia, Music@Menlo, Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival and Perlman Music Program, and are former students of the Curtis Institute, Juilliard School, Colburn School, and the New England Conservatory. MCP has been praised in Strings Magazine for “A fascinating program concept...It felt refreshingly like an auditory version of a vertical wine tasting.” The article went on to applaud MCP for “an intensely wrought and burnished performance…Overall, I wished I could put them on repeat." At the core of MCP’s inspiration is its members’ joy in playing this richly varied repertoire with longtime friends and colleagues, with whom they have been performing since they were students. As stated by The Boston Music Intelligencer: “This ensemble’s nature and practices constitute proof against complacency and stagnation. They achieved as precise ensemble as you’d ever want to hear.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 29, 2024
OKM Music Email:eat0@eau0eav0eaw0
Phone: 918-336-9900
Music lovers will want to pack a picnic, grab a bottle of wine, enjoy cuisine of locally owned food trucks, sit back and relax with a nice summer breeze while viewing the wildlife roaming the Osage Hills. There will also be games for kids and fireworks to conclude a perfect summer night. This will be a concert to remember.
On Saturday, June 8, at The Cascia Hall Performing Arts Center (Tulsa), OKM Music is excited to present our second “Mozart by Candlelight” concert. The evening will begin with a wonderful performance by Tulsa Honors Baroque Orchestra followed by breathtaking candlelight Mozart serenade by Steinway Artist Jenny Lin and Yahama Artist Adam Tendler.
The Tulsa Honors Baroque Orchestra is celebrating its 45th season. TULSA HONORS ORCHESTRA (THO) is a youth string orchestra and is known for providing excellent string instruction to youth string players, as well as providing numerous fantastic opportunities for orchestra performances. THO was founded by Jody Naifeh, Mother of Karen Naifeh Harmon, Violinist & Composer, the Tulsa Honors Orchestra Executive Director. Tulsa Honors Baroque directors are Karen Naifeh Harmon and Terry Pollak.
Jenny Lin, a Steinway Artist, has made a name for herself on the world stage thanks to her “remarkable technical command” and “gift for melodic flow” (New York Times). The Washington Post has extolled her “confident fingers” and “spectacular technique,” while Gramophone has hailed her as “an exceptionally sensitive pianist.” Lin born in Taiwan, raised in Austria, and moved to Connecticut, where she resides. At the age of four, with no piano at home, she began playing the instrument at her grandmother’s house. Educated in Europe and the US, she has built an international reputation distinguished by inventive collaborations with a breadth of artists and has performed widely with renowned orchestras and symphonies at the world’s most notable concert halls.
Adam Tendler is a recipient of the Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists, the Yvar Mikhashoff Prize, "currently the hottest pianist on the American contemporary classical scene" (Minneapolis Star Tribune), a "remarkable and insightful musician" (LA Times), and "relentlessly adventurous pianist" (Washington Post) "joyfully rocking out at his keyboard" (New York Times), Tendler is an internationally recognized interpreter of living, modern and classical composers. He has gone on to become one of classical and contemporary music's most recognized artists with recent engagements including appearing as soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra and LA Philharmonic, and on the mainstages of the Barbican, Carnegie Hall and BAM.
If classical music played by candlelight isn’t enough to ignite your passion, enjoy sipping on wine, eating small bites, meeting the artists and just soaking in the amazing movements of Mozart, Brahms, and Ravel.
“The Grand Finale” will transform its guests into another time on Sunday, June 9, at The Refinery (Johnstone-Sare Building, Bartlesville). Guests will be delighted to hear Escher Quartet’s moving performance. The Escher String Quartet has received acclaim for its profound musical insight and rare tonal beauty. A former BBC New Generation Artist
and recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, the quartet has performed at the BBC Proms at Cadogan Hall and is a regular guest at Wigmore Hall. In its home town of New York, the ensemble serves as season artists of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
The 2023-2024 season finds the Escher Quartet embarking upon a major project-performances of the complete cycle of quartets by Bela Bartók, culminating in a single concert performance of all six at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The first-ever performance of all six Bartók quartets in chronological order was given by the Emerson String Quartet in March 1981, also at Alice Tully Hall, in honor of Bartók’s centenary year.
The 2022-2023 season saw the release of two albums - string quartets by Pierre Jalbert and the Escher’s studio recording of the complete Janacek quartets and Pavel Haas quartet no. 2 with multi award winning percussionist Colin Currie (BIS Label). Recordings of the complete Mendelssohn quartets and beloved romantic quartets of Dvorak, Borodin and Tchaikovsky were released on the BIS label in 2015-18 and received with the highest critical acclaim, with comments such as “...eloquent, full-blooded playing... The four players offer a beautiful blend of individuality and accord” (BBC Music Magazine).
Concert goers will enjoy a whimsical summer soiree prior to the concert with small bites and wine, followed by scrumptious sweets and coffee during intermission. This concert will be a beautiful combination of musical perfection and harmonious delightfulness.
The Showcase Series will take place on June 7-9 during the daytime. The showcase lineup will be launched on April 1. The showcase series is a special gift from OKM Music to the Community. All performances are free to the public and will feature past favorites and wonderful new artists to the series. The performances will take place in Ambler Hall, OKM Music’s very own performance hall.
The Especially for Kids Festival will take place on May 31-June 6 and will also launch its lineup on April 1. The Especially for Kids Festival has become very popular and each year over 1000 youth attend the events offered throughout the week. The events are free with the exception of the special tea party. The fun Especially for Kids Passports will be available at the OKM Office, Library, the Center, and other businesses beginning May 1, 2024.
Tickets are on sale now. Ticket prices vary. Student and Senior discounts are available for the June 7th and 8th concerts. Children 12 and under are free for the June 7th and 8th concerts. Visit the OKM Music website at okmmmusic.org, call the office at 918-336-9900 or visit the office in person at 415 S. Dewey, Suite 100. Follow OKM Music on Facebook, X, and Instagram for the latest information. Listen to OKM Music on Bartlesville Radio (KWON 1400 AM) the first Wednesday of each month on One on One.