The Raritan River Music Festival is hosting a number of concerts during the month of May at various picturesque locations in western New Jersey. The Festival features new music, tango, vocal chamber music and one of the hottest young violinists on tour. All audience members are also invited to a reception to meet performers following each concert.

May 1, 7:30 pm: American Modern Ensemble
Embracing the Wind
An Evening of Premier Performances of New Works for Flute, Harps and Strings
www.americanmodernensemble.org

Prallsville Mills, Stockton
22 Risler Street (Route 29)
Stockton, New Jersey

The American Modern Ensemble is a major force in the American new music scene, having performed works by over sixty living composers. Featuring Hunterdon County’s own Robin Zeh on violin, AME is based in New York City and was formed in 2005 with the goal of premiering, performing, recording, and commissioning the widest possible repertoire from American composers and providing education and outreach programs to the community. AME’s Raritan River debut will feature premiere performances of works by Chen Yi, Robert Paterson, Spencer Topel, and Steven Burke.

May 8, 7:30pm: Tim Fain, Violin
Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo
Music of Vivaldi, Bach, Glass, Sarasate, and others
www.timfain.com

Old Greenwich Presbyterian Church, Bloomsbury
17 Greenwich Church Road (at Route 173)
Stewartsville, New Jersey

Selected as one of Symphony Magazine’s “Up-and-Coming Young Musicians of 2006,” violinist Tim Fain is a mesmerizing new presence on the music scene and was featured as the sound of Richard Gere’s violin in the film Bee Season. He electrified audiences at his New York concerto debut at Alice Tully Hall with Gerard Schwarz and the New York Chamber Symphony, and at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

The Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo’s musicianship is known for innovative programming, matchless technique, and ensemble precision. In the past, the guitar duo has collaborated with such diverse artists as Angela’s Ashes author Frank McCourt, composer/conductor Marvin Hamlisch and the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, and fiddler Eileen Ivers.

May 15, 7:30 pm: Daniel Binelli, bandoneón; Polly Ferman, piano; Clare Hoffman, flute; Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo
Historia del Tango
Clinton Presbyterian Church
91 Center Street
Clinton, New Jersey

Four distinguished artists explore the world of tango, milongas and tango waltzes:
• Daniel Binelli, the Argentine composer and master of the bandoneón, performed with Piazzolla’s New Tango Sextet and has appeared as guest soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Symphonies of Atlanta, Sydney, Hong Kong, Montreal, and St. Petersburg (Russia).
• Uruguayan pianist Polly Ferman is a leading interpreter of the music of the Americas. Her world tours include performances with the Symphonies of San Francisco, Tokyo, São Paulo, Cuba, and Argentina.
• Flutist Clare Hoffman is director of the Grand Canyon Music Festival and performs in concerts, recordings, and videos with artists including Madonna at such venues as Tanglewood, Lincoln Center, Hong Kong Cultural Center, and Vivaldi’s parish church in Venice.
• Newman and Oltman’s (who also performed on May 8 in Stewartsville) concert tours have taken them to world cultural capitals and premiere venues across five continents.

May 29, 7:30 pm: Fuma Sacra
My Spirit Sang All Day
1,000 years of vocal chamber music
www.fumascra.webs.com

Stanton Reformed Church
1 Stanton Mountain Road (at Route 629)
Stanton, New Jersey

Fuma Sacra is recognized as one of the country's most exciting and important chamber choirs specializing in early music. Founded in 1989, the ensemble’s program for the Raritan River Music Festival will feature English madrigals, German songs about nature, French chansons, folksong arrangements, and David Lang’s remarkable The Little Match Girl Passion (the recipient of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize in Music). Fuma Sacra recently made their European debut at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy.

Raritan River Music has received numerous awards and recognitions for the unique music programs it hosts in intimate, historic venues. To date, over 500 presentations have been given to over 50,000 area residents and to millions more through media and Internet broadcasts.

In addition to the annual music festival, Raritan River music offers Artists-in-the Community Residency Programs for those not often exposed to live performances of classical music.

Tickets are $19 for one event or all four for $66.

Raritan River Music
Box 454 Oldwick, New Jersey
908-213-1100
info@RaritanRiverMusic.org
www.RaritanRiverMusic.org