CINCINNATI, OH – Summermusik will present its 11th annual Summermusik festival July 30-August 23, 2025 across Greater Cincinnati. A season for the musically curious, the 2025 festival features music composed over the span of over 400 years – from the Renaissance to the present, including several world premieres. “Summermusik 2025 will be a musical adventure not to be missed! Audiences can expect four weekends of discovery and joyful music making,” says Music Director Eckart Preu, now in this ninth season with the orchestra.
The 2025 festival once again brings world-renowned guest artists to Cincinnati including the Kronos Quartet, violinist Rachel Barton Pine, pianist Terrence Wilson, and fiddler Liz Knowles. Additional collaborations with Ensemble Theatre, CCM Prep, Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Glee Club, Erickson Academy of Dance, and the Riley Irish School of Music, among others, continue the Summermusik tradition of partnering with local artists and organizations.
This year’s themes include an exploration of music from countries along the ancient Silk Road, a celebration of the unofficial 100th Anniversary of Art Deco, and a deep dive into the music of Ireland. Attendees can expect to hear a number of familiar works including Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 along with a series of premieres by composers Jungyoon Wie, Marina López, and Matt Browne (winner of the Inaugural Kreitler Commission Competition) as well as Tuvan throat singer SoRIAH.
Summermusik will again offer three different concert experiences, including full chamber orchestra performances at the School for Creative & Performing Arts; A Little Afternoon Musik Sunday matinee concerts with small ensembles; and Chamber Crawls, held at non-traditional concert venues around Greater Cincinnati (one alcoholic beverage included in the price of admission)! Several unique and intimate venues new to Summermusik are a highlight, including the Irish Heritage Center, McHale’s Grand Ballroom, Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Rhinegeist’s Clubhouse Event Space, and Cincinnati Museum Center’s Reakirt Auditorium. Returning venues include The Redmoor and CCM’s Corbett Auditorium.
For the first time, Summermusik will offer a discounted single ticket rate for Young Professionals under 40 for all 11 programs. It will also continue offering free tickets for children under the age of 13 for selected Mainstage and A Little Afternoon Musik concerts. Subscriptions and single tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday, April 14.
Come and hear “the festival where anything is possible”- David Lyman, Movers & Makers!
Summermusik 2025 is sponsored by Robert and Debra Chavez.
For information and tickets –
Call 513-723-1182 x2 or visit Summermusik online at www.summermusik.org
Summermusik 2025 Events
Journey to Türkiye
Wednesday, July 30, 2025 | 7:30pm | Rhinegeist Clubhouse Event Space, OTR
Chamber Crawl, sponsored by the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund
Susan Magg, flute and co-curator
Óscar Salamanca Alarcón, CEO, La Fórmula Music Productions and co-curator
Woodwind Quintet
Turkish Ensemble
We start this season with a trip to the former center of the Ottoman Empire, which introduced kahve (coffee) to Europe, and inspired composers to include pseudo-Turkish melodies and themes in their work. Join our Summermusik Woodwind Quintet and Turkish musicians led by co-curator Óscar Salamanca as they explore traditional and modern Turkish music and the influences of the Ottoman Empire on Western
classical music.
ÓSCAR SALAMANCA ALARCÓN
Memleketimden*
SULTAN ABDÜLMECID/TOLGA ÇANDAR
Medley: Mecidiye Marşı/Yörük Ali*
JOHANN JOSEPH FUX
Sinfonia a 3 in C Major “Turcaria”, K.331
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART, arr. Ray Thompson
Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331
III. Rondo alla Turca
REŞID BEHBUDOV
Nazende Sevgilim *
ŞIVAN PERWER
Keçe Kurdan*
FAZIL SAY
Wind Quintet Op. 35 “Alevi Dedeler Rakı Masasında”
(Alevi Fathers at the Raki Table)
MUSTAFA NERMI/OSMAN ZEKI ÜNGÖR
Medley: Izmir Marşı/İstiklâl Marşı *
*arranged by Óscar Salamanca Alarcón
Adventures on the Silk Road
Saturday, August 2, 2025 | 7:30pm | SCPA Corbett Theater, OTR
Prelude Talk: 6:45pm | SCPA Mayerson Theater
Mainstage
Eckart Preu, conductor
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra
Rachel Barton Pine, violin
SoRIAH, Tuvan throat singer
Ensemble Theatre
The year is 1271 and, inspired by his father’s and uncle’s tales of Kubla Khan’s fantastical residence, Venetian merchant Marco Polo sets off on a 15,000-mile roundtrip to China, taking the scenic route across the Balkans, through central Asia, the Gobi Desert, and across the Pamir Mountains to reach Shangdu (anglicized later to Xandu, then popularized as Xanadu), Kubla Khan’s summer capital. Our musical excursion includes the first concert performance of Syrian American composer’s Malek Jandali violin concerto by Rachel Barton Pine; SoRIAH, a Tuvan throat singer inspired by the voices of the great steppe of Central Asia, and is bookended by composers from Venice.
Post-concert reception provided by Cora’s Cakery!
Italy
PIETRO LAPPI
Canzon à 13 “La Monteverde”
Israel
AVNER DORMAN
Tanyaderas
Turkey
AHMET ADNAN SAIGUN
Symphony No. 1, Op. 29
I. Allegro
Syria
MALEK JANDALI
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Rachel Barton Pine, violin
Mongolia
SORIAH, arr. Alba Torremocha
The Realm of Tengri & the Chedi Khan (7 Kings)
SoRIAH, Tuvan Throat Singer
China
CHEN YI
Chinese Folk Dance Suite
II. Yang Ko
Italy
GIOVANNI GABRIELI
Selections from Sacrae Symphoniae
No. 2 Canzon Septimi Toni à 8
No. 13 Canzon Septimi Octavi à 12
No. 14 Canzon Noni Toni à 12
Vivaldi’s Venice
Sunday, August 3, 2025 | 3pm | Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington
A Little Afternoon Musik, sponsored by Rosemary & Mark Schlachter and Irv & Melinda Simon
Eckart Preu, performance co-curator
Daniel Parsley, performance co-curator
Rachel Barton Pine, violin
8-person chorus
String Quintet
Venice. La Serenissima. Home to canals, gondolas, the famous carnival, the Rialto Bridge, and pigeons on the Piazza San Marco. Home to the Venetian School, its polychoral style, and the music publishing company of one Ottaviano Petrucci, which attracted composers from all across Europe. A professional choir, led by our associate conductor Daniel Parsley, will show off the polychoral style in the sublime acoustic setting of the Basilica.
GIOVANNI GABRIELI
Selection from Sinfonia Sacre
No. 1 Canzon Primi Toni à 8
ADRIAEN WILLAERT
Laudate pueri Dominum, Psalm 112
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Viola d’amore Concerto in D Major, RV 392
BARBARA STROZZI
O Maria from Sacri Musicali Affetti, Op. 5
ANTONIO LOTTI
Crucifixus à 8
NICCOLÒ PAGANINI
The Carnival of Venice
HEINRICH SCHÜTZ
Psalmen Davids
Psalm 100: Jauchzet dem Herren, alle Welt SWV 36
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Double Violin Concerto in A Minor, RV522 (Op. 3, No 8)
III. Allegro
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Magnificat
Let’s Dance!
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 | 7:30pm | McHale’s Grand Ballroom, Covington
Chamber Crawl, sponsored by the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund
Sujean Kim, violin/performance curator
Jeaunita Ìfẹ́wándé Château Weathersby Olówè, dance instructor
String Quartet, Clarinet, and Accordian
It’s dance time again! So, bring your dancing shoes and join us for history of dance at The Grand Ballroom. Summermusik assistant concertmaster Sujean Kim and Northern Kentucky University School of the Arts dance instructor Jeaunita Château Olówè guide you through an evening of different dance styles including German Folk Dance, Polka, Tango, Hoedown, Salsa, and more.
Repertoire to be announced from the stage, just like at an old-timey square dance.
Trailblazers
Saturday, August 9, 2025 | 7:30pm | SCPA Corbett Theater, OTR
Prelude Talk: 6:45pm | SCPA Mayerson Theater
Special Mainstage
Eckart Preu, conductor
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra
Kronos String Quartet
Matt Browne, composer
Founded in 1973, the Kronos Quartet has been at the forefront of revolutionizing the string quartet into a living art form that responds to the people and issues of our time. A champion of new music, Kronos has commissioned more than 1,100 works and arrangements for string quartet through its nonprofit Kronos Performing Arts Association. True to form, Kronos performs Jungyoon Wie’s Starlings, a Summermusik co-commission with The Next Festival of Emerging Artists. Summermusik also presents a new work by 2024 Kreitler Competition winner Matt Browne. A first-of-its kind initiative, the competition is the brainchild of former Summermusik Board member John Henry Kreitler (1948-2024). Summermusik is partnering with the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle (North Carolina) and the Reno and Pittsburgh Chamber Orchestras for this project, which is open to aspiring and seasoned orchestral composers worldwide.
Post-concert reception provided by Cora’s Cakery!
APHEX TWIN, arr. Ken Thomson
Gwely Mernans
MATT BROWNE, Inaugural Kreitler Commission Competition Winner
I Have Seen the Future (World Premiere)
TERRY RILEY
The Sands
I. The Sands
Kronos String Quartet
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 1
JUNGYOON WIE
Starlings (Midwest Premiere, Co-Commision)
Kronos String Quartet
Visions for the Future
Sunday, August 10, 2025 | 3pm | CCM Corbett Auditorium, Clifton
Special A Little Afternoon Musik, sponsored by Rosemary & Mark Schlachter and Irv & Melinda Simon
Kronos String Quartet
CCM Preparatory Students
String Quartet
We take a peek into our crystal ball to glimpse what the future may hold in store for us musically, when the veteran Kronos Quartet, a Summermusik Quartet and students from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s Prep Department perform over two hours of music, including many works composed during the past ten years.
3-3:45pm: CCM Prep Student Recital
4pm: Summermusik String Quartet and Kronos Quartet
RHIANNON GIDDENS, arr. Jacob Garchik
At the Purchaser’s Option with variations (2016)
JOAN JEANRENAUD
Knock (2016)
KEN BENSHOOF
sweeter than wine (2015)
I. Souvenir
II. Postscript
PAUL WIANKO
Only Ever Us (2021)
Kronos Quartet Solo Works TBD
PHILIP GLASS
Quartet Satz (2017)
Speakeasy
Tuesday, August 12 and Wednesday, August 13, 2025 | 7:30pm | The Redmoor, Mt. Lookout
Chamber Crawl, sponsored by the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund
Matt Tolentino, clarinet/saxophone, emcee
Eric Lechliter, performance curator
1920s Jazz Ensemble
Hey! Have you heard about the speakeasy in Mt. Lookout. The house band plays some of the hottest jazz this side of the river. But be on the lookout for Ness’s men when you go! Make sure you’re not seen. And
have your password ready! Tolentino and his group play only the finest tunes by the likes of Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, Bennie Moten, King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, Paul Whiteman, and more! All superbly arranged by Eric Lechliter.
Art Deco at 100
Saturday, August 16, 2025 | 7:30pm | SCPA Corbett Theater, OTR
Prelude Talk: 6:45pm | SCPA Mayerson Theater
Mainstage
Eckart Preu, conductor
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra
Terrence Wilson, piano
Marina Lopez, composer
The program connects the music of the pre-war era and the 1920s with works by France’s and
Italy’s greatest living composers (at the time)—Ravel and Respighi, respectively—and works by
emerging composers like Gershwin and Ellington. Named after the 1925 Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes in Paris, Art Deco influenced fashion, jewelry, buildings, bridges, ocean liners, trains, furniture, and everyday objects including radios and vacuum cleaners. It flourished in the U.S. and Europe during the 1920s to early 1930s until it was swallowed up by the evil that swept across Europe.
Post-concert reception provided by Cora’s Cakery!
ELLINGTON/STRAYHORN, arr. Fred Barton
Take the “A” Train
JOHN ALDEN CARPENTER
Krazy Kat (1921)
MARINA LOPEZ
Moño (2023 Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Orchestral Commission)
MAURICE RAVEL
Piano Concerto in G Major
Terrence Wilson, piano
OTTORINO RESPIGHI
Gli Uccelli (The Birds) (1928)
GEORGE GERSHWIN, arr. Ferde Grofe
Rhapsody in Blue (1924)
Terrence Wilson, piano
The Roaring Twenties
Sunday, August 17, 2025 | 4pm | Cincinnati Museum Center Reakirt Auditorium, West End
A Little Afternoon Musik, sponsored by Rosemary & Mark Schlachter and Irv & Melinda Simon
Samantha Powell, cello/performance curator
Terrence Wilson, piano
Piano Quintet
In the U.S., the Ragtime craze gave way to jazz, which merged with classical music in the works of Ellington or Gershwin. Jazz orchestras led by Benny Goodman, Paul Whiteman (who commissioned Rhapsody in Blue), Ellington, Cab Calloway, or Al Turk (Shanghai Honeymoon) had their performances broadcast from the Cotton Club or the Savoy in Harlem. Terrence Wilson and a Summermusik string quartet perform works by or influential to a new generation of composers that emerged in post-war France, including Francis Poulenc and Germaine Tailleferre, among many.
Paris:
GERMAINE TAILLEFERRE
String Quartet
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Golliwog’s Cakewalk
FRANCIS POULENC
5 Impromptus
America:
JAMES REESE EUROPE
Castle House Rag
FLORENCE PRICE
String Quartet in G major
Allegro
Andante moderato – Allegretto
GEORGE GERSHWIN, arr. Michael Publig
Preludes
Allegro ben ritmato e deciso
Andante con moto
Agitato
Art Deco International:
SHOCKLEY/HAUSMAN/MELROSE
Shanghai Honeymoon
NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, arr. Fritz Kreisler
A Song of India from “Sadko”
Manhattan:
DUKE ELLINGTON, arr. Paul Chihara
Ellington Fantasy for String Quartet
SummerCéilí
Thursday August 21 and Friday, August 22, 2025 | 7:30pm | Irish Heritage Center, Columbia-Tusculum
Chamber Crawl, sponsored by the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund
Liz Knowles, fiddle
Kieran O’Hare, uilleann pipes/flute/whistle
John Skelton, bombard/flute/whistle
Randy Clepper, guitar/bouzouki
Riley Irish School of Music
Erickson Academy of Irish Dance
String Quartet
Traditional Irish music performed by Liz (fiddle, hardanger) and Kieran (uilleann pipes, flute, whistle) and a Summermusik String Quartet. They are joined by John Skelton (bombard, flute, whistle), Randy Clepper (guitar, bouzouki), and the Erickson Academy of Irish Dance.
Repertoire to be called from the stage.
The Soul of Ireland
Saturday, August 23, 2025 | 4pm | SCPA Corbett Theater, OTR
Prelude Talk: 3:15pm | SCPA Mayerson Theater
Mainstage
Eckart preu, conductor
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra
Liz Knowles, fiddle
Kieran O’Hare, uilleann pipes
Friendly Sons of St. Patrick
What is the soul of Ireland? Is it the music (from Turlough O’Carolan to Ewan McColl to U2), the Hill of Tara, the Irish dance tradition, or the resilience of its people (the Gael) to thrive in the face of economic hardship, political oppression, and natural disasters? Who knows, but maybe you can discover the soul of Ireland somewhere in tonight’s music.
Post-concert reception provided by Cora’s Cakery!
LEROY ANDERSON
Selections from Irish Suite
SEÁN Ó RIADA
Overture Olynthiac
JOHN WILLIAMS
Theme from Angela’s Ashes
TRADITIONAL, arr. Liz Knowles
Molly with the Ringlets/Morning Dew
Liz Knowles, fiddle
BILL WHELAN
Selections from Riverdance: A Symphonic Suite
SHAUN DAVEY
Selections from The Brendan Voyage
Kieran O’Hare, uilleann pipes
SEÁN Ó RIADA arr. Paul Bateman
“Mná na hÉireann (Women of Ireland)” from Barry Lyndon
Kieran O’Hare, tin whistle
TRADITIONAL, arr. Liz Knowles
Toss the Fiddles/Rumble
Liz Knowles, fiddle
SHAUN DAVEY
May We Never Have to Say Goodbye
Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Glee Club
About Summermusik: Founded in 1974, Summermusik with resident ensemble Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra creates intimate, transformative experiences that connect the musically curious. Under the direction of Music Director Eckart Preu, Summermusik provides a vibrant musical experience in an intimate and informal setting for both the seasoned and novice concert patron. The Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra is comprised of 32 professional musicians, the ideal ensemble size for presenting orchestral works from the Baroque and Classical eras as well as commissioned works by contemporary composers. Often, the ensemble shrinks down to as small as 3 musicians, which allows for flexibility and creativity in programming. Collaborations are a hallmark of Summermusik, including partnerships with Walk with Amal, CET, Cincinnati Ballet, and Cincinnati Art Museum, among others. The We Are One festival series was launched in 2022 and amplifies under-consulted voices by acknowledging historical and contemporary inequities and celebrating unique cultures.
Summermusik is supported by Robert and Debra Chavez, Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation, ArtsWave Community Campaign, Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund, Irv and Melinda Simon, Greater Cincinnati Foundation, The Charles H. Dater Foundation, and the Ohio Arts Council
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