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Join us for the Opening Night of our 16th annual Festival season!  Enjoy an evening of music that highlights the work of several Swiss-affiliated composers including Helena Winkelmann, Arthur Honegger, Ernest Bloch, Frank Martin, and Othmar Schoeck, brought to life by musicians including Ivalas Quartet—which has been hailed by The Strad for playing with “tremendous heart and beauty,” soprano Sonya Headlam—with a voice described as “golden” [Seen and Heard International], and pianist and Co-Artistic Director Melinda Lee Masur—lauded for her “impeccable technique and artistic interpretation” [The Columbian].

Visuals for the evening will include artwork by Chrissy Angliker, Ernest Bloch, & Jonathan Feldschuh. 

Reception to follow with a tasting of cheese, chocolate, & wine!

FEATURING
Ivalas Quartet
Sonya Headlam, soprano
Melinda Lee Masur, piano
Miho Saegusa, violin
Caleb van der Swaagh, cello

PROGRAM
Helena WINKELMAN Ciacona
Arthur HONEGGER Piano Trio in F Minor, H. 6
Josef HAYDN String Quartet Op. 77, No. 1
Othmar SCHOECK                Rastlose Liebe
Othmar SCHOECK Nachtlied
Arthur HONEGGER Les Pâques à New York (“Easter in New York”)
Ernest BLOCH Paysages (“Landscapes”), B. 62 
Frank MARTIN                         Piano Quintet in D Minor

Chelsea Music Festival is a proud partner of Steinway & Sons
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FREE with RSVP Below

Hosted by our 2025 venue partner, Swiss Institute, join us for an exciting collaboration. Family Hour welcomes Swiss musical duo N’imPorte Quoi for an ongoing, interactive performance in the galleries designed for children and their caregivers. Families will then have the chance to create wearable instruments to explore the relationship between body, sound, and movement with a particular focus on upcycled materials. Adults must be accompanied by a child.

FEATURING
Le duo N’imPorte Quoi, Sylvain Fournier & Koko Taylor

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We are thrilled to offer this program as a part of Lincoln Center’s “Summer for the City Series!” 

Audiences will enjoy both classical and jazz music featuring Ivalas Quartet and Swiss jazz pianist Léo Tardin! Hailed by The Strad for playing with “tremendous heart and beauty,” the Ivalas Quartet has been changing the face of classical music since its inception in 2017 with a mission to enrich the classical music world by spotlighting past and present BIPOC composers. The Ivalas Quartet will perform a selection of works by contemporary voices whose perspectives are leaving an indelible mark on our world, including Jessie Montgomery, Carlos Simon, and Eleanor Alberga. Visuals projected behind the quartet by renown visual artist Suzanne Jackson.

Swiss jazz pianist, composer, and visual artist Léo Tardin presents a multi-sensorial performance with both sonic and pictorial content, bringing his own drawings to life with music. The vignettes in Léo Tardin's Le piano illustré oscillate between intricate floral and plant motifs inspired by his surroundings in the countryside of Geneva and psychedelic sketches. The visuals move in real time in dialogue and response to Tardin's solo piano improvisational jazz pieces. 

FEATURING
Ivalas Quartet
Léo Tardin, piano

PROGRAM
Jessie MONTGOMERY (1981) Strum
Carlos SIMON (b. 1986) Warmth from Other Suns 
Eleanor ALBERGA (b. 1949) String Quartet No. 2
Léo TARDIN Le Piano Illustré

Chelsea Music Festival is a proud partner of Steinway & Sons

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FREE with RSVP Below

Get ready for some fun! Le duo N'imPorte Quoi performs on traditional and world music instruments that range from classic guitar, recorder, drums, musical saw, bells, Charleston, mandolin, oud, darbuqa, melodica, Schwitzerogeli (Swiss accordion), & Rebögn—to goat horn, spoons, broomsticks, bottles, and bathtub bass!  Please come out and enjoy this free to the public pop-up event at Pier57.

FEATURING
Le duo N’imPorte Quoi, Sylvain Fournier & Koko Taylor

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Step into Switzerland for an evening of fondue, wine, & folk music! Just south of Chelsea, The Lavaux Winebar is a gem of a restaurant opened by “three visionaries who left the picturesque vineyards of Lavaux, Switzerland, to make their mark on the bustling streets of New York." Two seasoned winemakers and a cheese maker have created a space that makes one feel as though they have walked right into a Swiss chalet. The Chelsea Music Festival is thrilled to host an event in this transportive space, bringing Swiss folk songs performed by Le duo N’imPorte Quoi on instruments like Schwitzerogeli (Swiss accordion) & Rebögne. 

Ticket includes fondue, a glass of wine, and a treat from Läderach!

FEATURING
Le duo N’imPorte Quoi, Sylvain Fournier & Koko Taylor

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Hailed by The New York Times as an "outstanding ensemble of young musicians," we are thrilled to feature Verona Quartet who headline this night of music featuring Felix Mendelssohn, Benedict Strahl, Dimitir Schostakovich, and Arthur Honegger. Audiences will enjoy projections of watercolor paintings made by Felix Mendelssohn in Switzerland, a land that so deeply inspired the composer.

Visuals for the evening include Felix Mendelssohn’s watercolors from Switzerland as well as artwork by Chrissy Angliker

Reception to follow

FEATURING
Verona Quartet 
Miho Seagusa, violin
Caleb van der Swaagh, cello

PROGRAM
Arthur HONEGGER Sonatine in E Minor for violin and cello, H. 80
Benedict STRAHL Felix Mendelssohn’s Schweizereisen (“Swiss Journey”) 
(World Premiere) – dedicated to Kurt Masur
Felix MENDELSSOHN String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 12 
Dimitri SHOSTAKOVICH String Quartet No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 117 

Program followed by CARDUME Album Release Party & Performance

Ticketing Options available for individual event or double-header performance:

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To ring out the night, join us for the Album Release concert and celebration for CARDUME, the fifth album produced under Chelsea Music Festival Records’ label. The CARDUME trio, featuring world class percussionists Rogério Boccato (Orquestra Jazz Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo), Keita Ogawa (Snarky Puppy), & Cleber Almeida from Brazil will celebrate the official release of their new record.

The album’s release party begins with a celebratory reception where audiences will get the first chance to purchase both vinyl albums and CD followed by a performance by the trio.

FEATURING
Rogério Boccato, percussion
Keita Ogawa, percussion
Cleber Almeida, percussion
with Nitcha Fame, visual artist

PROGRAM
9:00pm - CARDUME Album Release Party (Chelsea Music Festival Records label’s fifth album) begins with a Reception!

9:30pm - CARDUME performance with visual digital artwork by Nitcha Fame

Program preceded by Verona Quartet & Friends—A Swiss Journey

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Ticketing Options available for individual event or double-header performance: 

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Join us for a night of music, art, food and conversation at the beautiful Neue House at Madison Square! Attendees will enjoy a feast for the senses with a performance by Swiss jazz pianist Léo Tardin whose multi-sensorial performance fuses both sonic and pictorial content. In partnership with Caran d’Ache, Tardin’s uses stop motion animation to bring his color pencil drawings to life. Moving in real time in dialogue with his solo piano jazz pieces, his drawings feature floral and botanical motifs inspired by his surroundings in the countryside of Geneva as well as a nod or two to the Big Apple.

A gorgeous palette of food will also be presented by plant-based Chef and Food Stylist Regine Bigler, the Culinary Director at Neue House Madison Square. Bigler gives traditional Swiss recipes a fresh twist! Bigler will create a vertical garden inspired by the drawings of Leo Tardin and also present a wide ranging menu complete with a vertical edible garden inspired by Léo Tardin’s artwork and a chocolate tasting by Läderach that will surely delight the senses!

FEATURING
Léo Tardin, composer, jazz pianist, visual artist
Regine Bigler, chef

PROGRAM
6:30pm - Performance by Swiss jazz pianist, composer, and visual artist Léo Tardin who improvises alongside live animations of his drawings, created for the Festival in partnership with Caran d’Ache.

7:30pm - Dinner curated by Swiss plant-based Chef Regine Bigler in partnership with Swissnex of Boston and New York

MENU
Vertical Edible Garden, Inspired by Léo Tardin - Hibiscus Aioli, White Bean Dip, Herb Humus 
Summer Rolls - Smoked Tofu, Sweet Chili Sauce 
King Trumpet Scallops - Black Garlic Aqua Chile, Black Lime, Marigold  
Oysters From The Woods - Nam Prick, Crispy Shallots 
Seitan Bao Buns - Lemongrass, Habanero Aioli, Pickled Daikon 
My Mothers Bread - Barn Cat Plant-based  
Dessert - Läderach Chocolate

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The Festival is thrilled to present this collaborative performance by Theotokos Ensemble, which includes Doug Balliett on organ and leiken (of Sequentia) as tenor, who together will reanimate a miraculous composition from 10 centuries ago. Originally written by Hermann of Reichenau, or “Herman the Disabled” (1013-1054), an astonishing monk, intellectual and musician from the Middle Ages, these vivid compositions are essentially medieval opera, full of dynamic melodies and built-in drama.

This concert takes as its centerpiece Hermann’s Historia Sancti Magni, or “The Story of Saint Magnus”, a local saint venerated in the region where Hermann lived. Magnus was especially known for his nature miracles, which included expelling snakes, training dragons, and working closely with local bears to find lucrative iron mines. Through hymns, antiphons, responsories, and readings, Hermann tells the story of Magnus’s life, including his miraculous acts and his surprising interactions with animals. Musically, it stands equal among the great spiritual works of western music, and put in the proper context, the drama matches the intensity of the great Romantic operas of the 19th century.

Reception to follow

FEATURING
Theotokos Ensemble 
leiken, tenor
Doug A.A. Balliett, keyboards

PROGRAM
Hermann AU REICHENAU Historia Sancti Magni (Matins Office)

Learn More Here: https://www.dougballiett.nyc/hermannus-contractus 

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Join us for a night at The DiMenna Center where audiences will enjoy the World Premiere performance of a new tone poem written by The Brothers Balliett which will feature Rachell Ellen Wong on solo violin. Bringing her “exceptional blend of technical virtuosity on gut strings, expressive musicianship, and an understanding of period performance practices,” which have established her as one of the leading performers of her generation, we are thrilled to feature Wong alongside a Festival orchestra conducted by Festival Co-Artistic Director Ken-David Masur.

Reception to follow featuring Swiss Chalet Bakery

FEATURING
Rachell Ellen Wong, solo violin 
Melinda Lee Masur, piano
Festival Chamber orchestra
Ken-David Masur, conductor

PROGRAM
Ernest BLOCH Concerto Grosso No. 1
The BROTHERS BALLIETT The Surprising and True Adventures of William Tell
(2025 World Premiere, CMF commission)

Chelsea Music Festival is a proud partner of Steinway & Sons

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FREE with RSVP Below

Grab your friends, kids, and neighbors and join us at this free, family-friendly gathering at Pier 57, a vibrant communal market space located on the Hudson River. Join us for interactive activities that highlight Swiss music & arts and making some muesli with Chef Eric Takahashi!  

Adults must be accompanied by a child. RSVPs are required. 

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Join us for an incredible jazz finale of the Festival and hear World Premieres by John Patitucci featuring his trio and Festival strings conducted by Ken-David Masur. Patitucci’s works speak to the power of music as a tool for social change, spiritual growth, and justice for all people.

Reception to follow curated by Chef Regine Bigler.

FEATURING
John Patitucci, bass
Julian Shore, piano
Adam Cruz, drums
Edmar Coloń, soprano saxophone
Festival Strings 
Ken-David Masur, conductor

PROGRAM
John PATITUCCI Planet in Peril (World Premiere, CMF commission)
John PATITUCCI Communion for strings and jazz trio

Chelsea Music Festival is a proud partner of Steinway & Sons

Click to see full list of Festival Sponsors