Music will once again lilt through the trees when Adkins Arboretum hosts Forest Music on Thurs., June 15 from 2 to 4 p.m. Presented in partnership with Chestertown’s National Music Festival, Forest Music is a unique performance art event that brings young musicians and their mentors from the Festival to play in the forest for visitors who travel from near and far to hear them.
Since its inception in 2014, Forest Music has become a highly anticipated annual event. Positioned individually or in small groups along a circuit of wooded paths, musicians play their individual selections simultaneously so that their music can be heard up close or at a distance as visitors walk through the forest. Sometimes harmonizing between one group and the next, sometimes creating strangely magical dissonances, they play in concert with birdsong, the rustle of leaves in high branches and, occasionally, a chorus of frogs.
Over the years, participating musicians have come with violins, clarinets, horns, bassoons, double basses and even steel drums to play everything from Bach to the Beatles to original compositions developed specifically for the Arboretum forest. Held during the National Music Festival’s two-week run, Forest Music draws many of its visitors from the Festival itself while also attracting a large local audience from the Arboretum’s members and friends.
Musicians from Chestertown’s National Music Festival play in the woods during Forest Music at Adkins Arboretum. The 2023 Forest Music performance is Thurs., June 15 at the Arboretum in Ridgely.
The event will also feature the opportunity to bid on a parlor-size acoustic/electric guitar, generously donated by PRS Guitars. Bids will also be accepted through June 30 at adkinsarboretum.org.
Forest Music is $10 per person. Light refreshments will be served, and wine will be available for purchase. All are welcome; advance registration is strongly encouraged at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410-634-2847, ext. 100.
This event is generously sponsored in part by the Caroline County Council of Arts, PRS Guitars and Unity Landscape Design|Build.
A 400-acre native garden and preserve, Adkins Arboretum provides exceptional experiences in nature to promote environmental stewardship.
The National Music Festival brings together inspiring mentors and the next generation of gifted musicians, providing education, scholarships and affordable, adventurous public performances in and around Chestertown, Md. Visit nationalmusic.us for more information.
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