The ten musicians of the Kassia Music Collective & Friends will fill Chestertown’s Emmanuel Church with string music when they perform at 7:30pm on Saturday, April 22 to close the first season of Resonance, the National Music Festival’s chamber music series. Tickets are $20 and are available on the Festival’s website, www.nationalmusic.us, or at the door.

Before the concert, join us for Fabulous Finger Food, Wonderful Wine and Decadent Desserts! Dine in elegance at the famous Widehall home (101 N. Water Street) from 5pm to 7pm. Hear about the upcoming National Music Festival season from Artistic Director Richard Rosenberg, and about the story of Widehall from its owners. Then make the leisurely walk to the concert at Emmanuel Church. The proceeds will go support the Feed the Festival program of the NMF Hospitality Committee and will help serve apprentices and mentors during the Festival. Tickets are $50 and are available online at http://nationalmusic.us/get-involved/special-events/.

The Kassia Music Collective is a newly formed chamber ensemble dedicated to bringing contemporary music to the D.C. area. By focusing on the work of living composers, they play pieces that infuse classical music with different genres and styles, thereby shaping the direction of the western classical tradi­tion. They believe that contemporary music can entice listeners as it challenges them, can excite without abandoning the forms of music from the past, and can evolve without sacrificing beauty.

Their program includes a work by the group’s composer and pianist, Samuel Post, as well as Johann Sebastian Bach’s famous Concerto for Two Violins in d, and a string symphony by Mendelssohn.

As the program also features Phanos Dymiotis’ Suite for Strings, the National Music Festival has designated this event as the 9th Annual Phanos Project Concert. While The Phanos Project began, informally, before the formation of the National Music Festival, it is now a part of the National Music Festival organization. Dymiotis was a violinist and composer from Cyprus, who lived and performed in Maryland until his death at age 41 in a collision with a drunk driver. He performed frequently in Kent County and on the Eastern Shore. The Phanos Project was formed to keep his music playing.

The Kassia Music Collective & Friends concert is the finale of the National Music Festival’s fall-to-spring monthly Resonance chamber music series. Resonance was formerly Kent Chamber Music. For individual tickets as well as annual NMF and Resonance passes, go to: http://nationalmusic.us/events-and-tickets/tickets/

The Potomac Winds’rich blend of flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon will fill the parish hall of historic Saint Paul’s Church on the afternoon of Sunday, February 5. The concert, at 3 pm, is the latest offering of the National Music Festival’s Resonance chamber music series (formerly Kent Chamber Music), which extends from October to April.

NMF 2015/2016 apprentice flutist Ceylon Mitchell and his fellow performers, all graduate students at the University of Maryland School of Music,say their program will be a musical “Straight Flush”:  Ibert’s “Three PiècesBrèves,” DeFalla’s ‘Four Spanish Dances,” Henri Tomasi’s “Five Secular and Sacred Dances” and Ligeti’s “Six Bagatelles.”  In a recent review, the Potomac Winds were praised for their “magnificent playing” and “dedication to excellence.”

Saint Paul’s is at 7579 Sandy Bottom Road in Chestertown, off Route 20 between Chestertown and Rock Hall. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online or at the door; children and students are $5 at the door. For ticket information, go to http://nationalmusic.us/events-and-tickets/resonance/.