Mohawk Trail Concerts Inc

"Mohawk Trail Concerts means summer to me! The MTC Festival of weekend concerts always begins toward the end of June, just as the school year has finally come to an end. For a long-time teacher like me, it has been for years a thrilling opening to the long-awaited vacation; gorgeous, moving, music, sometimes familiar, often new and mind-opening, always beautifully played by musicians of extraordinary quality. What makes these concerts special is the balance of high art, both in content and performance, and the warmly informal relationship between performers and audience. Musicians often give thoughtful introductions to the pieces; there is appreciation, laughter, and general good spirits. It is not unusual to hear a piece performed twice, just for the pleasure of it. The acoustics of the simple, beautiful old church are extraordinary. There’s a social time at intermission where musicians and audience mingle. The drive to Charlemont, from any direction at all, is utterly beautiful. For me this is the experience of music as it should be: intense, unpretentious, perfect."  Corneila Reid, Leyden

Nearly 47 years ago as a young mother I heard live chamber music for the first time in a small church in Western Massachusetts. In this acoustically inviting, informal setting I stepped into a world of music I have been exploring happily ever since. At its founding Mohawk Trail Concerts was the first chamber music festival ever in this area. Violinist/composer Arnold Black gathered a group of professional musicians, some of them summer residents here, to perform programs of music chosen by them. Casually dressed, they talked informally with wit and affection about the composers and the compositions they played. Over the years we've heard established groups such as the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Quartet, groups of individual musicians who came together for a week to perform here, opera singers, soloists of exceptional quality----performing traditional chamber works, lieder, opera arias, and exciting new works, some jazz-infused. Here I discovered a special affinity for the sound of the cello and took up the instrument in order to play chamber music myself. It's been a 46-year music education at Mohawk Trail Concerts in Charlemont. And I'm still learning." Belden Merims, Colrain