Summers in Newport are widely known for world-class musical events. Historic festivals like Newport Jazz and Newport Folk certainly attract massive crowds over a pair of mid-summer weekends. However, the festival with the largest number of concerts is the Newport Classical Music Festival, which this year runs from July 4th to July 21.
The annual festival welcomes dozens of performers, from soloists to string quartets to brass ensembles. This year’s lineup is especially strong, with new and returning artists performing 27 concerts over a three-week period. Serious and casual fans of classical music flock to the city by the sea annually for the festival, which is celebrating its 55th anniversary this summer.
We spoke to Executive Director Gillian Friedman Fox to learn more about the upcoming season, which is expected to be one of their best ever. “When you count in the free community concerts, this year is the most robust in the new era of Newport Classical,” she explained. “We’re excited that we are celebrating our 55th anniversary. I think the staying power and the legacy of Newport Classical is particularly noteworthy. When you think about all the iterations, all of the generations of listeners that we’ve welcomed, it’s really exciting to continue to be thriving in such a great way.”
Some fans have been coming since the festival began in the late 1960s, including many who make up the core audience. “We are also welcoming many first-timers, a notably younger more diverse audience; we’re really excited about welcoming newcomers to classical music,” said Freidman-Fox.
Indeed, classical music is reaching larger audiences than ever before, at in-person performances and online. Locally, the Rhode Island Philharmonic is collaborating with popular artists like The Indigo Girls and Nas in concert. Other local organizations like the Rhode Island Guitar Guild and the Newport String Project provide innovative and exciting programming. The Newport Classical Music Festival hosts a total of 27 concerts in Newport and beyond at venues including The Breakers, Blithewold Mansion, The Elms, Castle Hill Inn, Chinese Tea House, King Park, the Newport Art Museum, the Norman Bird Sanctuary, and more.
“I think that classical music has a way of being relevant today when positioned in the right way… The Indigo Girls or Nas, that’s a really good way to connect to classical,” said Friedman-Fox. “Our biggest concert hall is The Breakers with 300 seats, so despite the gilded nature and opulence of the venue, we’re able to create a really intimate community. We have volunteers who have been with us for decades, people welcome you with a smile. It gives you a sense that you belong here, you’re welcome here.”
Friedman-Fox shared a few highlights, while noting how difficult it is to talk about festival highlights when every concert is unique in one way or another.
“Opening Night, on Friday, July 5, features Sphinx Virtuosi, “one of the best self-led chamber ensembles today,” she said. “What’s really special about them is their commitment to Black and Latinx music, championing their own musicians as well as works composed by underrepresented composers. They’re performing (Grammy-winning) Jessie Montgomery’s Divided, with Thomas Mesa as the soloist on cello.”
Another highlight is Broadway legend Laura Benanti. “She’s an incredible Tony award-winning Broadway singer, who had a really stellar cameo in the second season of HBO’s The Gilded Age. It will be a really entertaining Broadway evening, with pianist Billy Stritch, who most famously was the music director for Liza Minnelli and Tony Bennett… kind of a big deal.
The festival also includes several concerts that are appropriate for families with young children.
“The Patriotic Pops Concert this year is with Fenway Brass and Percussion; our July 4th concert at King Park is super family-friendly, it’s a great way to see that intersection between patriotic music and classical music, and it’s always a crowd pleaser. The Norman Bird Sanctuary concert on July 7th, Italian Strings in Nature, with a 9 AM start time, is also great for kids. It’s a more casual setting, and beautiful for classical music,” said Friedman-Fox.
“At the end of the festival, we have Lara Downes, who was here in 2021 and sold out, we’re excited to bring her back and close out the festival at The Breakers. Earlier that day, she’s doing a free family concert at Temple Shalom which is open to all families.” Downes will present THIS LAND, a concert that celebrates American transformation and the spirit of innovation, imagination, resilience, and resistance, with music by Scott Joplin, Florence Price, Angelica Negrón, Jake Heggie, George Gershwin, and others.
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