Festival News
News
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Pianist Orion Weiss Plays Bach’s Goldberg Variations and More!
Pianist Orion Weiss Plays Bach’s Goldberg Variations and More!
Orion Weiss last appeared at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival in 2021 and brought the house down with a stunning performance of Schubert’s hair-raising Wanderer Fantasy, a work that Schubert himself once abandoned mid-performance before exclaiming: “The devil may play this stuff! I can’t!” Weiss can play this stuff—and to great acclaim, with The New York Times hailing him as a “brilliant pianist” and the Chicago Tribune praising his “head-spinning range of colors.”
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Welcome, Joseph Hohlfeld
Welcome, Joseph Hohlfeld
Here at the Festival, we started 2025 on a high note by welcoming back one of our cherished former colleagues, Joseph Hohlfeld, who began his new role as Director of Development on Thursday, January 2.
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Thank You to Cece Derringer, Director of Development
Thank You to Cece Derringer, Director of Development
As the month and the year come to an end, so, too, does the tenure of our longtime Director of Development, Cece Derringer, who retires on December 31. Cece’s time at the Festival marks a full-circle experience for our cherished colleague, as both her first and last jobs in Santa Fe were at the Festival.
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Winter Solstice Music Traditions: From the Ancients to Today
Winter Solstice Music Traditions: From the Ancients to Today
The winter solstice—the shortest day and longest night of the year—has been a big deal for people across the globe for thousands of years. It’s a time of cosmic alignment that’s inspired all kinds of celebrations and, most notably, music. From ancient rituals to modern tunes, winter solstice music captures a deep connection with nature, resilience, and the promise of brighter days.
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Thank You to Leanne DeVane, Director of Education and Outreach
Thank You to Leanne DeVane, Director of Education and Outreach
Some bittersweet news on our end: Leanne DeVane, who’s served as the Festival’s Director of Education and Outreach since 2019, has decided to pursue new interests and opportunities that will allow her to focus on two other areas that are dear to her heart: her farm and her animals.
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Paul Huang Returns for a Can’t-Miss Violin-Piano Recital
Paul Huang Returns for a Can’t-Miss Violin-Piano Recital
Since making his Festival debut in 2019, violinist Paul Huang has quickly become a Festival-audience favorite, and there’s no question as to why: When listening to Huang play, you’re immediately struck—and taken in—by his tone, which The Washington Post described as “big” and “luscious” and The Strad called “unfailingly attractive, golden, and resonant.” The Post also praised Huang for having “spot-on intonation” and “a technique that makes the most punishing string phrases feel as natural as breathing.” -
Tony Award–winning Actor John Rubinstein Returns
Tony Award–winning Actor John Rubinstein Returns
There are many ways you may be familiar with John Rubinstein: as the Tony, Drama Desk, and Theatre World award-winning Broadway actor whose numerous credits include starring in the original production of Children of a Lesser God and creating the title role in the Bob Fosse–directed production of Pippin, or as the Emmy-nominated actor who starred in such TV shows as Family and Crazy Like a Fox. You may know him as the versatile film actor who’s appeared in such movies as Being the Ricardos, Red Dragon, 21 Grams, and Someone to Watch Over Me or as the composer of several film and TV scores, including ones for China Beach and the Robert Redford movie The Candidate. You may know him as the host of the radio program Carnegie Hall Tonight or as the narrator of more than 200 audiobooks, including ones by such best-selling authors as Agatha Christie, James Patterson, Jonathan Kellerman, and Carl Hiaasen. Or you may know him as a longtime Festival collaborator.
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Marc Neikrug's 2024 Podcast
Marc Neikrug's 2024 Podcast
Join Artistic Director Marc Neikrug, on a captivating exploration of the world of chamber music!
This new podcast, “SFCMF Unfiltered” offers a unique insider’s perspective on the Festival. In each episode, Marc delves into the upcoming season’s programming, revealing the stories behind the music and the talented artists who bring it to life.
Expect insightful discussions, engaging interviews, and a deeper appreciation for the artistry and intimacy of chamber music. Whether you’re a seasoned music lover or just discovering the joy of chamber music, this podcast is your invitation to go behind the curtain and experience the magic of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.
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Something to Talk About: Chatter Makes Its Festival Debut
Something to Talk About: Chatter Makes Its Festival Debut
One of the most buzzworthy events of our 2025 season is our presentation of the Albuquerque-based Chatter Ensemble, which, on August 13, makes its Festival debut giving the first-ever Festival performance of Eight Songs for a Mad King, an avant-garde monodrama written in 1969 by the English composer Peter Maxwell Davies (1934–2016).
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Soprano Liv Redpath, in Her Festival Debut, Kicks off Our 52nd Season
Soprano Liv Redpath, in Her Festival Debut, Kicks off Our 52nd Season
Next summer, the first sounds of our 52nd season are filled with the exquisite stylings of soprano Liv Redpath, who, on our season-opening concerts of July 13 & 14, makes her Festival debut singing Schubert’s gorgeous The Shepherd on the Rock—a roughly 12-minute work the composer wrote (one month before his death, at age 31) following a request from opera star Anna Milder-Hauptmann for a virtuosic concert piece that showcased her vocal and emotional range.
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Get Your Subscriptions Now for Our 2025 Season!
Get Your Subscriptions Now for Our 2025 Season!
As friends of the Festival, you likely already know that there’s so much to be excited about and that subscriptions are on sale now. Subscriptions get you the best seats at the best prices and offer other benefits, too—like advance-purchase privileges for individual tickets (you can buy them before they go on sale to the general public in February), discounts on tickets for any added evening concerts, free ticket exchanges, and more.
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The JACK Quartet: 1 Exciting Debut, 2 Wonderfully Different Concerts
The JACK Quartet: 1 Exciting Debut, 2 Wonderfully Different Concerts
When you’re an adventurous, risk-taking chamber-music group whose mission is to “champion new string quartet music and the transformative experiences that it creates,” being hailed by The New York Times as “fearless” and “one of contemporary music’s indispensable ensembles” signifies a particular level of “mission accomplished.” But as the three-time Grammy-nominated JACK Quartet—which makes its Festival debut next summer—approaches its 20th anniversary, the group is busier and more inspired (and inspiring) than ever, and we’re thrilled to offer two chances to hear them perform in our 2025 season.