Newport Classical continues year-round concerts this spring. Where to find them

At Newport Classical, we are thrilled to be headed into spring with an exciting schedule of Chamber Series concerts, held at our home venue Newport Classical Recital Hall in downtown Newport, and two Community Concerts, bringing free performances to Newport residents right in their own neighborhoods. Our mission is to bring timeless music for today to the city year-round through our array of programming, including the popular summertime Newport Classical Music Festival which this year features 27 concerts taking place between July 4-21 at Newport’s historic mansions and venues. Mark your calendars, because we’ll be announcing the complete festival schedule on March 26, and tickets will go on sale to the general public on April 10! With a wide variety of classical music held in an array of historic venues, you’ll be able to craft a Festival itinerary tailored to your preferences.

Coming up in April and May, our spring Community Concerts will feature two ensembles that build bridges between musical genres. These free concerts are generously presented as part of the BankNewport Community Concerts Series with additional support from NewportFed Charitable Foundation, RISCA, and a Rhode Island Foundation Community Grant.

Empire Wild performs on April 28 at Newport Craft Brewing’s newly opened Taproom. The group channels its love for musical exploration into its sound, fusing pop, folk, jazz, and more, and will be putting their own spin on music by composers whose work has endured the test of time, including Beethoven, Ravel, and Bach. Newport Craft Brewing & Distillery will have a full bar open and Cluck House will be serving food, all available for purchase. While guaranteed indoor seating is at maximum capacity don’t miss out on this fun concert experience and register for overflow, outdoor seating. Hoping for sunny spring weather, we will be amplifying the performance to the beautiful outdoor terrace, which overlooks the Pell Bridge. And of course, should indoor seats become available, guests are welcome to sit on a first come, first served basis.

Invoke has been described as “not anything but everything: Classical, Folk, Bluegrass, Americana and a sound yet to be termed seamlessly merged into a perfect one.” The quartet will bring its signature blend to Miantonomi Memorial Park on May 19. Invoke dodges even the most valiant attempts at genre classification. The multi-instrumental group encompasses traditions from across America, including bluegrass, Appalachian fiddle tunes, jazz, and minimalism. Featuring violin, viola and cello, plus banjo, mandolin, and vocals, this free, family-friendly concert promises a joyful afternoon outdoors, with music and community. We hope to see you there.

Our monthly Chamber Series also continues this spring. These Friday night concerts take place at Newport Classical Recital Hall, known for its striking architecture and excellent acoustics. Audiences are invited to enjoy performances by world-class classical musicians in a relaxed setting, with a complimentary glass of wine from Greenvale Vineyards. We are grateful to have heard from both performers and audience members alike that these concerts are some of their favorites. One patron recently described the concert as, “absolutely breathtaking,” and added that the hall was, “a perfect setting for the performance.”

We have several exciting Chamber Series performances coming up this spring but one that I am personally particularly excited about is Polish-American soprano Magdalena Kuźma, who will perform at Newport Classical Recital Hall on May 17. Magdalena has been praised as a “standout” with “star quality” by Opera News, and is establishing a name for herself in both concert and operatic repertoire. She made her debut at Santa Fe Opera last season, and this season sings in the operas Dead Man Walking, The Magic Flute, and La Rondine with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. After she performs here in Newport, she’ll be going on to make her debut at the Aspen Music Festival later this summer. Magdalena will be singing a beautiful recital program exploring the many facets of the word “home,” through music from Carousel and The Music Man; a selection of Ukrainian folk songs; Tom Cipullo’s song cycle Late Summer based on the poems of William Heyen, Emily Dickinson, and Stanley Kunitz; plus selections by Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Barber. We are very excited to welcome Magdalena to the Newport Classical Recital Hall stage, and grateful to Donald Osborne and Frank Garofolo for their generous sponsorship of this recital.

Whether you join us for one of our Chamber Series concerts or for a Community Concert, we look forward to celebrating spring with you and bringing these exceptional classical musicians to our beloved City-by-the-Sea.

Tickets for all Newport Classical concerts can be purchased online at www.newportclassical.org/concerts. The Newport Classical Music Festival will take place from July 4-21, 2024, with programming announced on March 26.

Gillian Friedman Fox is the executive director of Newport Classical. Her column appears monthly on newportri.com and in The Newport Daily News.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Newport Classical continues year-round concerts this spring.