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70th Anniversary Gallery

Explore our 70th anniversary photo gallery in which members of the Marlboro community—musicians, trustees, staff, and friends—express in their own words what makes Marlboro a place unlike any other.

"In rehearsals you dig in your heels and try again and again, time after time! It takes time to get closer to the truth, in music and in life. Maybe this is the lesson you take with you from Marlboro. And we are allowed to fail to reach the platform for a performance – only to play for ourselves or just a few friends. For me that is a beautiful concept." —Mitsuko Uchida, co-artistic director. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"The idea of an institution as a 'family'—sharing with the musicians their daily lives and their loved ones—surely is unique among directors of any institution. Virginia Woolf has a memorable line: "Children never forget," and musicians at Marlboro and their families were encouraged to share values which shaped their memories… the "family" approach created memories of shared value that are life-sustaining." —Geraldine Batlle, family member<br><br>Sangeun and Abbie Eanet, Alia Weiss, and Anna Polonsky. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"The luxury of ample time spent collaborating with high-level, curious musicians from different backgrounds, in an environment designed to foster the exchange of ideas, is what makes Marlboro a musical utopia. The mind is opened, perspective is widened, communication skills are honed, and the power of music is amplified." —Nathan Hughes, oboist<br><br>Nathan Hughes and Hassan Anderson. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"When I started coming back as a more mature player, my goal was to continue the legacy that had been handed down to me—to teach and share my experience and love of chamber music." <br><br> "One of the most important aspects of spending time at Marlboro is the openness, willingness, and eagerness to absorb new ideas and explore different directions. <br><br> The world is evolving on so many levels both positively and sadly, negatively, but when given the chance to delve into music that is 1 to 200 years young, the possibilities are endless. I think the sharing of ideas, goals and ideology is… what makes me want to return year after year. It is a haven where we can lose ourselves in our artistic rapture and leave the tumultuous events of daily life—just a little bit behind." —Marcy Rosen, cellist<br><br>Robyn Bollinger and Marcy Rosen. Photo by Matt Genders.
"Marlboro, in many ways, embodies what is possible in a 'good society.' It is a place, an experience, a community of hope and possibility, a light on the hill that shines especially brightly into our world today, too often dimmed by many darknesses." —Luisa Saffiotti, trustee<br><br>Persons Auditorium at night. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Each chamber music group at Marlboro, whatever its particulars, has been an opportunity for me to throw myself into the study of a piece of music, with love, devotion, and a sense of shared purpose. Nothing else in my life gives me such a sense of joy in the exploration of music, and nothing else gives me such a strong sense of community. And nothing comes close to making me feel how connected those two things can be to one another.<br><br>The modern world, for all its advantages, often conspires to divide musicians’ attention in a million directions, and to distract us from our central task of inhabiting the music we play. Marlboro brings me straight back to that place, summer after summer, and for that I’m infinitely grateful." —Jonathan Biss, co-artistic director<br><br>Jonathan Biss and the Marlboro Festival Orchestra. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"What is most important now for young musicians is that they know, in a world of so many people and attitudes that challenge absolute truth, that there IS still an absolute truth. Engaging with a score—asking questions of it, looking at it, studying it—it is still as important, perhaps even more now than it ever was. There are no shortcuts…<br><br>Marlboro has taught me the importance of gaining trust with colleagues and musical partners, the necessity of patience in allowing a project to grow naturally, the strength of kindness and the importance of listening and allowing your colleagues to express their thoughts." —Lydia Brown, pianist & vocal coach<br><br>Lydia Brown, Joshua Stewart, and David Cooper. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"I would tell my younger self to enjoy every bit of it… to find the meaning between the notes. Marlboro clearly imparts the importance of a musical community searching tirelessly together for meaning and beauty, which is easily applicable to any dimension of life. Most of society’s attention span is getting shorter and shorter due to technological advancements and the connectivity it brings, therefore it is hard to ask someone to sit still for a full concert. But in this dilemma, I see the very opportunity music offers to those who are ready to really connect and find meaning." — Efe Baltacıgil, cellist<br><br>Tanner Menees, Christine J. Lee, Efe Baltacıgil, and William Langlie-Miletich. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"Young musicians must take their courage in both hands and offer up their unique voice, no matter how vulnerable it may make them feel." —Kim Kashkashian, violist<br><br>Christine J. Lee, Kim Kashkashian, and Tanner Menees. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"My role is to learn from the musical legends who share their wisdom, from future legends who are incredibly young but already full of soul, and from the music itself which has the potential to change us all." —Sally Chisholm, violist<br><br>Nobuko Imai, Kim Kashkashian, Sally Chisholm, and Matthew Lipman. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"For me and so many others, the Marlboro experience is fundamentally rooted in the Vermont landscape. The founding ideals seem to permeate these hills, the dirt roads, the old farm buildings and stone walls. Nature mirrors the music, in terms of sights and sounds and the way that each stirs our spirits, awakening us to a beauty and sense of interconnection outside of ourselves. Standing outside the dining hall on a summer evening, one feels the decades dissolve, melding like the twilight colors as children play, elders share stories, and a melody rides the breeze. What a privilege to inhabit—and strive to articulate the essence of—this singular place that exists at the otherwise abstract intersection of art, nature, and community. —Brian Potter, communications director<br><br>The Marlboro campus. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"On one of my earliest visits, Mitsuko kindly invited me to sit on a rehearsal of the Brahms Horn Trio with a couple of “youngsters” as she inevitably calls the junior musicians. It was a warm afternoon and the glow of sunlight streaming in matched the golden glow of the music. I was enlisted as page turner, basking so closely in playing of such extraordinary beauty. I did not know her younger chamber partners, but each played with such commitment and passion. It did not take me too long to hear again of her young partners as they made their way into distinguished careers—violinist Lisa Batiashvili (long since a celebrated soloist and chamber musician) and horn player Jennifer Montone (now principal horn of the Philadelphia Orchestra). The transmission of musical wisdom and perspective from senior musician to junior colleague was yet again tangible that afternoon to no end other than the delving deeply into the music at hand—the heart of Marlboro at work." —Ara Guzelimian, artistic advisor<br><br>Hugo Moreno, Emi Ferguson, Patrick Pridemore, Emily Beare, Jay Campbell, Nicolee Kuester, and Jonah Ellsworth. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Learning happens not only through trying to emulate but through a process of letting the mind wander and question. That takes time, space, and freedom. And that’s the magic of Marlboro. It’s learning that takes place over weeks, successive summers, and over decades. It’s learning that happens not only in rehearsals or practicing, but on walks in the woods, staring at the sky and clouds while floating on my back in the middle of South Pond, or soaking in the quiet Milky Way night far from city lights." —Joseph Lin, violinist<br><br>Andrew Hsu, Joseph Lin, and Julia Yang. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"The treasures that truly matter are not those that are hoarded up in vaults or protected by high walls but those that are most generously shared and freely transmitted from generation to generation. Marlboro is the embodiment of this generosity. World-renowned performers share their craft and their visionary understanding of chamber music and vocal performance with younger artists who have already demonstrated extraordinary promise. It is in this way that some of humanity’s greatest gifts are preserved, instilled, renewed, and passed along." —Stephen Greenblatt, trustee<br><br>Anthony McGill, William Winstead, and Natalya Rose Vrbsky. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Famously called 'the music of friends,' chamber music creates community—the community of musicians playing, one on a part—a conversation, as Goethe observed—and the community of listeners. Marlboro has such community at its very soul. It brings together musicians—young and old, teacher and student—in a summer community in a magical place in the southern Vermont woods, where they live, eat, learn, and play together. The weekend concerts are simply the outgrowth of the work that takes place among the musicians… yet the concerts extend the community further—to the listeners, who gather to hear their work. There’s a luminosity to Marlboro, and an intensity—perhaps because each ensemble, each chamber grouping of musicians, is unique for that piece. As an audience member you come to listen not to an established ensemble—the Juilliard, the Emerson—but the musicians of Marlboro and the work they create together." —Carol Christ, trustee<br><br>Robyn Bollinger and Soovin Kim. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Rudolf Serkin was a man of few words, but he had a vision of the power of chamber music in the development of exceptional instrumentalists and singers. Immersing them in the exploration of chamber music for two months could transform them into thoughtful and intelligent musicians who could make important contributions to music.>br><br>Chamber music requires not only learning one’s own part but the score: learning to listen, to compromise, to make multiple voices into one. These are the same skills that we need in our personal lives. The lessons of chamber music and life intersect at Marlboro and will continue to be essential to future generations of musicians and to music itself." —Frank Salomon, administrator emeritus<br><br>Skit night in the dining hall. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Marlboro can sometimes seem like an anachronism. Its insularity, its anti-commercialism, and its deliberately slow pace seem out of place in today’s world, let alone in today’s jet-setting, streaming, always-on musical landscape. But it offers a deep lesson for all of us about the value of continuity and connections between the past and the future. Time doesn’t pass in discrete increments at Marlboro. Instead, it passes in generations... We see the passage of time as the people who were once young musicians return as seniors, conveying the lessons that they learned years earlier." —Christopher Serkin, president and board chair<br><br>Christopher Serkin with audience members. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"Time and space are precious commodities in today’s society. Marlboro’s pace allows magical exploration and transformation that is unpredictable. When the rest of the world is impatient and often results driven, it is a much-needed artist haven where time stops and creativity takes center stage. I am a lifelong believer… Patience, patience, and patience. Time is the ultimate healer and doctor in all." —Hsin-Yun Huang, violist<br><br>Hsin-Yun Huang. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"As scheduling director, I try to ensure that every participant at Marlboro has the most musically fulfilling summer they could imagine and even to get them beyond that to learn things they couldn’t have anticipated. This includes keeping them busy, but not too busy, playing music from varied different musical periods with as many different people as possible in as many different combinations as we can arrange, for as long as they like during the seven weeks of the season. During that time, my hope is that they will learn the lessons of working together in lots of different ways, speaking up for what they believe in but deferring when appropriate to the experience of senior musicians. I want people to leave Marlboro feeling that they had a once in a lifetime experience filled with learning, not only about the music they studied and listened to at concerts, but also about professionalism, and even about being a good human being." —Alisa Belzer, scheduling director<br><br>The scheduling board, the heartbeat of the festival. Photo by George Dimock.
"The ideals of Marlboro haven’t changed: the goal is serving, knowing better and loving music, and abandoning considerations about career, success, and performance as a show. It means engaging a work that needs patience, tolerance, time (a lot of time), and good, friendly relationships with partners, no matter if they are much younger, forgetting the concept of hierarchy. The kind of life one leads in Marlboro (not travelling for an anachronistically long period, no TV, shopping once a week, innocent parties) became a way to make more unity in my own family within the larger Marlboro family." —Bruno Canino, pianist<br><br>Barbara and Bruno Canino. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"The true thing is that it’s not about us, but how we think about the music and getting that out through ourselves to anybody who listens, closer to the people who wrote the poetry and the music." —Benita Valente, soprano & vocal coach<br><br>Benita Valente and Lucy Fitz Gibbon. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"It is incredible that the founders of Marlboro already knew in the 1950s how valuable it is to have the time to find details in the music together. If it was true then, it is even more so now. Being at Marlboro offers a real chance to dig in… I find details in groups at Marlboro that I am shocked that I hadn’t found before." —Christoph Richter, cellist<br><br>Kei Tojo, Christoph Richter, Florence Cooke, and Nicholas Richter. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"Everyone eats meals together, plays together, and celebrates together after performances. This sense of community, where people of different ages who have different roles at Marlboro (and in life) spend meaningful time together, is so important, especially in our current time when many feel isolated." —Alexander Fiterstein, clarinetist<br><br>Yevhen Churikov and Alexander Fiterstein. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"From almost the first hours after arriving, a rhythm began to be established and a balance was struck between a remarkably relaxed social atmosphere on the one hand, and the most absolute and serious study of great musical texts on the other. This sense of artistic equilibrium at Marlboro is unique in my experience." —Alexander Hersh, cellist<br><br>Anna Göckel and Alexander Hersh. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Time is not what we have when we are out in the world. In reality, we are to be ready fast for most concerts. If a young musician comes to Marlboro, they get a chance to take their time. Not every place offers the “pause” from everything, without an absolute pressure to get on stage. The result is that we can approach the most demanding repertoire and see how it turns out. It gets philosophical here in Vermont." —Carmit Zori, violinist<br><br>Mari Lee and Carmit Zori. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Marlboro acts as an oasis for people from all walks of life and offers the spirit of daily community living. Each member of the community is treated equally and valued for who they are. I learned, laughed, and loved the music as well as the special atmosphere… and those beautiful hills in Vermont." —Matija Vlatković, Marlboro family<br><br>South Road. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"Music is ultimately about people. It is a social expression of the lateral, non-hierarchical dynamics of chamber music at its best; a short but real glimpse into what a fairer world could look like, searching and listening for deeper resonances with other humans." —Jay Campbell, cellist<br><br>Jay Campbell and Sofia Gubaidulina. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"Marlboro connects the past and the future of music. It is a true palimpsest of composers’ voices and intentions brought to life again and again by generations of renowned and thoughtful interpreters; every summer we start fresh and build on the careful work of those who came before." —Patricia Manley, development director<br><br>Patricia Manley. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"A certain rarity continues to pervade the chamber music ensembles here. There’s an eternal quality that transcends challenges that are found in other settings due to time pressures and the pressure to perform." —David White, Marlboro family<br><br>David White. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Marlboro provides artists an opportunity to question, study, and explore all the dimensions of the chamber music repertoire without prejudice or constraints. It fosters openness, collegial behavior, and consummate levels of artistry. There is no hierarchy, nor preconceptions, nor constraints of time. These are rare attributes in today’s world."  —Barbara Glauber, former trustee<br><br>Lydia Brown, Veronika Eberle, Joseph Lin, Nicholas Phan, Dane Johansen, and Luke Fleming. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Marlboro is the place where every musical moment, phrase, and tempo marking is questioned as to how the music can be brought to life. Curiosity sustains music-making." —Ieva Jokubavicute, pianist<br><br>Nick Eanet, YooJin Jang, Ieva Jokubaviciute, Jay Campbell, and Dimitri Murrath. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"It is important, i think, to remember that when Marlboro was first conceived, classical chamber music was not at all a part of the U.S. culture. The very few groups that existed were almost all European, and the audiences were mainly European as well. If nothing else, Marlboro served as a catalyst to change all that.<br><br>The spirit that seemed to define Marlboro was the shared love of music, the celebration of it, and the dedication to trying to serve the works studied in the deepest sense possible, which, it was believed, could only happen through a great deal of exploratory rehearsals. Marlboro has never been unblemished by hypocrisy, but overall I think it is amazing that it has managed to keep that original intent of building a strong community on a shared love of music. In these troubled times, especially, it offers some kind of hope, a sense of devotion and deep care." —Judith Serkin, cellist<br><br>Evren Ozel, Stephen Tavani, and Judith Serkin. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Pablo Casals said, 'I am first a human being, second a musician, and third a cellist.' Seventy years ago, the Founders of Marlboro Music gathered at a small college campus, isolated in the mountains of southern Vermont. Their purpose was to bond as a community, and to explore music. To this day, Marlboro Music sustains Their vision." —Peter Wiley, cellist>br><br>Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, and Peter Wiley. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"I’ve often felt that the people who founded Marlboro grew up in an atmosphere where music was in relation with the other arts and they had, almost by virtue of growing up at that time, a kind of artistic education which people today have to work harder to get. Marlboro can’t, after all, be everything in those seven weeks… but it can sometimes provide tastes of things, and maybe a sense of the interrelationships that we would hope to help achieve." —Richard Goode, pianist and former artistic director<br><br>Richard Goode. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"From its beginnings, Marlboro has been characterized by the humility of its founders and musicians—a humility that comes from an uncompromising commitment to something greater than oneself—a respect and dedication to music above all." —Jennifer Loux, admissions director<br><br>Jennifer Loux, Joshua Smith, and Amy Lee in the Dining Hall. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"We say that Marlboro is not a conventional school of music. That is true: there are no lectures and no masterclasses. But there is something radical, in the sense of rootedness, about our unhurried approach to the study of music. The root of our word for “school” comes from the Greek σχολή, which denotes the leisure necessary to pursue scholarly activities. We don’t do these activities because we have to; we do these activities because we get to. In the case of music (and pranks), Marlboro allows for the time, space, and connection that are the prerequisites of true creative leisure—all around the campus and around the clock." —Marina Cooke, former communications and development assistant<br><br>Outside the dining hall. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Today’s young musicians face a competitive landscape, where perfection is almost a necessity. The discipline needed to acquire technical mastery often overshadows the humanity and vulnerability of the artist… Today’s young musicians can benefit enormously from the conversations and discussions of chamber music, as it leads to deeper understanding." —Scott St. John, violinist<br><br>Scott St. John. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"There is an aura surrounding the space that is difficult to describe, as if generations of musical spirits are watching and, perhaps more importantly, listening. Being surrounded by nature and lush greenery teaches one to listen both constantly and intently, both for the rustling of the leaves or quiet murmuring of the wind and the hushed or sometimes outspoken conversations of the participants. Music is not just about performance or even study; music is a community, a togetherness manifest in a place, in its air, scenery, and people. Music is a state of being and a way of life. As trite as that sounds, being fully immersed in music means that we are less concerned about "achieving something." We would rather spend that energy simply expressing, something that Marlboro has given us limitless freedom to do." -Rose Hsien, violinist & Andrew Hsu, pianist<br><br>Andrew Hsu. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"'Family' is the word that jumps out of my head when I think of Marlboro. This family is growing every year and, now, is still just as vital as it was when I first came. There were always any number of children every summer, and at times it seemed that there were more children than adults in and around the dining hall. The rehearsing and music-making may be very detailed and intensive, but it has caused all of us to become very close." —Hiroko Yajima, violinist<br><br>Siwoo Kim, Hiroko Yajima, Theo Hoffman, Jay Campbell, and Samuel Rhodes. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"One of Marlboro’s most important and lasting lessons is that having goals may not be the most potent way to progress! We attempt to pass on the virtues of artistic exploration and what it means to share with others on the deepest level. We must remain vigilant in affirming that music is organic, pulsing with life’s vibrations.<br><br>I began my life at Marlboro as a young, unseasoned violist. I was catapulted into a new world of sights, sounds, and images: humanity working in depth, with unabashed passion and faith in the power of artistry. Marlboro remains a grand experiment! The world of chamber music is akin to the world at large. We must retain our own impulses and identity yet allow another’s impulses and choices to flow through us in a convincing manner. It is the ideal of good government; the ideals of a society are strengthened through both resistance and flow." —Kim Kashkashian, violist<br><br>Kim Kashkashian. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Marlboro is all about doing my best work. I can focus my energy on a single instrument until it sounds and feels exactly as it needs to. This is an increasingly rare opportunity in my field, and I think it mirrors in some way the approach that participants take to music in Marlboro." —Joel Bernache, piano technician.<br><br>In Persons Auditorium. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Marlboro Music represents an ultimate harmony of natural beauty and the beauty of chamber music. My memories of experiencing its enchantment go back for sixty years of attendance. Over that time there have, of course, been changes, but what has always remained constant is Marlboro’s central ethos: integrity of purpose and a commitment of rare purity to its guiding focus on pursuing a mission of excellence in interpretation and performance, of respectful devotion to the works of art and their composers that binds musicians young and old, past and present, in a cause that transcends time and generation. A moral seriousness is at work, one that embraces both the artistic and the human values found in the life and aspirations of the Marlboro community." —Hanna Gray, trustee emerita<br><br>Outside the dining hall. Photo by Clemens Kalischer.
"I first came to Marlboro in my student years and still after all these years, I am inspired by the enduring quality of quality itself. Marlboro is where we finally realize we can grow up to be great artists, but we never have to stop being children in our curiosity and our joy at making musical discoveries. It is where we learn that humility and gratitude go hand in hand with daring and adventurousness, and these bind us to our ancestors and to our successors alike, and make us vibrant contributors to this planet here and now." —Marina Piccinini, flutist<br><br>Giorgio Consolati and Marina Piccinini. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Art and creativity have nothing to do with wanting to be popular. The best kind of inspiration visits an artist who is not cynical, self-conscious, or anxious about the approval of others. Young musicians are less likely to have addressed this (huge) component of their work, and it needs to be a bigger part of their musical training. Even one’s most stubbornly ingrained points of view change over time, provided there is enough opportunity for soul-searching and genuine introspection." —Anna Polonsky, pianist<br><br>Anna Göckel and Anna Polonsky. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"[The founders] attracted the best and brightest young talents and combined them with experienced veteran artists. These veteran artists were asked not to coach but to actually rehearse and play with their groups, leading them with the beauty and inspiration of their playing and their vast experience with the music… These ideals have not changed at all in 70 years. They are still the impulse that calls all of us, senior artists and young blossoming talents alike, to have the honor of being part of one of the few places on earth where realizable ideals are venerated and alive at every moment.<br><br>The idealism of what Marlboro offers continues to influence the most talented young musicians today. They see the generosity of spirit and example that our present music directors, Mitsuko Uchida and Jonathan Biss, provide. They work with the different points of view that our senior artists give them. They begin to understand that putting a performance together quickly is not really the point but spending unlimited time working on the smallest points and discussing every angle of a work is worth everything. They see how respecting a colleague's different point of view and trying all ideas out until they arrive at a solution that is greater than the sum of all the parts is an important goal." —Samuel Rhodes, violist<br><br>Hiroko Yajima, En-Chi Cheng, and Samuel Rhodes. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"I think that, to Marlboro’s co-founders, directors, and seniors, a performance is merely a snapshot in time—a rendering of where the artists are in their endless quest for musical perfection and deeper understanding. A great piece can never be played well enough, but the attempt is deeply revealing—of the group, the piece, and the times in which we live." —Philip Maneval, administrator emeritus<br><br> Intermission at Persions Auditorium. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Never forget your first aspirations… and that all occasions are a once-in-a-lifetime chance. One must lose oneself in the instrument, with passionate commitment." —Nobuko Imai, violist<br><br>Anna Lee, Shai Wosner, Nobuko Imai, and Sujin Lee. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Egos quickly melt away because you are bumping shoulders with the world’s top musicians who are also there just to make music and enjoy life. Perhaps most importantly, music is simplified because you have time to ponder musical ideas and discover what a composer intended. Through the simplicity, I began to discover how grand music could actually be." -Miles Mykkanen, tenor<br><br>A summer picnic. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"The musicianship nurtured at Marlboro will never change. The commitment to the art and the craft remains as necessary now as ever. The communion with each other remains as necessary now as ever. The music itself remains as necessary now as ever. And the sheer idealism of the place is what will carry us through.<br><br>Marlboro gives us time: time to work, time to listen, time to learn. And in giving us the physical and temporal space we need, this in turn encourages us to trust our instincts and to be more daring in our musical choices. As performing artists, it feels as if we are asked with each passing year to take on more duties beyond performing. Some of these changes are welcome: I love that we are invited to speak to our audiences, and I delight in cracking open the canon to include deeply needed, diverse viewpoints. Others, though, can feel like a burden—too many hours spent writing grants or retweeting photographs, per the presenter’s request, instead of being able to practice. Even rehearsals can feel like an unattainable commodity when you’re busy rushing from one performance to the next." —Lucy Fitz Gibbon, soprano<br><br>Leon Fleisher, Theo Hoffman, Benita Valente, Mitsuko Uchida, Spencer Lang, Jennifer Johnson Cano, Faylotte Crayton, Lucy Fitz Gibbon, and Lydia Brown. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Marlboro has, since its very inception been something of a Mount Parnassus for musicians… a large part of how I learned to listen to myself, as well as others, I learned at Marlboro.." —Leon Fleisher, pianist<br><br>Leon Fleisher, Mitsuko Uchida, and the Marlboro Festival Orchestra. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Everyone, for seven weeks, makes a tacit agreement to all be in over our heads. When confronting these often seemingly impenetrable masterworks all summer, no old patterns are relied upon and no underlying assumptions go unquestioned. The entire festival boldly jumps head first into every musical possibility." —William Langlie_miletich, double bassist<br><br>William Langlie-Miletich and Efe Baltacıgil. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"My goal is to be the best musician that I can be and to live up to the promises I made to myself to never compromise my love and joy for the music. Never turn people away because they disagree with you. Never dismiss the older generation. There is always something to learn. Have strong opinions but be flexible. Love what you do. <br><br>I hear a lot of “perfect playing.” I’m bored to death. Perfect recordings are false gods. Following trends in music leads musicians to ignore what is truly important in the music. Keeping an audience coming back to hear concerts is not about playing in tune or on time. Love, joy, intimacy, beauty, and innocence are the key elements in the music that keeps the audience returning. Stop trying to impress people. Instead, give them what they need in life through the music you play. There is no such thing as perfection, but there is such a thing as beauty. You want love and joy to last as long as possible... the faster you play, the more quickly it will end." —Kurt Muroki, double bassist<br><br>Kurt Muroki. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"True mastery of a topic comes from study and exploration. The way in which music is studied and rehearsed at Marlboro is a template for success in many aspects of life."  —Tom Luekens, recording engineer<br><br>Tom Luekens. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Members of the festival come from all corners of the globe, and each summer I am given the opportunity to learn from them and their unique experiences, with the common ground being music. In a world where divides and differences are often a common theme, Marlboro offers a departure through its community of musical kinship. One can’t help but take this sense of community and unity back into the outside world after a summer spent with the festival." —Christine Lanza, hospitality director<br><br>Ninin Bloom and Christine Lanza. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"My playing in real life (i.e. The Cleveland Orchestra) is inflected with and enhanced by my experiences at Marlboro—specifically the sense of community which chamber music embodies; the give-and-take between partners, the support for others musical and otherwise, learning when to lead and when to follow, how to lead while following and follow while leading, grappling with the whole panoply of human interaction. It’s all about growth, musical and otherwise. Of course deep introspection and internal focus is required, but profound understanding is not found solely in isolation. It helps to have like-minded (and contrary!) people around to listen to and learn from." —Frank Rosenwein, oboist<br><br>Frank Rosenwein. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Young musicians are learning their craft at a phenomenal level. The important things for them to learn are still the same: respect, reverence, and community. As a senior, my goals have to do with sharing music, but also with guiding young people personally, supporting their golden musical interiors while helping them negotiate positive ways of working together to explore music. I try to model the way of working that I want them to understand; respecting each person in every ensemble I am part of, working to translate the inner language of music rather than getting stuck on the surface polish of the notes. These young people play so well that working merely on making things more perfect is not what is needed. Polishing the lamp is good, but one must light the flame inside." —Lucy Chapman, violinist<br><br>Robin Scott, Lucy Chapman, Ahrim Kim, and Wenting Kang. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"From its first moments the not-so-secret ingredient of Marlboro has been the spirit of generosity which infuses all of its activities… it is reflected in the return year after year of senior musicians, many of whom first came to Marlboro as younger artists. Our current artistic directors are the perfect example of that spirit." —Stephen Stamas, trustee and former board chair<br><br>Mitsuko Uchida and Jonathan Biss. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"My goals are for the singers to sing like musicians, not just singers. It is important to tell the truth as a musician and person." —Ken Noda, pianist & vocal coach<br><br>Mitsuko Uchida, Sara Couden, and Ken Noda. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Marlboro always strikes me as more of a mindset than a music festival. You put away in storage some of the concerns of daily life as you exit the highway and make room for some more timelessness as you go up the hill—timelessness in the repertoire, in the pace of things, in the way musicians from very different generations are looking for the same thing—getting to the essence of their artform." —Shai Wosner, pianist<br><br>Shai Wosner and János Palojtay. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Classical music will survive only if and because it is played with the same depth and relevance as at the moment it was written. In fact, I often object to the term 'classical,' because there is nothing antiquated about the music we play. It is still and always will be music that conveys deep human emotion. I find it hopeful and comforting to know that a Beethoven quartet or Schubert trio will always take the same amount of time to unfold, despite the ever-faster pace of modern life. This will become more and more necessary in people's lives, and it is our job to present it in this way.<br><br>It is invaluable, especially as the pace of life seems to be endlessly accelerating, to be able to return day after day and week after week to the same music and to have the time to discover what’s in a score and how to bring it out as simply and as honestly as possible. It’s important that musicians not get caught up in superficial advertising, short soundbites, and flashy attention-grabbing.<br><br>We seem to be living in a world where disagreement is often followed immediately by a lack of listening and a hardening of differences. Rehearsing a piece of music over a long period of time requires just the opposite approach. It is important, first of all, to come with strong ideas and convictions from the score, but then to be able to listen to someone else’s equally strong but differing opinion and fully embrace it as an option, together in service of the music." —David McCarroll, violinist<br><br>David McCarroll, En-Chi Cheng, Brannon Cho, and Andrew Hsu. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Musicians should feel the need to be in the business of knowing… Some musicians are information-driven, but in many cases newer information needs to overwrite the old information—it is not easy for many to un-learn something in order to learn something new.<br><br>Allowing musicians to get together for the sake of music (not for the sake of fulfilling obligations) is noble, and from that standpoint, Marlboro is a chamber music sanctuary... In this business-driven world, Marlboro’s approach seems unrealistic, but that makes it even more special." —Koji Otsuki, head librarian and Bach consultant<br><br>Efe Baltacıgil, Mio Otsuki, and Koji Otsuki. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"I am intoxicated by being surrounded by people who care deeply about working intensely and carefully—and who love talking about that, sharing ideas and, yes, geeky thoughts about how it all works. I learned that chamber music rehearsals minus ego and plus laughter are the best." —Joshua Smith, flutist<br><br>David McCarroll and Joshua Smith. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"To young artists: Be patient, explore the repertoire not just of your instrument, and don’t be tied just to one style. Enrich your soloistic talent with analysis and knowledge of chamber music, and make your virtuosity less extroverted." —Bruno Canino, pianist<br><br>Persons Auditorium in the afternoon. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Marlboro needs to stay true to its values and idealistic example. The founders created great music after fleeing fascism, in the face of our larger society that doesn’t always share the same reverence for higher calling and higher art-making. As the photographer, I seek to project the positive nature of the creative and social interactions that I see, both for the community as well as for the wider world looking in." —Pete Checchia, photographer<br><br>Pete Checchia on the way to the Concert Hall. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"Marlboro provides links across time experienced by generations working together and sharing insights—often passed down from the composers themselves. Time is also necessary for true community—the close proximity and remote location of Marlboro’s campus provides time to converse over meals, time for conversations about matters of greatest importance to us. Time to listen and learn. Time to build lifelong friendships. Anyone who has lived and worked at Marlboro cannot help but be changed in a meaningful way by the community, the natural surroundings, and the music-making—by its gift of time, and by its culture shaped by generosity, empathy, humility, and an uncompromising commitment to an ideal." —Jennifer Loux, admissions director<br><br>An afternoon on campus. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"In addition to knowing and growing their knowledge of the repertoire and performing it in an exemplary manner, young musicians must learn to maintain an excellent network of vital relationships, as they will be the key to advancement." —Harvey Traison, trustee<br><br>Anthony McGill and the Marlboro Festival Orchestra. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"There simply is no experience for all of those playing, singing, and listening quite like a performance of the Choral Fantasy at summer’s end to reaffirm the beauty of humanity, music, nature, and life in one singularly exquisite musical moment." —Matthias Naegele, cellist<br><br>The Marlboro Festival Chorus. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"It’s a cliché to say that keeping classical music alive and thriving is a challenge; less acknowledged—but surely just as important—is the need for musicians themselves to thrive and stay happy in such a demanding and stressful field. They must certainly be more stylistically versatile than they used to be… to be versatile and to have different tools at your disposal is important, but to be able to draw on those different tools to effectively work with other people is ultimately more crucial." —James Andrewes, assistant library<br><br>Monday night dinner. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"In the 10 summers I spent in southern Vermont learning repertoire and cross-pollinating with other musicians, Marlboro served as a giant laboratory for us. Where else could we come together for as long as needed to study a work in depth? The purity and value of Adolf Busch’s idea attracted people from all over.<br><br>In 1959, my first summer at Marlboro, one of its founding members, the flutist Marcel Moyse, pointed to a marking in my viola part of the Debussy Harp Trio and instructed me to ignore it. When I looked up at him questioningly, he said, “Debussy told me that he changed his mind about the marking.” As a 22-year old musician, this was a breathtaking moment for me." —Arnold Steinhardt, violinist<br><br>Arnold Steinhardt, Miriam Fried, and Paul Biss. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"You go away from Marlboro when you're a young participant having met these great people, who themselves were in touch with a lot of great people that you’ve only heard about. It’s carried along down the line. There are people who are gone now that we wish that everybody could have known. The depth, the coming from Europe, the going through hell to get here during the war, all of the stuff that put us together." —Tony Checchia, bassoonist & emeritus administrator & Benita Valente, soprano & vocal coach<br><br>Yehonatan Berick, Jennifer Gilbert, Benita Valente, David Soyer, and Patrick Dussart De La Iglesia. Photo by Clemens Kalischer.
"All of us in the administration have a huge amount of appreciation for what Mitsuko, Jonathan, and the seniors give to Marlboro, both in their off-season involvement in the auditions and planning activities, and throughout the summer. We are humbled to be a part of this process which aims to foster dynamic, in-depth relationships allowing musicians to exchange and develop ideas through an intensely collaborative approach to learning." —Miles Cohen, artistic administrator<br><br>Jonathan Biss, Miles Cohen, and Alisa Belzer. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Lessons in collaboration, empathy, reconciling conflicting opinions, learning when to yield and when to persuade—all these go far beyond chamber music. I hope that Marlboro will always remain that rare place where excellence is valued above expedience." —Ignat Solzhenitsyn, pianist<br><br>Ignat Solzhenitsyn and Simon Barrad. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"The people change from year to year, but the spirit remains the same, both with respect to music and humanity." —Bice Horszowski, family member<br><br>Lauren Pearl, Ada Baltacıgil, and Bice Horszowski. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"It says a lot about Marlboro that the members of the faculty are not called “teachers” or “professors” or even “coaches” but “seniors.” This terminology leaves the relationship between the younger players and the experienced ones more open to give-and-take in rehearsals. Imagine arriving at Marlboro for your first summer and being put into a group with Felix Galimir, your chamber music coach at Juilliard where you probably called him Mr. Galimir. Now he is “Felix” and you are encouraged to contribute to the creation of the performance of, say, a Brahms sextet. This could be daunting were it not for this new naming of the relationship. The senior is not there to tell you what to do but to help you delve into the music and use your imagination. This is guidance rather than directive." —Judith Sherman, former head recording engineer<br><br>Philipp Naegele and Felix Galimir. Photo by Clemens Kalischer.
"Organizations and human beings strive to build a legacy by which they may be identified and remembered. Marlboro Music reappears in the hills and woods of southern Vermont each summer to add to its legacy in ways that warm one’s heart and leave glorious memories." —Jerry Rubenstein, trustee emeritus<br><br>Southern Vermont. Photo by Brian Potter.
"Almost nowhere in society can you use constructive criticism and not see people fall apart—it’s a skill that not many people have, and it is cultivated here." —Freddie Hart, Marlboro family<br><br>Viviane Hagner and Richard Goode. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"To recognize political danger is one thing, to act upon it quite another. To imagine a gathering of musicians, both young and old, is a noble idea, but making a festival happen means living your ideals. Sharing the passion with a new generation is like passing on the torch. It seems a little like back to the future." —Radovan Vlatković<br><br>Trevor Nuckøls and Radovan Vlatković. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"We can now fly across the country or the world and perform on consecutive nights. We can book a flight and race to the airport at the last minute, do a rehearsal and concert, and fly back before anyone noticed we were gone. But should we ramp up the pace and our blood pressure and do this? A musician needs time to relax, to breathe, and to get their head together in order to perform." "Marlboro can still be the way it always was. You step out of the 'real world,' walk away from your gadgets and phones and TVs, and sit around the dining hall and get to know other people. The best friendships that I’ve formed here started simply because we took the time to really get to know one another. Walking down South Road after dinner talking about everything, and sometimes nothing at all, is fabulous. I cherish the friendships that form on those walks." —Karen Kloster, operations director<br><br>Jessica Wolford, Karen Kloster, Maria Savannah, Wesley Woodward, and Jody Lee. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"I am inspired by Marlboro’s standard of excellence, and I strive to uphold these touchstones throughout my musical life, whether programming imaginative repertoire, commissioning new works by today’s great composers, reaching out to audiences unacquainted with great chamber music, or teaching my students to find their own individual voices while respecting the wisdom of the composers and great performers of the past." —Sharon Robinson, cellist<br><br>Outside Persons Auditorium. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Thinking about the festival always leads me to seek out other sublime parts of life, whether that is in the arts, leisurely pursuits, or in my career. The sheer excellence of Marlboro heightens the appetite and expectation for other excellent things… truly great creations are almost always the product of hard work, discipline, and dedication." —Daniel Ginsberg, trustee<br><br>Catherine Chen and Marlène Ngalissamy. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Growing up with Auschwitz survivors was a traumatic affair, but Bach, Beethoven, and Schubert saved my sanity and my broken heart. I fell in love with chamber music, and soon enough I was listening on the radio to far-away musicians like Pablo Casals, Sasha and Mischa Schneider, Rudolf Serkin, Mieczysław Horszowski, and others… they had something in common—they were associated with Marlboro. Being a part of Marlboro one day became my dream." —Aliza Stewart, Feldenkrais practitioner<br><br>Pablo Casals and the Marlboro Festival Orchestra
"I’m trying to become as authentic a communicator onstage as I possibly can—and therefore to find the most direct way to serve the music and get to the heart of its message. Related to that is my continual quest to be a good colleague… this means not only coming to rehearsal prepared and able to discuss the music, but being able to work with all different sorts of personalities without feeling like I’m being pulled in different directions. I guess that’s intertwined with getting to know oneself, which comes from building experiences over time and learning from them... a skill necessary for any station in life." —Emilie-Anne Gendron, violinist<br><br>Emilie-Anne Gendron and Ida Levin. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"The most vital challenges facing musicians in the coming decades also apply to other fields and to society and life in general. Marlboro has, built-in, the basic musical and community potential for helping to transcend barriers of self-interest and self-promotion—for working collaboratively, for finding how to make significant musical-humanitarian connections with mankind specifically as well as in general. It is the great gift of music that it inspires far above the “usual” personal and political concerns that keep some aspects of the culture a bit myopic in terms of possibility for richer development of a more universal vision." —Eileen Cline, former trustee<br><br>Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, Celeste Golden, Lydia Brown, Sasha Cooke, Michael Tree, and Dane Johansen. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"From every corner of the campus come the sounds of music, nature, conversation, and gleeful children. The combination of the dining hall on a hill surrounded by nature as far as the eye can see and extraordinary musicians immersed in the repertoire we all love is an integral part of my father’s, mine, and hopefully my daughters’ sense of beauty, decency, respect, and belonging. When I look through the photo archives from the earliest years, I see a generation of musicians who in significant numbers had only recently arrived in America. They had all to some extent witnessed and experienced the horror and nightmare of fascism, been uprooted from their homeland, and worse. Much of this shared experience went unspoken, and the reluctance to verbalize instead wove its way into transcendently beautiful performances. It also found an outlet in humor… Every beautiful, smiling, radiant face on those remarkable black-and-white photographs is of a musician who was again safe, free, alive, and an integral part of a welcoming community." —Matthias Naegele, cellist<br><br>4th of July celebrations. Photo by Allen Cohen.
"My aim in rehearsal is to try and get to the heart of the composer’s intentions, and in performance to present them with as much freshness as possible. As the saying goes, “Play it as though you’ve just thought of it,” —a maxim that I also try to impress on all the younger musicians."<br><br>Marlboro is not only about performance…. It is equally about conversations in the canteen, about encounters with musicians of all generations, about having time away from the pressures of everyday life in which to learn from others, and to explore repertoire in depth and breadth. Working with both the singers and their pianists, my aim was not just to polish their performance but to give them a larger view, to expand their toolkit so to speak, and leave them with thoughts to take away and apply to whatever other repertoire they might tackle in their future." —Roger Vignoles, pianist and vocal coach<br><br>Roger Vignoles, Carmit Zori, Stephen Rice, Kobi Malkin, Theo Hoffman, Shai Wosner, Marina Piccinini, Sujin Lee, Afendi Yusuf, Lydia Brown, and Nathaniel West. Photo by Pete Checchia.
During the late 1950s, a friend of my parents stopped for the night each summer on his long drive from Toronto to Vermont. He told us stories about Marlboro, a magical place unlike any other for musicians and music lovers. It wasn’t until 1965 when my mother and I finally made the trip to spend a week at Marlboro... I have been here ever since. Marlboro is my home physically, musically, and spiritually." —Lucy Gratwick, Marlboro family<br><br>On campus. Photo by Pete Checchia.
"Marlboro has striven and achieved ever higher musical standards through the dedication of its founders to the music itself as opposed to commercial success. Continued commitment to this ideal will ensure its future." —Peter Benoliel, former trustee<br><br>Marlboro’s founders: Marcel Moyse, Louis Moyse, Rudolf Serkin, Blanche Moyse, Adolf Busch, Hermann Busch (with cellist Nathan Chaikin second from left)
"I think it not overly fanciful to say that the landscape in which Marlboro is situated, the timelessness of its hillsides and pastures and woods and ponds and views of distant mountains, give a still deeper form, meaning, and pleasure to the experience of Marlboro and to the ways in which that pervades one’s own deep memory." —Hanna Gray, trustee emerita<br><br>Southern Vermont. Photo by Brian Potter.
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