Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival Transitions 41st Summer To A Virtual Season

In light of sustained disruption due to the Covid-19 crisis, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival (CCCMF) announces that its 2020 summer season as Cape Cod's premiere presenter of summer chamber music will be held as a three-part virtual experience, extending its reach beyond Cape audiences.

All live in-person performances are cancelled this season to best serve the safety and welfare of its performing artists, staff and audiences. The Festival celebrates its 41st season in 2020, programmed and presented by Artistic Directors Jon Nakamatsu and Jon Manasse and Executive Director Elaine Lipton.

"This year, more than ever, we hope music lovers everywhere will join us from the safety of their homes to once again celebrate the beauty of chamber music," shares Jon Nakamatsu, CCCMF Co-Artistic Director. "Although a virtual season looks much different than prior years, we still look forward to celebrating with our audiences and growing them in the online arena." The Festival plans to resume in-person live performances in 2021.

For its first-ever virtual season, the celebration in three parts begins with Artistic Directors Manasse and Nakamatsu, who will curate three hour-long audio programs, in the style of the beloved "radio show," including archived performances spanning the 40-year history of the Festival. The shows will broadcast on each of the first three Tuesdays in August during each of the weeks the season usually is held. The audio programs will be streamed on CCCMF's website and will be available without charge to the general public, and may also be broadcast on regional radio stations (to be announced).

Manasse and Nakamatsu will also create a video event featuring guest musicians which will also stream for free throughout the Festival's month-long season in August on the Festival website and other online platforms.

The two artistic directors will also undertake a series of high-quality audio/video recording sessions featuring a small group of fellow musicians. This original content will be released in the future.

"These challenging times also present new opportunities, in that we are navigating a new way for us to share world-quality chamber music with world-wide audiences," shares Jon Manasse. "We are excited about the potential of the quality and reach of this new virtual celebration."

Exploring the virtual festival brings its own challenges to CCCMF. "Ticket sales alone cannot cover anywhere near our operating budget," shares Executive Director Elaine Lipton. "With no ticket revenue at all this season, we are hopeful that our dedicated fans will understand that their financial participation is essential to our organization's continued success." She hopes that many devoted fans will make contributions and notes that there are opportunities for underwriting the virtual season events as well.

CCCMF's Board has been hard at work creating these unprecedented options to the Festival's traditional late summer season. "While we understand the unpredictable nature of our situation, we also know music and live performance have the ability to heal and fortify us all," shares Manasse. "Our one guarantee is that we will make music for our supporters and audiences this summer, you can count on it!"

For more information about Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival's 2020 season, visit capecodchambermusic.org, or follow Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival on Facebook and Instagram.

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