Gratitude for All Your Sacrifice | Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music

Written By: Nancy Gould Aaron - Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival | Issue: 2021/10 – October

Vega Quartet and Will Ransom

As we lay out the successes and the remarkably smooth performances that played out over the course of our 40th Anniversary season, we here at the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival naturally begin to cast our gaze
toward 2022. 

But before our attention is consumed by the tricky act of assembling programs and securing artists, I’d like to acknowledge the tremendous contributions made by hundreds of generous people. Their efforts ensured that the 2021 season could truly flourish, when so many factors could have delivered a Covid-cramped season of performances. 

Though the season unfolded with astonishingly few snags, I have to admit that we were all aware of the uncertainty that accompanied public performances in the midst of a global pandemic. 

We required that our audiences produce proof of vaccinations or wear a mask while enjoying the performances.

I take the fact that we were able to carry out these policies as certain proof that our audiences are among the finest in the country. Their adherence to these protocols meant that everyone was able to enjoy the performances without anxiety, the way they should be experienced. 

An enterprise with as many moving parts as the HC Chamber Music Festival relies upon a dedicated army of volunteers and community organizations. 

That includes the men and women who provided housing for our musicians. Some opened their homes, others finagled and juggled places where the performers could decompress in the midst of a hectic summer. 

Their dedication was mirrored by the people who served as hosts for our series of Feasts and Salons. These events are comprised of a thousand details, and each is vital to the financial stability of the festival. Thank you to everyone who embraced these challenges and ensured that each was memorable. 

I can’t forget the special event venues, which allowed us to expand our performance spaces beyond the Village Green Commons and the Highlands Performing Arts Center – The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts, and the exquisite Orchard House of Old Edwards Inn. 

This unique artistic endeavor is powered by a very involved board of directors who work throughout the year, not simply in the seven weeks of the festival’s summer season. 

And finally, let me single out our indefatigable Board President Martha Pearson and the always-astonishing Artistic Director, William Ransom. They shepherded us through a dizzying year of tumult and change, and they did it without losing their determination and their gentle good humor. 

So let me ask all of these people to take a bow. You ensured that the show would go on, and what a show it turned out to be!