Terra String Quartet
On summer evenings on the Plateau, there are only so many places to be. You might find yourself on a porch watching the light fade, at a dinner table that stretches past sunset, or wandering Main Street in the lingering cool. But my favorite place is in a concert hall, where the sound of a single violin can fill the entire room. For 45 years, the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival has offered exactly that kind of experience—music heard up-close, shared in real time among neighbors and visitors who return year after year.
Erinys String Quartets
The 45th Anniversary Season, under Artistic Director William Ransom, runs July 5 through August 9, with a lineup balancing beloved masterworks, contemporary voices, and performers whose international careers bring them to stages far larger than any found on the Plateau.
Festivities begin early with a free May 2 performance by the award-winning Terra String Quartet, followed by the June 28 Opening Gala featuring the celebrated Pinchas Zukerman Trio and a champagne reception. Once July begins, concerts settle into their familiar rhythm, alternating between the Highlands Performing Arts Center and Lewis Hall at The Village Green in Cashiers.
American String Quartet
Opening night on July 5 presents “American Salute,” pairing Gershwin’s An American in Paris (for piano four hands) with Amy Beach’s Romance and Dvořák’s “American” Quintet performed by the American String Quartet. Week Two introduces pianist Chelsea Guo, this year’s Whitehead Young Pianist, followed by the Festival debut of the Grammy-nominated Neave Trio performing the North Carolina premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s A Vast Palette.
Formosa String Quartet
Week Three brings virtuosity and theatrical flair as the Formosa and Erinys String Quartets square off in a spirited “Battle of the Bands,” culminating in Mendelssohn’s exuberant Octet, alongside appearances by violinist Chee-Yun and hornist Bruce Heim. In Week Four, celebrated soloists–cellist Zuill Bailey, violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti, and violist Paul Neubauer–explore the lush sonorities of Brahms and Tchaikovsky string sextets.
The final week welcomes the Atlanta Chamber Players, marking their 50th anniversary, as well as the renowned Borromeo String Quartet pairing works by Caroline Shaw with Beethoven.
Chee Yun
Alongside the formal concerts, beloved Festival traditions return: Martinis, Mozart & More at Old Edwards Farm Pavilion, mid-July family concerts, and the intimate Salons and Feasts that evoke chamber music’s origins in private drawing rooms.
The season concludes August 9 with the Gershon/Cohn Final Gala, “Concerto Night,” featuring pianist Anton Nel and violinist Abigel Kralik performing Beethoven and Mendelssohn concertos with the Festival Chamber Orchestra, followed by dinner at Highlands Falls Country Club.
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