The Seal Bay Festival of American Chamber Music is held every two to three years and brings both renowned and emerging composers together with widely acclaimed chamber musicians in a mid-June festival lasting from ten days to two weeks. In residence and working together in an attractive island setting on the coast of Maine, the participants prepare works by the resident composers, to be performed, discussed and otherwise explored in concerts and workshops on both the mainland and the islands.

The Seal Bay Festival was founded in December 1994 by composers Daniel S. Godfrey and Andrew Waggoner, and pianist Arlene Shrut. All three served as artistic co-directors and were joined in that capacity in 1997 by composer/ cellist/conductor Paul Brantley. The first festival was held in June of 1995. Due to construction at the residential host site, along with various career changes and job relocations, the festival was on hold in 2000 and 2002-03, during which time the board of directors changed membership. The festival returned in June 2004, with a new board, including John Duffy (now residing in Maine), Steven Stucky and festival co-founder Daniel S. Godfrey. It is currently held on a biennial basis, with the next festival upcoming in June 2008.The Seal Bay Festival is incorporated under the laws of the State of Maine and is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

In all but two festivals, the widely acclaimed Cassatt String Quartet has served as the core ensemble, complemented by a variety of established performers, both instrumental and vocal. The Cassatt will be returning for the June 2010 festival, along with resident pianist Adrienne Kim, who has been with the festival since 2001.

The festival’s goal is to foster a vital, mutually stimulating relationship between gifted musical performers, established living composers, and mid-coast school students, visual artists, teachers of music and art, and concert audiences. During early to mid-June, the festival convenes a combination of performers and composers who are selected for their commitment to the highest standards of artistic achievement in the domain of contemporary American chamber music. There is an effort to include both nationally visible composers — Samuel Adler, Derek Bermel, Donald Crockett, Sebastian Currier, Tina Davidson, John Duffy, Eleanor Hovda, Libby Larsen, Shulamit Ran, Elliott Schwartz, Joan Tower, Dan Welcher, and Yehudi Wyner are among those participating to date — and younger, emerging talent. When possible, a composer from the state of Maine is included on the roster. Nationally established performers are also chosen, musicians who have achieved critical acclaim and are known for their rigorous work ethic and high-energy commitment in approaching new work.

Every festival is based on the idyllic Coombs Neck Trust Property on the island of Vinalhaven, Maine; activities take place on both the mainland and islands of the Penobscot Bay area, more recently extending as far south and west as Ogunquit. Those activities include intensive rehearsals, three to four concerts, a shop-talk session between festival musicians and area visual artists, a live group interview/performance on Maine Public Radio when scheduling permits, and a workshop with local school-age children. At all concerts and other events, the composers are present and introduce their own works to the public. Two to three of the concerts take place on the mainland, and an additional concert takes place either on Vinalhaven or North Haven Island, where an improvisation prepared by children from the Vinalhaven and North Haven schools is part of the program.

In past years, the Seal Bay Festival has received support from varying combinations of the following sources: the National Endowment for the Arts, the Davis Family Foundation of Maine, the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Glenmede Trust Company, the New England Foundation for the Arts/Meet the Composer program, the Maine Humanities Council, the BMI Foundation, the Berta Bornstein Residual Trust, the Golden Rule Foundation, the Maine Community Foundation, the New York Community Foundation, and the Virgil Thomson Foundation. The festival also enjoys the support of a variety of private contributors and businesses in the mid-coast region of Maine.

The tenth Seal Bay Festival will be held from June 5 through June 18, 2011. Resident composers will include Gabriela Lena Frank (San Francisco, CA), Laura Kaminsky (New York, NY), Anna Weesner (Philadelphia, PA), and Samuel Zyman (New York, NY). Resident performers will include the Cassatt String Quartet and pianist Adrienne Kim.

Past Seasons