Appalachian Chamber Music Festival

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Harpers Ferry, WV
Appalachian Chamber Music Festival

Chamber Music Concert Series based in Harpers Ferry, WV. Summer Strings Camp Applications now open!
2026 Summer Season: Aug 1-16

Save the date for Summer 2025
Aug 2 - 3: Adult Intensive Chamber Music Workshop
Aug 4 - 8: Strings Chamber Music Camp for ages 12-18
Aug 7 - 17: Chamber Music Concert Series

Our Vision: A world that celebrates the history, nature and culture of Harpers Ferry, Charles Town, Jefferson County and beyond through the power of meaningful, intimate, relatable and thought-provoking chamber music perfor

mance activities. Our Mission: Melding world-class chamber music performances, collaboration and outreach with the rich and inspiring history, nature and culture of Harpers Ferry, Charles Town, Jefferson County and the surrounding area. We are all about brining music to audiences in new, meaningful and accessible ways. We celebrate what is already here on a world stage and strive to enrich the area further through our love of music. We are a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Join founder, Katie Tertell, and critically-acclaimed international artists from ensembles such as the Frankfurt Radio Symphony (Germany) and the Attacca Quartet and and many others for chamber music in a setting that truly inspires us. About our Founder and Artistic Director:
Originally from McLean, Virginia, cellist Katie Tertell has family ties to Harpers Ferry and surrounding area. She lives in England and enjoys a rich and varied experience as a freelance artist in Europe and America. A former member of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Katie works with numerous European symphony and chamber orchestras. She performs regularly in international chamber music series and festivals and is Artistic Co-Director of Semibreve (duo ensemble), which received critical acclaim for their rural Autumn 2020 tour of North East UK that served communities left isolated and vulnerable by the Covid-19 pandemic. Katie reaches audiences near and far through radio orchestral broadcasts on RTE, BBC and beyond on a near weekly basis, as well as in a number of award winning discs. She is a current recipient of the prestigious Exceptional Talent visa awarded by the UK Arts Council and teaches cello at Durham University (UK).

06/19/2026

In celebration of Juneteenth, ACMF is reflecting on the piece commissioned in 2024, The Niagara Movement Suite by Rufus Reid. This piece celebrates the groundbreaking organization that paved the way for the NAACP. The Niagara Movement held its meetings at the historic Storer College in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where this performance took place.

This video features the fifth movement, Bright Moments, which begins with a jovial cello-and-bass motif leading way to the infectious pizzicato strings. The clarinet joins with a joyful melody welcoming this new organization, the Niagara Movement, into the world. It's a burst of pure jubilation in the middle of a profound story.

The rest of the suite moves through Reality of the Time, a somber reflection on the weight of slavery's aftermath, into The Gathering of Minds, where the ensemble's voices argue and unite, with the clarinet representing the voice of W.E.B. DU Bois. The third movement titled Contemplative is an a ca****la clarinet solo showing how the mind sifts through new and old ideas. Fresh Results brings the full string ensemble together to mark the NAACP's founding in 1909. Next comes Bright Moments, the movement featured here. The final movement, Momentum………?????, serves as a reminder that while so much progress has been made, the work isn't finished. You can listen to this full piece on soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/gaitkeeper/reid_the-niagara-movement

We are grateful to West Virginia for providing support for this work under the Community Arts Project Support grant. A poster of the Niagara Movement Suite, signed by Rufus Reid, is on display in Charleston, West Virginia.

ACMF loves performing in spaces layered with this kind of history, and we're returning to Storer College with a FREE concert on August 7th at 7:00 PM for "I Got Rhythm" – The Music of Gershwin and Redman. We can't wait to bring chamber music back to these grounds. Tickets are free but please reserve your tickets: https://buytickets.at/acmf/2213056

06/16/2026

What does it mean to be transformed by music? Our Artistic Director Katie Tertell has been sitting with that question all year and the answer became this summer's festival theme of Metamorphosis. August 1–16 in Jefferson County, WV. We'd love for you to be part of it! 🎵

Don't miss performances of Richard Strauss's Metamorphosen and Schubert's Death and the Maiden on August 14th in Shepherdstown! Additonal performances of Strauss on August 15th in Harpers Ferry and Schubert on August 13th at the Barns of Rose Hill in Berryville.

Tickets are on sale now at www.appalachianchamber.org

06/05/2026

The 2026 Appalachian Chamber Music Festival is almost here — and the best way to experience it is with a multi-concert pass.

🌟 All-Access Festival Pass — $415
The ultimate ACMF experience. Every concert. Every Coffee Concert. Every Wine & Music evening. Plus food, wine, an invitation to a post-concert reception, AND an exclusive VIP reception with our festival artists. If you want it all — this is your pass.

🍷 Wine & Music Pass — $175
Three magical evenings of live chamber music paired with full drinks and food on August 5, 10 & 11. Set against the beauty of the Appalachian region, these nights are ones you'll talk about long after the last note fades. Includes a reduced ticket option for non-alcoholic guests at 868 Estate Vineyards.

☕ Coffee Concert Pass — $80
Kick off your mornings the right way. Join us for all three intimate coffee concerts in Shepherdstown on August 8, 9 & 15, complete with coffee and fresh treats from Bolivar Bread Bakery or Epigram Coffee. Music that wakes up your soul.

🎶 Passes are on sale NOW. Don't wait — these go fast! 🔗 Purchase at www.appalachianchamber.org/tickets-and-passes

06/03/2026

This Saturday, June 6 — find us at StreetFest! 🎶

The streets of Shepherdstown come alive for StreetFest, and ACMF will be right there with you. Stop by our table, say hello, and get a sneak peek at what's coming for our 6th season this August.

Shepherdstown is home to some of our most beloved concerts — including Art & Music at the Shepherdstown Opera House on August 8th. This 70-minute program pairs musical masterpieces with powerfully curated artwork on the big screen, selected by Dr. Jordan Burke, and will feature the world premiere of our 2026 commissioned composer, Liliya Ugay. Don't miss the special pre-concert dinner at Bistro 112!

Come find us Saturday and let's talk music. 💛

📍 Downtown Shepherdstown, WV
🗓️ Saturday, June 6 | 10am onwards

Our festival schedule and tickets are available at www.appalachianchamber.org

05/14/2026

Appalachian Chamber Music Festival's 6th season is here and tickets are now on sale! 🎻

This summer's theme is Metamorphosis, celebrating change through the evolution of sound, spirit and craft with Richard Strauss’s hauntingly beautiful Metamorphosen at the heart of our program. There will be two weeks of performances across Jefferson County and beyond, from Bach and Gershwin to the world premiere of a new bass quintet by Liliya Ugay, commissioned for this season.

Coffee concerts, porch concerts, wine pairings, and a free community concert on the Storer College lawn in Harpers Ferry. Something for everyone, wherever you are.

Full program and tickets → www.appalachianchamber.org

05/11/2026

We are only 3 days away from ACMF's 6th Season Launch, and we can't wait for another amazing summer of music-making and unforgettable memories! Tickets will be on sale starting May 14th at www.appalachianchamber.org

05/08/2026

We are so excited to introduce Christina Callahan, ACMF's new Marketing & Communications Coordinator!

Christina is a flutist, educator, and arts administrator based in Northern Virginia, with experience spanning performance, studio teaching, and music advocacy across the greater Washington, D.C. region. Along with her role at ACMF, she maintains a private woodwind studio and works in arts administration at a nonprofit music school in Fauquier County — where she supports programs designed to expand access to high-quality music education across the Piedmont region.

Originally from New Jersey, Christina earned her Bachelor of Music Education from Rowan University and began her career as a middle school band director. She later relocated to Virginia to pursue graduate studies at Shenandoah Conservatory, where she served as flute studio teaching assistant and earned her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. As a performer, she plays with the Capital Wind Symphony, freelances throughout the region, and has served as an adjudicator for Virginia All-District Band and the Flute Society of Washington.

In the studio, Christina takes a deeply individualized approach — building lessons around each student's interests and goals. Her students have performed at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, and have earned positions in local youth ensembles, All-District Bands, and the Governor's School for the Arts. A certified yoga teacher, she also integrates mindfulness and movement into her teaching and personal practice.

We are thrilled to have Christina joining the ACMF family and look forward to all that's ahead!

05/07/2026

ACMF is thrilled to introduce the newest member of our leadership team — please join us in welcoming Barett Hoover as our General Manager!

Barett is a versatile arts administrator with more than twenty years of experience leading performing arts organizations across opera, chamber music, presenting, and higher education. He currently serves as Director of Performing Arts at Menlo College in Atherton, California, where he built a new multidisciplinary program from the ground up. Previously, he was Executive Director of the Bay Philharmonic and General Manager of Chamber Music Hawai‘i, where he launched a crossover concert series at Blue Note Hawai‘i that connected chamber music with jazz, Hawaiian music, and local cultural traditions. His earlier career includes eleven years at Hawai‘i Opera Theatre, rising to Director of Artistic Administration, and a tenure as Theatre Manager at Leeward Community College. Across these roles, his work has consistently centered the conviction that music should meet people where they are — embedded in the actual landscape and history of a community rather than floating above it.

Barett grew up in Maryland with longstanding ties to the Potomac Valley, and the hills around Harpers Ferry have held a special place in his memory since family camping trips and hikes on the Appalachian Trail in his youth. A trained jazz saxophonist with a lifelong personal practice, he began his artistic career as a performer in the Baltimore area before earning a Bachelor of Science in Audio Recording from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. His recordings as an audio engineer have been heard on the Centaur and Summit record labels and in National Public Radio broadcasts, and he is an award-winning sound designer recognized for innovative work in live theater. He holds an MBA from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Shidler College

We can't wait to welcome Barett back to the Harpers Ferry area this summer!

04/26/2026

We're delighted to introduce our brilliant composer for this summer season's commissioned new work, Liliya Ugay!

We recently caught up with Liliya to see how the work is progressing and to learn a bit more about the person behind the manuscript.

“I’m currently writing to you from Tallahassee, Florida. While I’m based here teaching composition at Florida State University, I often feel much closer to the spirit of Georgia, and right now, everything is in bloom! Spring arrives early here; the flowers start peeking out as early as January, so by April, it is lush and gorgeous without being too hot yet. It is, quite frankly, perfect weather for a game of tennis which is one of my great loves.

When Katie first approached me about this commission, my mind immediately went to a very specific sound: silky, smooth lines of sustained strings that swell in and out unpredictably, like the wind traveling around a mountain peak. Nature is a huge part of my creative DNA. I grew up in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, a double-land-locked country far from any beach, but surrounded by the most beautiful, wild mountains. I see so many parallels between my childhood home and the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia. There is a shared sense of space, scenery, and a reverence for nature that is majestic, yet feels so fragile because of human impact. I hope that when you hear this piece, you walk away feeling something freeing and refreshing, but also something deeply familiar and heartfelt.

People often ask me about my "process", whether I’m a neat person or a creative mess! I’d say I’m always creative to some degree, but I live for those "sparks", that specific chemical balance in the brain where a musical idea feels perfect, where nothing can be added or taken away. These sparks don’t care if I’m organized; they happen while I’m improvising at the piano, right before I fall asleep, or even while I’m driving! Thank goodness for modern technology, I’m often that person pulling over to the side of the road to record myself singing or voice-imitating a melody into my phone so I don’t lose it. While I usually work at the piano to find my harmonies (I am a pianist at heart, after all), I’m not afraid to pick up a pencil or record digital sounds if the music calls for it. And if I ever get stuck on a tricky transition? I just move on. I’ll write a completely different section to reset my mental mood. Even if that music doesn't make it into the final score, it helps me find the right path forward. Once I hand the score over to the musicians, I tend to let it go. I don't have any grand opening-night rituals; I just trust the performers to bring it to life. Music continues its own life in their hands, and I’m just there to enjoy the journey with them.

In this new work, I am interested in exploring both the heterogeneous possibility of this ensemble and the soloistic abilities of each of these amazing players. So I am interested in combining two writing approaches in my piece: virtuosic and contrapuntal writing for the instruments and unifying heterophonic textures and harmonic progressions.

My musical love is Armenian composer-pianist Tigran Hamasyan. He’s an Armenian jazz pianist, but his work goes so far beyond jazz, it’s lyrical, rhythmically complex, and carries the soul of Armenian folk music. His touch on the piano is as nuanced as any world-class classical performer. It’s that kind of boundary-crossing energy I love. I’ve just finished a piece for Violin and the ancient Chinese flute (the Xun), and once your commission is complete, I’ll be diving into a new work for the FSU University Symphony Orchestra.

I am so looking forward to joining you all. To give you a little "cheat sheet" on who I am before we meet: I am ethnically half-Korean and half-Tatar, raised in Uzbekistan, and moved to the U.S. alone at age 20. I love dancing Zumba, I once had a pet tortoise named Rocket, and, perhaps most importantly, I can wiggle my ears better than anyone I know!

I can't wait to share this music with you in the mountains soon.
Liliya"

Liliya Ugay

03/20/2026

This Sunday! Join us for the Murasaki Duo, cellist Eric Kutz and pianist Miko Kominami, a duo that has performed at Carnegie Hall and concert halls across North America and beyond.

📅 Sunday, March 22nd at 2pm
📍 Zion Episcopal Church, 301 East Congress St., Charles Town, WV

Part of the Appalachian Chamber Music Festival Concert Series. Get your tickets at https://buytickets.at/fohr/2002779 - We can't wait to see you there!

Address

PO Box 446
Harpers Ferry, WV
25425

Website

http://appalachianchamber.org/, https://buytickets.at/acmf, https://linktr.ee/acmf

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