The 19th season of the Greencastle Summer Music Festival kicks off May 31 and continues for 13 weeks, through August 16. Every concert is casual, free and inside Gobin Memorial Church on the DePauw University campus. All begin at 7:30 p.m., and none should be missed. The series was founded in 2005 by DePauw University School of Music professor Eric Edberg.  A renowned cellist and valued teacher, Edberg began the Festival as a classical music series with the idea of exposing the surrounding community to breathtaking pieces of work performed by professional musicians from across the country.

From its outset, the theme of this summertime performing arts series has been “friends making music for friends.” The relaxed gatherings focus on the music and stories of the professional musicians as they share the music they love.

Performers have included jazzman Tad Robinson; piano impresario Taka Kagawa; Allison Nyquist (viola) and Gareth Guests (clarinet); jazz pianist/vocalist Ariel Pocock; percussionists Ming-Hui Kuo, Ben Hogan, and Ben Freeland; jazz pianist Steve Snyder with guitarist Sandy Williams; and groups including Fifth House Ensemble; Duo Dolce; Silk Road Ensemble; Salaam; and The Breeze Bends the Grass.

May 31: “Friends Making Music For Friends” The GSMF is a celebration of friendship and community as much as it is a celebration of music. Local musicians Claude Cymerman (piano), Eric Edberg (cello), Ben Hogan (percussion, mandolin, and voice), Cathie Malach (keyboard and vocals), and Tad Robinson (vocals) come together in a variety of combinations with music ranging from Gershwin to improvisations to some surprise songs!

June 7: “New Friends, Part 1” This concert features GSMF debuts by DePauw faculty members soprano Mary Martin (accompanied by pianist Allan Armstrong) and pianist Maria Lyapkova (joined by Eric Edberg), with music from Schumann to Strauss to Debussy to musical theater.

June 14: “New Friends, Part 2” Virtuoso multi-genre acoustic and electric violinist Teagan Faran, DePauw’s innovative new violin professor, presents a wide array of music, joined in parts of the program by cellist Eric Edberg and percussionist Ben Hogan.

June 21: “Music and Dance of Northern India” with Anindita Sen (dance choreographer), Kathak Dancers, Amudhan Venkateswaran (tabla), and longtime GSMF friend, George Wolfe (tanpura and saxophone).

June 28: “One Piano, Four Hands: New Friends, Part 3” Pianist Anthony Weinstein performs Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and is then joined by his wife Tatiana Lokhina for Anton Rubenstein’s Sonata for “four hands.” This is their first GSMF performance. 

July 5: “Celebrating America with Florence Price” Pianist Claude Cymerman celebrates America, the day after Independence Day, with a program showcasing the music of Florence Price, the great Black American 20th-century composer whose Romantic-style works have recently been rediscovered and are increasingly popular in the world of classical music.

July 12: “New Friends, Part 4” Innovative flutist Leo Sussman, DePauw’s new flute professor, makes his GSMF debut, sharing a program with returning friends Toco Rio, specialists in traditional Brazilian choro music. 

July 19: “Cathie Malach and Friends” Greencastle’s beloved pianist, composer and accompanist curates another amazing program of original music and covers, bringing together a musician community including Eric Edberg, Ben Hogan, Steve Snyder, and Tad Robinson. 

July 26: “Back to Bach” Celebrate founder Eric Edberg’s 65th birthday as he joins the extraordinary concert pianist May Phang in an evening of music by J. S. Bach.

August 2 “Percussion Group DePauw,” led by Greencastle’s own Ming-Hui Kuo, returns for another evening the amazing sound world created by their jungle of percussion instruments.

August 9: “Joe Peters and Michael Kelsey” Long-time friends singer-songwriter Joe Peters and the creative multi-genre guitarist, who both performed on the GSMF in its early days, bring their unique musical chemistry in their first GSMF duo performance.

August 16: “Tad Robinson Band” As s now a tradition, the GSMF concludes it’s 19th season with the our very own, the internationally celebrated Blues singer Tad Robinson and his band.