Mayfest, Cornell’s Int’l Chamber Music Festival, begins May 17

This year's Mayfest, May 17-21, features five "fabulous concerts," say artistic directors Xak Bjerken and Miri Yampolsky, by "fan favorite" guest musicians playing music from Bach to Britten to Hildegard von Bingen - and the world premiere of a composition by Christopher Stark DMA '13. Tickets can be purchased in-person or online; all concerts will be held on the Cornell campus and the public is welcome.

Yampolsky says she always counts on Mayfest as "a festival of joy, music, friendships and deep connections among the musicians and with the loyal and wonderful audiences."

Welcoming performers returning for a second time to the festival is a particular highlight, she says; this year, oboist Dudu Carmel is one of them. He performed at Mayfest in 2019 to great audience enthusiasm, says Yampolsky, and this year each program will contain music with oboe, surrounded by complementary masterworks and "hidden gems," says Yampolsky, senior lecturer of music in the College of Arts and Sciences.

"Good music is always the answer when you doubt where you stand. It elevates us and brings us all to a shared humanity," says Bjerken, professor of music (A&S), in a paraphrase of a comment by violinist Anne Sophie Mutter.

Read the full story and the festival schedule on the College of Arts and Sciences website.