Welcome to Music on the Hill's 2012 Music Festival!

As Rhode Islanders enjoy the season of spring in the Ocean State, Music on the Hill delights in returning for another June festival of concerts. Defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, spring is, "a source of supply; especially : a source of water issuing from the ground b : an ultimate source especially of action or motion" as well as "a time or season of growth or development; specifically : the season between winter and summer extending from the March equinox to the June solstice."

The six concerts that will take place between June 7th to 16th mark the return of our gift of live music to East Greenwich, North Kingstown, Warwick and Wickford as well as the return home of many Rhode Island-born musicians. These concerts will celebrate the season of spring by offering you some 'spring' in every performance. I've included the first movement of Beethoven's Spring Sonata, Grieg's Last Spring, Schumann and Liszt's Spring Night, Peter Schickele's Spring Serenade, a Dominick Argento Spring song and another of Edvard Grieg's homages to this special time of year, To Spring.

For many of us, the source of our start as young musicians began from the love and support of this state's best music educators, public school music programs and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra's youth orchestra program. It's an honor for the artists to have the chance to return to RI to rehearse, perform and give back our gift of music. I would like to thank you the ticket buyer, you the donor and concert sponsors, you the advertiser, grants from RI State Council on the Arts and RI Foundation's Aaron Roitman Fund as well as Music on the Hill's Board of Directors for supporting the efforts of this performing arts organization.

Priscilla Rigg, Music Director of St Luke's Episcopal Church in East Greenwich, began Music on the Hill in 1974 as a chamber music concert series. In 2007 the development of a music festival grew from those roots and has emerged as a destination for classical music artists. Returning home, returning to each other and playing some of the greatest music ever composed is "an ultimate source of action" and joy for us.

Here's to spring with great thanks to you!

See you at the concerts,

 

John Mark Pellegrino

Artistic Director