The St. Augustine Musical Festival (SAMF) will return for its 12th season of free classical music concerts at the St. Augustine Cathedral Basilica with six performances over two weekends, June 21-23 and June 28-30. All concerts start at 7:30 p.m.
Founded in 2007 by Jacksonville musicians Jorge A. Pena and Jin Kim-Pena, the festival's mission is to educate, elevate and entertain through music. The concerts are free to the public thanks to individual and corporate donors who support the event financially.
SAMF concerts feature professional musicians, many of whom are members of the Jacksonville Symphony. The event is the largest, free festival of its kind in the United States and has been featured on NPR’s "Performance Today."
This year's event includes the return of young violinist Nigel Armstrong, a two-piano concert evening featuring a Mozart double-piano concerto and Saint-Saens' "Carnival of the Animals," charismatic cellist Andres Diaz and a program combining the Cathedral's two pipe organs with brass ensembles.
For concert and sponsorship information, visit www.staugustinemusicfestival.org. The St. Augustine Cathedral Basilica is located at 38 Cathedral Place.
Full list of events:
Thursday, June 21 – Violin Virtuosity
Nigel Armstrong, violin
Overture for Strings in C Minor – Franz Schubert
Rondo in A Major for Violin – Franz Schubert
Caprice Viennois for Violin and Orchestra – Fritz Kreisler
String Quartet “Death and the Maiden” – Franz Schubert
Friday, June 22 – Music for Brass and Organ
(Program to be announced)
Saturday, June 23 – Russians and Romantics
String Quartet No. 7 in F-sharp Minor, Op. 108 – Dmitri Shostakovich
Sextet from Capriccio Op. 85 – Richard Strauss
String Sextet in D Minor, “Souvenir de Florence” Op. 70 – Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Thursday, June 28 – Mozart and a Menagerie
Wendy Chen and Ileana Fernandez, pianos
Piano Concerto No. 10 in E-flat for Two Pianos, K. 365 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Carnival of the Animals – Camille Saint-Saens
Friday, June 29 – Twentieth-Century Sentiments
Andres Diaz, Cello
Fancy on a Bach Air – John Corigliano
Cello Sonata, Op. 19 – Sergei Rachmaninoff
Piano Quintet in G Minor, Op. 57 – Dmitri Shostakovich
Saturday, June 30 – Lyrical Suites and Haydn Treats
Andres Diaz, Cello
Capriol Suite – Peter Warlock
Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major, Hob VII:2 – Joseph Haydn
Idyll Suite for String Orchestra – Leos Janacek
Symphony No. 64 in A Major, Hob I:64 “Tempora Mutantur” – Joseph Haydn