NJ – Access To Art

Access to Art, Inc. is an l7 year old not for profit that brings the visual and performing arts to Cape May County. We are presenting our l2th annual Sam Maitin Summer/Fall Chamber Music festival from June 27^th to Sept. 19^th featuring the Mondrian Ensemble and their gifted friends, as well as the Mayes Duo, who perform lute, guitars and early Elizabethan music.

The Mondrian Ensemble was formed for Access to Art, Inc. in l998 when we began our first music series which was then called the Access to Art Summer Music Series.  After our mentor, Sam Maitin died, in 2004, we renamed it after him because it was he who suggested that we do a classical music festival and it was he who created our flyers and logo for the festival.  Our concert dates are on June 27^th, July 11^th, Sept. l2th and Sept. l9th.

We have a wonderful sunset boat cruise on August 6^th on the Ms. Avalon leaving the docks at 6:30 p.m.  You can see it online at www.accesstoart.org .  On Nov. l4th, we are bringing Aquila Theatre Company to the area for a performance of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” which is why our first concert features Prokofiev’s “Suite from Romeo & Juliet” and our second features the Mayes Duo who perform Elizabethan music on lute, renaissance lute, terz guitar, l9th century guitar, archlute and the Neapolitan mandolin.  Joseph Mayes has studied, on scholarship, with Andres Segovia, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, and Jose Tomas.  His wife, Kathleen, studied with Julian Gray of Peabody Conservatory and well-known Segovia disciple Larry Snitzler of George Mason University.  They will be performing in Peru this summer. 

            Although we have always brought chamber music to the area, prior to the series, (even back in l987-88 for the Cape May County Art League when we first brought Mika Chang and her friends from Curtis and Juilliard to the area.),  we began our Sam Maitin Summer/Fall Chamber Music Festival 12 years ago.

We do a cameo music festival….short, sweet, no more than five concerts, but what concerts!  We have had formidable musicians…the concert masters of St. Paul’s Chamber Orchestra, Steve Copes, (Sunday at St. Paul’s on NPR), concert master of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Robert Chen, the Associate concert master of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Michael Ludwig, now the concert master of the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Juilliard String Quartet, the Johannes String Quartet, the Chester String Quartet, the Borromeo, the Borealis Wind Quintet and many others. We have featured Christopher Kenniff, classical guitar and Brett Deubner, violist from the NJ Symphony.  Initially, they were Philadelphia orchestra strings, and Aurelia Mika Chang, a Steinway pianist, who performs on three continents. 

We will also present the Mayes Duo, with Joseph and Kathleen Mayes on the 11^th of July.  Joseph Mayes was a student of the great Spanish guitarist Segovia, and also studied with Carlos Barbosa-Lima, and Jose Tomas.  Kathleen, his wife, studied with well-known Segovia disciple Larry Snitzler of George Mason University and Julian Gray of Peabody Conservatory.  They perform on a variety of instruments including classical guitar, terz guitar, l9th century guitar, renaissance lute, archlute and the Neapolitan mandolin. 

In September, the Mondrian, Philly Orchestra strings and Aurelia Mika Chang, piano, will pull out the stops with one of their wonderful concerts on Sept. l2th and on the l9th in Cape May at 7 p.m. at Cape United Methodist Church, 625 Washington St., and Cape May. 

Then in November, we will present the Aquila Theatre Company a company of British and American artists dedicated to classical drama.

Keep tuned at www.accesstoart.org.