<< Back 6/12/02 Miro Quartet featured again in Swannanoa Festival SMN This year will be the 8th year for the Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival performances in Waynesville. The festival, sponsored by the Haywood County Arts Council, will feature the Miró String Quartet. These brilliant young artists have received rave reviews all over the world this past year as they made their international debuts in Tokyo, London, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Athens, Vienna and Brussels. But for all their globe-trotting activities, they are excited to be returning to North Carolina for this festival. Performances are Sundays, June 23 and 30, July 7, 14 and 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center in Waynesville. Performances this year will include music by Samuel Barber, Bela Bartok, Ludwig van Beethoven, Claude Debussy, Antonin Dvorak, John Harbison, Franz Krommer, W. A. Mozart, Albert Roussel, Franz Schubert, Robert Schuman, Louis Spohr, Richard Strauss, Carl Marie von Weber and Inessa Zaretsky. A reception follows each performance to enable the public to meet the performers up close and personally. The food and drink are provided by local patrons of the festival, and have been so imaginative that the performers have named Waynesville as the “Venue with the Menu.” The Chamber Music Committee of the Arts Council will host a “Meet the Musicians” party preceding the first performance. This event is at 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 23, at Grace Episcopal Church. A light supper will be served, and those attending will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the musicians. Frank Ell, the artistic director, will discuss the programs for the festival. On Saturday, June 29, the Miró Quartet will conduct a Strings Master Class and Ensemble Workshop from 2-5:30 p.m. at Grace Church. This is the only opportunity anywhere in Western North Carolina for strings students to be coached by world class musicians like the Miró Quartet. The workshop will begin with a mini concert by the quartet. Observers are welcome. Tickets for all events are on sale at the Haywood County Arts Council, 37 Church Street in Waynesville, telephone 452.0593. Tickets for the “Meet the Musicians” party are $8. Observer admission to the String Master Class is $5. Series tickets are $60 for five tickets, which may be used in any combination. Students age 25 and under are admitted free. This year, a free “guest” ticket will be included with all series ticket, with the appeal that it be used to bring a guest, preferably someone who has not previously attended a performance. Individual tickets will be available at the PAC box office for $15.. For more information, contact the Haywood County Arts Council at 452.0593.