NEW GLOUCESTER – The fifth annual Maine Festival of American Music: Its Roots and Traditions will offer Shaker hymns, collaborative music — and a blending of craftsmanship and music, courtesy of “Herbie.”

An ancient American Elm tree, “Herbie” suffered from Dutch elm disease and was felled recently in Yarmouth, cut and kiln-dried. Master wood crafter Christian Becksvoort of New Gloucester, who designs and makes custom furniture, specializing in Shaker-style works, transformed parts of “Herbie” into a beautiful music stand.

That stand and two others created by Maine craftsmen Robert Cariddi and John Stass will be used in the final concert of the four-day festival to be held June 23-26 at the 1794 Shaker Meeting House at Sabbathday Lake, the last living Shaker community in the United States.

These craftsmen “will bring their exquisite music stands for a marriage of craft and music,” said violist Julia Adams of the Portland String Quartet, a performer at the festival celebrating music central to America’s religious and secular foundations.

After the festival, Becksvoort’s music stand will be put up for auction on the Internet to raise funds for the Yarmouth Tree Trust.

Following is a schedule of events for the festival featuring American music in the broader context of the world’s great chamber music:

* Wednesday, June 23, at 7 p.m.: “We’ve Got Rhythm! – The Music of George Gershwin” concert featuring renowned pianist and Gershwin expert Paul Posnak of the University of Miami, Coral Gables, and the PSQ.

* Thursday, June 24, at 7 p.m.: “In the Shaker Tradition: Shaker Music and Historical Commentary” featuring soprano Christina Astrachan in a presentation of Shaker hymns. Brother Arnold Hadd of the Shaker Community at Sabbathday Lake will speak about each of the hymns composed by or received as gift songs from earlier community members.

* Friday, June 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.: this workshop day will feature the music of Ernest Bloch and other American composers. Chamber music players from throughout New England will be coached with a culminating master class from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Shaker Meeting House.

* Saturday, June 26, at 7 p.m.: Posnak will join the PSQ in a performance of Bloch’s Piano Quintet No. 1. Their recording received a Best Chamber Music Recording of the Year commendation from The New York Times. Music by Mozart and Dvorak will add context to Bloch’s rarely performed Meditation for Viola and Piano and Piano Quintet.

The Portland String Quartet is celebrating its 41st season with founding members Adams, Stephen Kecskemethy, violin; Ronald Lantz, violin and Paul Ross, cello.

The Shaker Community was founded in 1783 by Shaker missionaries and became a formal community through mutual covenant in 1794. The New Gloucester site continues to this day as an active community of Shakers conducting educational-outreach programs and operating the Shaker Museum and Shaker Library.

Concert tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, free for students 21 and younger. Workshop fee: $60. The master class on June 25 is free and open to the public. Checks should be made payable to The United Society of Shakers, 707 Shaker Road, New Gloucester, ME, 04260. For more information, call 926-4597, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.portlandstringquartet.org.

This music stand was crafted by Christian Becksvoort of New Gloucester, using wood from the giant American Elm tree named “Herbie” recently felled in Yarmouth. The stand will be used at the final concert of the Maine Festival of American Music: Its Roots and Traditions on Saturday, June 26.