BRUNSWICK — Bowdoin International Music Festival schedule for opening week on Monday through Sunday, July 1 to 7, has been announced.

Monday: July 1: Meet the Composer: Young Ja Lee at 9:30 a.m. in Studzinski Rehearsal Hall. Free. It is an opportunity to learn about and experience the creative process of a living composer. The artists will discuss aspects of their music and inspirations, then accept questions from the audience.

Monday, July 1: American String Quartet, 7:30 p.m. in Studzinski Recital Hall. Tickets, $45. Sparking inspiration from the medieval legend of El Cid, composer Zhou Tian writes, “I unconsciously married my musical roots as a Chinese-American with my newfound love of Spanish music” in his 2016 work, “Viaje,” a self-styled “nine-minute thrill ride.” Crossing the Pyrenees from Spain to France, the American String Quartet continue their grand tour via Maurice Ravel’s string quartet, alternately sumptuous and playful, before alighting in Vienna — where Beethoven wove a Russian theme into the third of his “Razumovsky” quartets.

Tuesday, July 2: American String Quartet Masterclass, 10 a.m. in Studzinski Recital Hall. Free. Internationally recognized as one of the world’s finest quartets, the American String Quartet has spent decades honing the luxurious sound for which it is famous. Master classes give the audience a first-hand look into the teaching and learning process that goes into creating music. Honing technical craft, understanding the nuances of musical language and finding personal meaning in music are all part of a great masterclass.

Tuesday, July 2: Young Artists Performance, 7 to 9 p.m. in Studzinski Recital Hall. Free. Each year after a competitive admissions process, the Bowdoin Music Festival selects 270 exceptional young musicians from more than 15 countries and 30 states to spend a summer in Maine and train with faculty from prominent conservatories. 6,500 young musicians have trained at the festival since 1964 and many of the alumni now have illustrious careers as soloists or with leading orchestras and ensembles.

Wednesday, July 3: Matti Raekallio Masterclass, 10 a.m. in Studzinski Recital Hall. Free. Raekallio made his American debut in 1981 at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. In his concerts, he has performed cycles of the complete piano Sonatas of Beethoven, Scriabin and Prokofiev, as well as 62 piano concertos. He has recorded about 20 albums, including an acclaimed set of the complete Prokofiev Sonatas.

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Wednesday, July 3: Topsham Library Community Concert, 2 p.m. at Topsham Library. Free. The Community Concert series offers students the opportunity to engage with various audiences in nontraditional venues.

Wednesday, July 3: Falla, Stravinsky, Franck, 7:30 p.m. in Studzinski Recital Hall. Tickets: $45. Another take on Spain, with Manuel de Falla’s patriotic celebration of his home country, which showcases folk songs he collected and arranged, much to the tastes of early 20th-century Parisian audiences under the spell of hispanisme. From Falla’s suite to Stravinsky’s, drawn from his darkly comic ballet composed during World War I. The second half features Franck’s Romantic masterpiece, stirring in its harmonic twists and turns and thrilling in its propulsive Finale.

Thursday, July 4: Meet the Composer: Jonathan Bailey Holland, 11:30 a.m. in Gibson Hall 101. Free. Jonathan Bailey Holland was influenced early on by his grandfather’s baby grand piano and his father’s record collection, which contained everything from Miles Davis to Bootsy Collins, G. F. Handel, Sergio Mendes, Michael Jackson and Kenny Rogers. Holland draws inspiration from classical, jazz, hip-hop and other musical genres, as well as from visual art, architecture, poetry, dramatic works and contemporary events.

Thursday, July 4: Gamper Festival Performance, 7:30 p.m. in Studzinski Recital Hall. Free. Presented as part of the Bowdoin International Music Festival since 1965, the Charles E. Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music represents a sustained commitment to nurturing and promoting the music of our time. It is programmed by Derek Bermel.

Friday, July 5: Thornton Oaks Community Concert, 2 p.m. at  Thornton Oaks. Free. Performances by festival students.

Friday, July 5: Bernstein, Connesson, Brahms, 7:30 p.m. in Studzinski Recital Hall. Tickets: $45. The festival is extending Bernstein’s centenary just a bit longer. The clarinet sonata, his first published composition, was premiered in New England in 1942 with the 23-year-old composer at the piano. In his 1996 sextet, Guillaume Connesson brings together an unusual collection of instruments for a work exuding “amusement and good humor” with flickers of American minimalism and Schubert’s “Trout” quintet. For good measure, the program finishes with Brahms, the undisputed father of the string sextet, whose two works in the genre set the bar for future generations.

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Saturday, July 6: Farnsworth Art Museum Community Concert, 2 p.m., Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland. Free. The Farnsworth Art Museum offers a nationally recognized collection of works from many of America’s greatest artists, with 20,000 square feet of gallery space and over 15,000 works in the collection.

Saturday, July 6: Young Artists Performance, 2 to 3:30 p.m. in Studzinski Recital Hall. Free. Performances by festival students.

Saturday, July 6: Gamper Festival Performance, 7:30 p.m. in Studzinski Recital Hall. Free. Over its history, the Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music has celebrated many of the most significant composers such as Milton Babbitt, Luciano Berio, William Bolcom, John Corigliano, George Crumb and Ralph Shapey as well as new voices at the start of their careers.

Sunday, July 7: Imani Winds, 2 p.m. in Studzinski Recital Hall. Tickets: $45.
The festival welcomes Imani Winds for this wide-ranging program of American composers with roots in Argentina, Cuba and New York City. Formed in 1997, Imani Winds has built an international reputation on a “concept of connectivity,” engaging with the public through innovative and relevant programming and commitment to inspiring through outreach.

Sunday, July 7: Young Artists Performance, 7 to 9 p.m. in Studzinski Recital Hall. Free. Performances by festival students.

Tickets may be ordered at the box office at 181 Park Row in Brunswick, over the phone at 207-­373-­1400, online or purchased at the door the night of the concert. For a complete schedule of festival events, ticket information or to sign up for emailed program updates, visit bowdoinfestival.org.

American String Quartet


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