Ashuelot Concerts brings world-class chamber musicians to intimate venues

Ten years ago, professional chamber musicians Nick Burns and his wife, Louisa Stonehill, left London with little more than two suitcases, their 2-year-old child and a piano. They had sold almost everything they owned and moved to Keene, a place they had chosen without knowing exactly what would come next. At the time, Burns and Stonehill were still performing internationally, so they had the freedom to live almost anywhere. They had grown up in London surrounded by classical music. Professional orchestras, world-class choral singing and concerts were seemingly everywhere. It was after moving to New Hampshire that Burns began to understand just how much geography can determine a person's access to live classical music. In a city like London, he said, it is almost impossible not to encounter it. But in rural areas, experiencing classical music at the highest level can mean traveling much farther. The couple decided they would do something about that. They started Ashuelot Concerts, bringing chamber musicians from around the world to perform in intimate local spaces throughout the Monadnock Region. "We have a unique program," said Burns, who serves as co-artistic director. "There's no other program like this anywhere, where you're getting the same concert that happens on the world's leading stages, but it's in a small venue where the front row is really within touching distance." The nonprofit's International Concert Series is now in its fifth season, it's largest to date, kicking off earlier this month and continuing through June. Most performances are at Stonewall Farm in Keene, with a few at The Park Theatre in Jaffrey and one at the Dublin School. "In Europe, chamber music is like the Olympics version of classical music," Burns said. "These are superstars in the classical music world. It's such a thrill for us to be able to bring these wildly famous and successful musicians to the woods of New Hampshire." The season got underway Sept. 4 at Stonewall Farm, where Burns, Stonehill, violist Nicholas Cords and cellist Nina Lee performed works by Josef Suk, Bohuslav Martinů and Antonín Dvořák. Cords brought something particularly unusual with him: a viola believed to date to the 1580s. The wood used to make it came from a tree planted in the year 1342, according to Burns. That sense of history is part of what Burns likes about chamber music, but so is the fact that audiences can experience it without the distance of a traditional concert hall. At Stonewall Farm, there is no amplification. In fact, Burns said its wooden construction gives the space an unusual acoustic quality that lends itself quite well to Ashuelot's performances. "Lots of musicians have compared it favorably to places like Wigmore Hall in London, and that's a total accident because it's a barn," Burns said. "Because it's made of wood, the room becomes the instrument. The floor is vibrating underneath everyone's seat, and sometimes when the sound builds up, the light fixtures are literally shaking with the energy in the room. It's a very, very exciting place." The Sitkovetsky Trio, which has performed on major stages around the world, is next up on the schedule, with appearances Oct. 1 at Stonewall Farm and Oct. 4 at the Dublin School. Other highlights include Germany's ARIS Quartett, which will perform in February, followed by a concert in April featuring Stonehill, violist Masumi Per Rostad, cellist David Cohen and Burns himself on piano. The season will close in June with six prominent string players, including Stonehill and Burns' fellow Ashuelot artists Nicholas Cords, Nina Lee, Alex Redington, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt and Edward Arron. "In our world, these are huge names," Burns said. "It's literally like an A-list celebrity lineup of chamber musicians." But the concerts are only part of Ashuelot's work. The organization also brings its musicians into local schools, where students get to hear the same performers up close in their classrooms. Each year, Ashuelot Concerts reaches roughly 5,000 students through about 40 school performances, Burns said. Before each concert weekend, the musicians visit at least four area elementary schools. They talk with students about music, but also about practice, motivation and what it takes to learn something difficult. "It's quite a special thing to take very serious musicians into a classroom with a kindergartner sitting literally five feet away, and the whole room is kind of resonating with history and amazing ideas," Burns said. "A living example of excellence, let's call it." Ashuelot Concerts is already looking beyond this season, with artists booked through 2029. Burns said the organization typically plans 12 to 24 months ahead to secure musicians whose schedules fill up well in advance. "We managed to attract some key names to the series for that first year in 2022," he said. "Ever since then, we're now very lucky to be on the receiving end of inquiries from pretty much everyone inside classical music who wants to go and play here." See the full schedule and purchase tickets online at ashuelotconcerts.org.