RETURN TO THE STAGE

The return to the stage happened with increasing confidence throughout the 21–22 season. There were many challenges as we all know, but the determination to forge on and rebuild the concert-going experience led to success with both our chamber festival followers and those attending our concerts during the fall-spring season.

Our classical series during the months following our festival in 2021 included some very special concerts—Charlie Albright brought his usual positivity and engaging presence and pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason made her debut. The Messiah presentation continues to be a much-loved signature event for Rockport Music, and finally we enjoyed another artistically superb performance from our friends at The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Our summer festival was chock full of brilliant performances. Many of the concerts had to be saved multiple times from the staggering complexities of changes in artists and travel due to COVID-19 quarantines. While operationally taxing, the energy of the “show must go on” attitude contributed to some exceptional artistic triumphs. I will never forget the performance of Schumann and Franck that happened with Chad Hoopes, Andrés Díaz and friends—they brought pure musical delight to the audience. Who knew that only 48 hours prior to the concert these musicians had no idea they would be performing together at the festival… by the numbers

Violinists were on display throughout the festival including the unforgettable Ray Chen —WOW! Pinchas Zukerman returned with his trio and we enjoyed Stella Chen once again. I tried to find a balance between artists known to our audience while introducing the finest performers of the new generation. The warm embrace of our followers for newer performers was deeply gratifying. They have suffered through a difficult time and this support was important.

The summer non-classical season made quite a splash with banjo superstar Béla Fleck, mandolinist Sierra Hull, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Tuba Skinny, folk singer Martin Sexton, a cappella group Naturally 7 and jazz vocalist Kat Edmonson. The Rockport Jazz Festival was held the first week in August (3–7) and brought the vocal stylings of Dee Dee Bridgewater with pianist Bill Charlap, as well as a spectacular jazz program by violinist Regina Carter, in which she also shared historic details and moving stories about redlining and other social issues.

WGBH’s Brian O’Donovan and harpist Maeve Gilchrist joined artistic forces once again for the Rockport Celtic Festival, held August 19–21, and featured the intersection of Celtic and Scandinavian folk music. It highlighted the Nordic Fiddler’s Bloc, along with numerous familiar artists like the Murphy Beds, Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas, David Coffin and others.

2021–2022 RENTALS

32 7 WEDDINGS

NUMBER OF RENTALS

14 RECORDINGS

5 2 4

RECITALS/ COMPETITIONS

FUNDRAISERS WITH CONCERTS

AUTHOR EVENT/ CORPORATE MEETINGS

Despite the pandemic, the Shalin Liu Performance Center remained quite busy during the 2021–22 season with rental activity. We hosted a total of 32 events that included numerous multi-day recordings, weddings, recitals and competitions, author events and corporate meetings, as well as large fundraisers with concerts. The Hall was a wonderful resource for organizations and individuals in our community during trying times.

Rockport Music has an incredibly committed volunteer corps that consistently shows its devotion in a variety of ways as ushers, in concessions, for fundraising mailings and much more. Our volunteers make it possible for Rockport Music to provide the best customer service when welcoming guests to our Shalin Liu Performance Center. In addition to our regular volunteers, Rockport Music is experiencing a new wave of individuals getting involved. Since the pandemic, the numbers just keep growing!

In Fall 2021, Rockport Music Board of Trustees engaged a DEIAB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Belonging) consultant, David Howse, to guide us through the work of ensuring that we are a more diverse, equitable organization that welcomes all with acceptance and belonging. In Winter 2021–2022, board and staff DEIAB task forces were created and began working with Mr. Howse to put together an in-depth plan. After months of hard work researching best practices and industry trends, a preliminary summary was presented to the entire organization, and the staff separated into small working groups that focused on particular topic areas. This work is still underway with additional progress to be shared in the 2022–23 Annual Report.