MDI Summer Music History

Join us on July 7th at 4:00pm for an illustrated talk by David Schildkret on the history of the “vibrant summer music scene” on Mount Desert Island. Mr. Schildkret will explore hymn-singing, social music-making, town bands, and the presence of world-class concert artists at Bar Harbor’s Building of Arts, including the influence of Walter Damrosch, a highly visible figure in classical music, who made Bar Harbor his summer home for many years.  Mr. Schildkret’s talk will include a reconstruction of a piece composed in 1877 and played by one of the local bands shortly thereafter.

David Schildkret is Professor of Music and Co-Director of Choral Activities at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2000, he has conducted the annual concerts of the Mount Desert Summer Chorale, presenting such major works as the Requiems of Brahms and Verdi, Haydn’s The Creation, and Handel’s Messiah. This summer, he will lead the Chorale in Mozart’s Requiem, honoring those we have lost to COVID-19.