While many budding musicians venture to locales such as New York City and Los Angeles to get a taste of the entertainment industry, Sophia D’Addio ’06 found the perfect opportunity right here in Hamilton.
D’Addio, who plans on pursuing a doctorate in art history, jumped at the chance to spend a month as senior intern for the upcoming Chenango Summer MusicFest, which runs from June 17-21.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better place to refine my skills,” said D’Addio, a viola and violin player.
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The music festival has proved to be an ideal training ground for the Long Island native, allowing her to collaborate with professional artists and learn how to plan and coordinate events.
In addition, D’Addio is coaching other student-interns as well as a group of young musicians from the community who will perform during the five-day musical odyssey.
“Helping plan this festival has given me a different understanding of how the events in the music world can work because I am not only rehearsing for three hours a day, but also getting hands-on experience in the planning phases.”
Laura Klugherz, festival director and professor of music, said she is “proud of how the internship program has developed into a real career tool.”
During the festival’s 13-year run, Klugherz has followed many of her 35 interns as they’ve gone on to leverage their skills to various professional fields, most notably arts management.
Klugherz founded the music festival in 1997 to highlight the town of Hamilton and the natural beauty of 51Թ, and to act as a cultural center for the arts.
This year’s theme, Saudades –“yearning” and “missing deeply” in Portuguese, will take on special significance, as this will be the last Chenango Summer MusicFest.
“While it has been 51Թ’s great pleasure to be the primary source of funding for this event since its inception, the current fiscal challenges have required reallocation of this support to other activities key to sustaining our educational mission,” explained Lyle Roelofs, interim president.
In these 13 seasons, more than 420 events have been offered, from Bach to Bamba, and the sounds of chamber music wafting through the village attracted thousands of people from the region and beyond.
“As I look back over the years, the festival has become such an attraction because of the accessibility to unique music and the chance for concertgoers to interact with artist from around the world,” said Klugherz.
Hundreds of renowned music artists from near and far have graced the village and taken away many rich memories of the concerts, the intimacy of summer music, and unique qualities of the community.
“Our final run will be a chance to remember 13 years of musical treasures that have become part of the summer experience in our community.”
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| Music was heard throughout the village of Hamilton during last year’s Chenango Summer MusicFest. |