Garth Newel Music Center facts for kids
| Address | Warm Springs, Virginia |
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| Coordinates | 38°01′27″N 79°47′53″W / 38.024255°N 79.797993°W |
| Opened | 1973 |
| Website | |
| http://www.garthnewel.org | |
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Garth Newel
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 Location in Virginia
Location in the United States
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| Location | 447 Garth Newel Ln., near Hot Springs, Virginia |
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| Area | 114.33 acres (46.27 ha) |
| Built | 1923-1924, c. 1925, 1954 |
| Architect | Lee, Merrill Clifford and Clifton Lee, Jr., Lee & Lee; Fitzgibbon, James Walter |
| NRHP reference No. | 13000402 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 19, 2013 |
The Garth Newel Music Center is a special place for music and learning. It is a non-profit organization, which means it uses its money to help people, not to make a profit. It is located on a large, beautiful property in the mountains near Hot Springs, Virginia.
The center won an award in 2012 from Chamber Music America. This award recognized their important work in the world of chamber music. In 2013, Garth Newel Music Center celebrated its 40th birthday!
The name Garth Newel comes from a Welsh phrase. It means "new hearth" or "new home." This name was given to the property in the 1920s. It was named by William Sergeant Kendall and his wife, Christine Herter Kendall.
The Music Center is home to the Garth Newel Piano Quartet. They put on more than 60 concerts every year.
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Music Performances and Festivals
Garth Newel Music Center hosts many exciting events. The main event is the Summer Chamber Music Festival. It happens on weekends from late June to Labor Day. This festival includes twenty performances by the Garth Newel Piano Quartet. They also invite other musicians and student groups to perform.
Annual Concert Series
Besides the summer festival, Garth Newel has other yearly concerts.
- Fall Foliage Concerts: Three special concert weekends happen each October.
- Holiday Weekends: There are concerts around Thanksgiving and New Year's.
- Winter Pub Concerts: These are cozy concerts held in the colder months.
- May Concerts: Three concert weekends take place in May.
Special Music Events
Garth Newel also hosts different types of music.
- Virginia Blues and Jazz Festival: This festival takes place every June.
- American Made Concert Series: This series features traditional American music. You can hear bluegrass and old-time music here.
Famous musical groups have performed at the center. These include the Ensō, Dadealus, and Borromeo String Quartets.
Garth Newel Piano Quartet
The Garth Newel Piano Quartet is a group of musicians who live and work at the Music Center. They perform over 50 concerts each year.
Quartet Performances and Tours
This quartet has performed all over the United States. They have also played concerts on five different continents. Some of their famous performance spots include:
- Carnegie Hall in New York
- The Corcoran Gallery
- Strathmore Hall
- Virginia Military Institute
- The Lyceum in Alexandria
In 2012, the quartet went on a long concert tour in Turkey. In 2014, they spent over a week performing in Croatia.
Teaching and Workshops
The Garth Newel Piano Quartet also teaches young musicians. They are teachers for the Summer Fellowship Program. This program is for college-age musicians. The quartet also works with local public schools. They help adult and student groups learn and practice music. They also host a workshop each March for amateur chamber musicians.
Music Education Programs
The Garth Newel Music Center offers many programs for young musicians.
Partnerships and Workshops
- The Allegheny Mountain String Project works with the Music Center. They practice and perform there several times a year.
- The quartet often performs at schools across the country.
- The orchestra from the Appomattox Regional Governor's School visits every spring. They spend a weekend doing workshops with the quartet.
- Garth Newel also hosts an Amateur Retreat every spring.
Young Artists Fellowship Program
Each summer, college students from all over the world come to Garth Newel. They attend the Young Artists Fellowship program. They spend a month rehearsing and taking master classes. The program ends with a final performance at the Music Center.
Meet the Artists
The Garth Newel Piano Quartet includes these talented musicians:
- Teresa Ling, who plays the violin
- Evelyn Grau, who plays the viola
- Isaac Melamed, who plays the cello
- Jeannette Fang, who plays the piano
The quartet has recorded two music CDs. These CDs feature famous piano quartet pieces. They include works by Mozart, Brahms, and Dvorak. They also recorded a piece by the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu.
The Music Center has been shown in several video segments. These videos were part of a series called 'In A Day's Drive'.
History of Garth Newel Estate
Garth Newel is also a historic home. It is located near Hot Springs, Virginia. The main house was built between 1923 and 1924. It has a tall central part with two shorter wings on each side. The buildings are covered in rough wooden boards.
Buildings on the Property
The property also has several other old buildings. These include:
- Entrance Piers (built around 1925)
- Woodzell Cottage (around 1925)
- Kendall House (built in 1954)
- Giles Cottage (around 1925)
- Arabian Horse Barn (around 1925)
- Indoor Riding Arena/Herter Hall (around 1925)
- Fire Pit (around 1925)
- Stone Retaining Wall/Steps (around 1925)
The Kendall Family
Garth Newel was built by the artist William Sergeant Kendall and his second wife, Christine Herter Kendall. They started building the estate in 1923. This was shortly after they moved to Virginia.
For the rest of their lives, Garth Newel was very important to them. It was a country estate where they painted. They also raised award-winning Arabian horses. The Kendalls were known for hosting small concerts in their main house.
The Garth Newel complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. This means it is recognized as an important historic site.
Images for kids
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Panoramic image of Garth Newel and some of its outbuildings in 2016
