Of all the interesting tidbits about Garth Newel, perhaps my favorite is how its a place that people have made this place their tradition. Time after time, someone will tell me that they celebrate their anniversary at Garth Newel, or get introduced to a quartet of friends who rent a cottage together for their yearly trip here.
My family has also embraced making Garth Newel a yearly meetup. For us, it’s New Years. It started, as most traditions do, with simple practicality. Since I had to be at Garth Newel in order to play the New Year’s concerts, and since my parents wanted to be the family to be together during the holidays, they decided to come to me. My parents drove in from NJ, my brother, his wife, and their daughter flew in from Minnesota. This was very exciting, because my niece was 5 years old at the time and so freshly delighted at all the Garth Newel-y things that we start taking for granted. Like magically appearing platters of food, seemingly normal people who turn into performers, a magic show popping up during New Year’s brunch, fairy lights in the rafters…
Of course, after getting wined and dined and entertained for two straight days, capped with having zero stress from any hosting duties or cleanup, my family was hooked.
I get it. When you come to Garth Newel, you leave your worries at the bottom of the drive. And when you come for New Years, you get a fully packed experience that really does feel like holiday magic.
After you’ve settled in, you stroll over to Herter Hall, which has been bedazzled into holiday sparkle, grab a festive drink, and sit back for all the feels of great chamber music. After the concert, you get to talk to the performers as you nibble on passed hors d’vouevres and champagne, all while the dinner tables are brought into the center of the hall. Midnight comes quite quickly, with a live band onstage, and dance demonstrations and musical moments are interspersed between 5 delicious courses.
This New Years will be a special one because of who will be joining me, Teresa, and Fitz onstage; My big brother Stephen, who (in my entirely unbiased opinion) is one of the most charismatic cellistsI know, and Daniel Chong and Jessica Bodner of the Parker Quartet, who are two of the most inspiring and masterful musicians I know. And here’s a bonus – they’re all longtime friends. Dan and Stephen were in a serious string quartet when they were undergraduates at Cleveland Institute of Music, and both attribute that experience as being how they became devoted to chamber music.
Jessica and Fitz will start the New Year’s Eve concert with two viola duos, Frank Bridge’s eloquent Lament and Gaia Flagello’s beautiful ode to nature Burn as Brightly. Stephen and I will continue with Rachmaninoff’s sonata for cello and piano, a tour-de-force of virtuosity and emotional splendor. All of us will end the program with Joaqin Turina’s sextet, Scéne Andalouse, a lush evocation of his native Andalusia full of beautiful melodies and romantic sweep.
The evening will continue with an amazing five course dinner, bubbly, and fun entertainment. Dancer Corey Flowers and his partner will lead various partner dancing demonstrations throughout the evening, while the band Elegance will play us into the new year.
The New Year’s Day concert will soothe all headaches with the soulful Brahms Horn trio, played on the viola. And nothing could bring more joy than the effervescent Schuman piano quintet, a piece that will send us all out with a renewed and positive outlook for 2026.
Tickets are still available for both concerts!
