NEWSLETTER
Clarinetist Graeme Steele Johnson to perform his reconstruction of Charles Martin Loeffler's lost Octet, praised by The New York Times as one of 2024's Best Classical Albums
Cooperstown, NY (July 30, 2025) – The Caroga Arts Ensemble, an exciting collective of celebrated performers from across the country who gather each summer at Caroga Lake, returns to the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival for their fourth appearance. Founded and directed by cellist Kyle Price, the ensemble will feature the KASA Quartet, Cooperstown Summer Music Festival Artistic Director Linda Chesis, acclaimed clarinetists Graeme Steele Johnson and Bixby Kennedy, harpist Alix Raspé Gray, and bassist Kit Polen.
The program centers around a remarkable musical discovery: Charles Martin Loeffler's forgotten Octet, a 127-year-old work that clarinetist Graeme Steele Johnson unearthed in the archives of the Library of Congress in April 2020. Johnson spent four years meticulously reconstructing the piece from the 75-page manuscript, creating the first critical edition of the music and revealing what he describes as a "previously unheard kaleidoscopic masterpiece."
Loeffler (1861-1935), a Berlin-born, Boston-based composer, was one of the most performed American composers of his time. Johnson's reconstruction and world-premiere recording of the Octet has garnered international attention, earning a full-page profile in The Washington Post and recognition as one of The New York Times' Best Classical Music Albums of 2024.
"After performances at the Library of Congress, Morgan Library, Harvard Musical Association and other venues around the country, we're thrilled to bring this rediscovered masterpiece to Cooperstown for the first time," said Johnson.
The evening's program will also showcase the artistry of the ensemble's wind, string, and harp combination through beloved works by French composers. Highlights include Johnson's octet arrangement of Debussy's orchestral masterpiece Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, Ravel's Introduction and Allegro (originally commissioned in 1905 to feature the latest harp model made by Parisian publisher Maison Erard), and Poulenc's early Sonata for Two Clarinets, written when the composer was just 19 years old and performed by the clarinet duo of Johnson and Kennedy.
For Caroga Arts Ensemble director Kyle Price, this performance holds special personal significance as a kind of homecoming. "My family and I often attended Cooperstown Summer Music Festival concerts when I was growing up," Price reflected. "The Festival holds a special place in my heart."
The Caroga Arts Ensemble's appearance promises an evening of musical discovery, featuring both a remarkable piece of musical archaeology and beloved masterworks that highlight the unique sonic palette of winds, strings, and harp.
Event Details:
Caroga Arts Ensemble: Forgotten Sounds
Wednesday, August 13 at 7:00PM
Fenimore Farm and Country Village
5775 NY-80, Cooperstown, NY 13326
Ticket Information:
Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for students and children. Tickets can be purchased in advance either online at www.cooperstownmusicfest.org or over the phone by calling Purplepass Tickets at 800-316-8559 and selecting Option 1. Please note there is a $2 service fee per phone order. Tickets will also be sold at the door, as available.
About the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival:
Founded in 1999 by flutist Linda Chesis, the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival has been bringing world-class chamber music performances to the Cooperstown area for over 25 years. The festival has featured performances by the American, Juilliard, St. Lawrence, Jupiter, and Jasper String Quartets, Stefon Harris, Bill Charlap, Kurt Elling, Simone Dinnerstein, Mark O’Connor, John Pizzarelli, the Sonia Olla Flamenco Dance Company, and many more. Concerts are held in venues across Cooperstown, including the grand Otesaga Hotel, Fenimore Farm and Country Village, and Christ Church (the church of author James Fenimore Cooper).
The Cooperstown Summer Music Festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
###