IGHL concert in Manorville
Photo by Mike Gerian
Education & Outreach
Outreach and educational activities are a vital part of Quogue Chamber Music’s mission. The day before the opening of the series in September 2009, the Cavani String Quartet performed twice for the Quogue Elementary School, where students heard everything from Bartok to the Beach Boys. They were having such a good time that when the lunch bell rang and Superintendent Rich Benson said, “Lunch can wait,” no one blinked an eye.
Prior to the concert of the Dorian Wind Quintet and pianist in June 2010, a performance was held at the Peconic Medical Center for rehab patients. About 25 people in wheelchairs took a break from their medical treatments to enjoy the music of Bach and Thuille.
IGHL, or Independent Group Home Living, in Manorville benefited in September 2010. The Cypress String Quartet performed for a large crowd of the developmentally disabled. Both audience and performers were moved by the concert. In 2011, the Voxare String Quartet performed for children at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge, and the Claremont Piano Trio performed at the Westhampton Care Center.
2012 saw the Zodiac Trio performing for the delightful students of the Raynor Country Day School in Remsenburg/Speonk, while the Jupiter String Quartet returned to the appreciative audience at the Westhampton Care Center.
In 2013, all of our artists performed once again for the always enthusiastic audiences of the Quogue Elementary School and the Westhampton Care Center. In the 2014 season, the Amphion String Quartet and the American Brass Quintet did childrens’ concerts at the Quogue Library, in a cooperative venture with the Library. The Cavani String Quartet returned to the Quogue Elementary School in 2015 with spectacular success.
The 2016 season saw performances at the Quogue School, Westhampton BOCES and the Westhampton Care Center, and in 2017 and 2018 the musicians performed at both the Quogue and Hampton Bays Elementary Schools. Additionally, "Summer Music for Kids" concerts, co-presented by the Quogue Library, were held in August of 2016, 2017 and 2018.
A generous grant from the Huntington Arts Council was received in the fall of 2019 for use in 2020. Due to the pandemic, the programs scheduled for March 2020 at local schools had to be postponed. However, the Arts Council allowed Quogue Chamber Music to offer virtual childrens programs to those same schools (in Quogue and Hampton Bays) which took place in the fall of 2021. The Huntington Arts Council renewed this grant for 2022.