Waggin’ to the Beats…

Greetings, dear readers. My name is Mr. Pickles, a refined Scottish Terrier with a keen ear for melody and a strong appreciation for chicken-flavored anything. I’ve had the chance to attend the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival in Highlands, North Carolina, on many occasions. It is, in a word, barktacular.

If you’ve never been to this event, let me set the scene. Each week features a motley assortment of individual musicians and group acts, some returning, some new to the festival. I sniffed out the official Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival website filled with all the details for each celebration. See the annual brochure on their site for tickets and pricing.

Concerts are frequently held at both the Highlands Performing Arts Center (507 Chestnut Street) and the Village Green Commons in Cashiers (160 Frank Allen Road). While dogs like me are not permitted in the former, the outdoor Village Green Commons is perfect for those pooches who can keep quiet during the serenades.

The full event typically runs multiple weeks in the middle of summer and is one of Highlands’ most anticipated annual celebrations. When I first arrived, I wore my best tartan collar and a custom tag reading “Music Lover, Bone Collector.” My tail was wagging long before the first note played.

When the intrepid human, Lucas Drew, first sniffed out a cozy summer den in Scaly Mountain back in 1974, he didn’t just want a place to nap in the sun, he had music in his soul! By 1976, he was already organizing concerts, with the help of fellow humans Ted and Terry Hoffman, plus Reverend John Reid. These early concerts raised bones, I mean, funds, for the local Hudson Library, planting the seeds for what would become the Highlands Chamber Music Festival in 1982. It was pawsitively brilliant!

Once things got rolling, there was no stopping the musical train! Lucas and his pack received a generous $5,000 grant and brought together university musicians for the first official Festival. They played in multiple churches, and as years went by, more concerts were added, the board of directors was formed and venues changed to fit more music lovers who just couldn’t get enough. By the 1990s, every concert had a full house and they needed a larger hall!

The Festival kept growing like a good boy’s reputation! It moved into the Martin-Lipscomb Performing Arts Center and brought the music to other spots across Georgia and North Carolina. Even NPR was barking about the event and the organizers even released a CD. My tail was wagging for weeks! Today, under the leadership of William Ransom and Nancy Gould-Aaron, the Festival still honors its roots: heartfelt, high-quality chamber music with a friendly, tail-thumping vibe.

🐾New Artists in the (Dog) House!

With over four decades of success, the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival hasn’t gone to the dogs. Each year, they book new musicians, singers and poets; artists who have never performed at the event before. I still remember when I saw multi-Grammy award-winner Sharon Isbin play her guitar alongside the Pacifica Quartet: What a performance! Sharon has been a musician long before I started yipping at the mailman.

As music perks my ears each year, I’m reminded of how the celebration still lives up to its mission statement. The Festival “enhances the cultural life of Western North Carolina by sponsoring performances by acclaimed musicians and promoting education, outreach and audience development programs that foster an appreciation of chamber music,” across every venue. Sounds like a dog-gone good time!

🐾 My Favorite Humans with Multiple Performances

On many occasions, the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival welcomes back returning artists who performed in years prior. I once witnessed my favorite pianist, Vijay Venkatesh, play his rendition of “Piano Sonata in F Minor” by Johannes Brahms; it really got my tail wagging. If I could perform simultaneously with all four paws, perhaps Julie Coucheron and Elizabeth Pridgen would have let me join in on “The Rite of Spring” when they played from the same piano. I’ve witnessed their musical outing more than once and I always love when they’re invited back.

Violinist Chee-Yun is another star to watch out for; I was howling all the way home to her “Musical Stories” performance. Hopefully, she returns with more material in the years to come. I might have some experience with the bagpup…er…pipe, but you’ll really want to attend any performance with clarinetist Jesse McCandless, cellist Charae Krueger or harpist Elisabeth Remy Johnson. All three have been invited back to the festival at least once; if the organizers are reading this, paw-LEASE continue to summon these musical talents.

🐾 An Ongoing Tradition

The Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival is an event full of sound, soul and sniff-worthy scenery. For those who love melodies as much as muddy pawprints, I cannot recommend it enough. I always plan to be at each performance, tail wagging and ears ready.

Until then, dear readers, may your harmonies be memories and your playlists always delightful.

With a heart full of rhythm,
Mr. Pickles
Your Highlands Blog Dog 🐾