UNDETERRED BY THE PANDEMIC, 2020 CRESCENT CITY CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL TO BROADCAST FOUR FREE PUBLIC CONCERTS OCT. 2-11 The Crescent City Chamber Music Festival (CCMF) will not let Covid-19 stand in the way of its 5th anniversary performances this year. CCCMF will go on as planned with live performances that will be streamed to audiences from event spaces in New Orleans from October 2 to October 11, 2020. This year’s Festival is titled "In the Darkest Night Shines the Brightest Light," and features four unique, virtual programs broadcast live and free to the public on Facebook and YouTube over the ten days of the festival. Once again, Founding Artistic Director and New Orleans native Luke Fleming will bring some of the world’s most talented chamber musicians together for audiences in New Orleans, and now, online anywhere in the world. Audiences will be treated to performances from the world-renowned classical musicians of the Manhattan Chamber Players, a collective of New York-based musicians who have delivered compelling performances of the most moving pieces that the chamber repertoire has to offer year-after-year at CCCMF. In addition to the 12 stellar classical musicians bringing live chamber music to New Orleans this October, this year’s festival features Andrea Casarrubios, a prominent cellist praised by the likes of the New York Times, who will perform on all four concerts and also debut brand new material written specifically for this year’s festival. “The pandemic forced us to reimagine the Crescent City Chamber Music Festival in a way that musicians and audience members can enjoy the performances in a safe and socially responsible way,” said Luke Fleming. “Virtual audiences will be treated to one-of-a-kind concerts held in four wonderful spaces across the city of New Orleans, viewable on platforms like Facebook Live and YouTube Streaming. Should it be deemed safe by local government, the 2020 CCCMF may allow limited, socially distanced, masked seating on a first-come first-served basis, but this has yet to be confirmed. Notice will be given of this possibility at least two weeks before the festival begins,” Fleming said. Community outreach is an important part of the festival’s mission. Since its inception, festival musicians have performed privately for audiences at nursing homes, hospitals, schools, homeless shelters, and other helping organizations across the Greater New Orleans area. This year, the festival will stream to community members of New Orleans via Zoom, Facetime, and Skype — providing a meaningful and safe online concert experience on a one-on-one basis to residents of nursing homes, retirement communities, and hospitals, as well as in educational spaces. CCCMF 2020 FREE ONLINE CONCERT DATES AND TIMES “IN THE DARKEST NIGHT SHINES THE BRIGHTEST LIGHT” “In the Darkest Night Shines the Brightest Light" will highlight the transformative power of music, touching on the power of music to uplift the human spirit. Join some of the most talented Classical musicians in the world for virtual performances filled with deeply moving musical masterworks performed in beautiful, acoustically magnificent venues like Felicity Church, Temple Sinai, St. Charles Presbyterian Church, and Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2020 – “CHIAROSCURO” LIVE STREAM FROM ST. CHARLES AVENUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH PRE-CONCERT TALK 7 PM, CONCERT 7:30 PM ST. CHARLES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH The Manhattan Chamber Players performs works by W.A. Mozart, Johannes Brahms, and David Popper in a program entitled “Chiaroscuro,” which highlights a movement in the arts focused on the contrast of light and dark sonic elements. CCCMF Artistic Director Luke Fleming will also give a pre-concert talk at 7 PM. CCCMF is supported by grants from the New Orleans Theater Association and the Mike and Lynn Coatney Family Foundation. The festival is grateful to its partner organizations Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church, WWNO, 104.9 FM, Make Music Nola, Temple Sinai, St. Charles Presbyterian Church, NOLA Chamberfest, and Urban South Brewery. For more information visit http://crescentcitychambermusicfestival.com/