Founders and co-directors of the Canandaigua Lake Chamber Music Festival, violist Edward Klorman and cellist Amy Sue Barston, performing at one of the festival's Classical Blue Jeans concerts. With them are violinists (from left) Tricia Park (M.M. 2000) and Elisa Barston.

How did the festival get started?
We had both been involved with Juilliard's Educational Outreach programs and were excited about the idea of bringing chamber music to a new community and presenting it in a fresh, exciting way. We started in the fall of 2004 by playing a few house concerts to spread the word about our vision, and through the generosity of many individuals and local businesses, we were able to present a full, 10-day season the following summer.

Did your studies at Juilliard affect your concept for the festival?
Absolutely! We both believe strongly in President Polisi's idea of "the artist as citizen"—that is, that it's our job as performers to advocate for classical music in our community.

We do this through a series of community events that we design to reach new audiences for classical music. For instance, we have a program called Classical Blue Jeans, which takes place in a barn and begins with a barbecue, followed by an interactive concert. One year, we invited the audience to "coach" our performance, telling us different ways we could play, shaping the interpretation and then voting on their favorite version. Everyone had a blast, and it was a great experience both for veteran chamber-music listeners and also for people who were hearing it for the first time.

Many of the artists we present are friends we met while studying at Juilliard, or even former mentors of ours on the Juilliard faculty. Charles Neidich generously played a benefit concert with us, and last summer, we were thrilled to have Robert White come to sing Dichterliebe and to invite Curtis Macomber for several pieces, including a Davidovsky work for violin and electronics.

Is it a challenge to present such experimental, contemporary music to an audience largely unfamiliar with these styles?
We strive to include a broad cross-section of music, and for us that definitely includes new works. We've premiered several commissioned works and are currently embarking on a collaboration with the Strong National Museum of Play, a well-known local children's museum, to present contemporary music to new audiences, including kids. We were able to develop this project thanks to a grant from the New York State Music Fund.

What's important for us, though, is to present challenging pieces with some kind of context. We might play part of a commissioned work at an interactive concert, so the audience can get to know it a bit before we premiere it in its entirety on our Festival Series. Last month, the ensemble counter)induction gave a concert that juxtaposed new pieces with standard works—such as Schnittke's Piano Quartet movement that completes Mahler's unfinished quartet—to give a context for the contemporary repertoire. Next year, the Orion Quartet will premiere a piece we're commissioning from Lowell Liebermann, who will be in residence to give presentations throughout the community for a few days leading up to the premiere.

What's the funniest thing that's happened at your festival?
During our first season, Amy performed the Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia together with her sister, a violinist. We sent out a press release announcing an upcoming performance by "the virtuosic sisters Amy and Elisa Barston." A few days later, we received a call from a reporter asking for an interview with the virtuous nuns who play violin and cello!