The first Malibu Coast Music Festival, offering internationally and locally renowned artists performing in various sites in Malibu, gets under way on August 25 and continues through Labor Day. Four of the concerts will take place at the Montgomery Arts House for Music and Architecture, a private estate built by Eric Lloyd Wright, grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright. The series producer musician and composer, Maria Newman, lives in the home with her conductor/violist husband Scott Hosfeld, and their four children. The series will open on Friday with a gala concert/dessert reception, with a program that includes Bach’s ‘Farewell Cantata,’ Brahms’ Sonata in E Flat Major for Viola and Piano, Maria Newman’s Sonata for Flute and Piano (in the style of harpsichord). The program on Saturday, August 26, featuring Dvorak’s Quintet for Piano and Strings, Newman’s ‘A Breath of Mississippi’ and Brahms’ Sonata in F Minor for Cello and Piano, will be repeated on Sunday. On Tuesday, August 29, the program starting at 6:30 p.m., is billed as the ‘Kairos Musical Dinner Soir’e Old-Fashioned Fish Fry’ at the Montgomery Art House. A silent movie night (starring Mary Pickford), with live music, will take place on Friday, September 1, at the Malibu West Beach Club. And the ‘Fabulous Finale,’ featuring soloists with orchestra, will take place at the new Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue. Also featured during the festival is the artwork of Malibu artist Carla Bates. Her painting, including local landscapes, will be displayed at MAHMA for the duration of the festival. Dedicated to the late Martha Montgomery, the Montgomery Arts House for Music and Architecture was completed in late 2001. Montgomery purchased the property in 1946, and later gave it to her daughter, Maria Newman. A native Palisadian, Newman is the daughter of the nine-time Academy-Award-winning composer and conductor Alfred Newman. She grew up in an intense musical environment, surrounded by great music and outstanding musicians. Newman studied at the Eastman School of Music and at Yale before embarking on career as a composer. She has been commissioned by numerous organizations and has developed a large library of original works for chamber ensemble (vocal and instrumental), orchestra, ballet and opera/oratorio. As solo violist, she recorded Miklos Rozsda’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra with Nuremburg Orchestra and continues to perform concerts nationwide. She will be joined in the Malibu Coast Music Festival by number of artists, who will travel to Malibu from Canada, Germany and across the United States. In the spirit of community-building, the inaugural season of the Malibu Music Festival will be free and open to the public. For reservations and information, visit www.malibucoastmusicfestival.org or call 589-0295.
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