Photography courtesy of Garth Newel Music Center
Garth Newel is Welsh for “new hearth” or “new home”—an appropriate name for the private estate-turned-music haven tucked into the gentle slopes of the Allegheny Mountains in Bath County, Virginia.
The Garth Newel Music Center’s very rural setting belies its esteemed reputation. The only Virginia music venue with a year-round resident quartet, it has an appeal that’s been going strong for over a half century; it celebrated its fiftieth year during the 2023–2024 season. Jeannette Fang, pianist and co-artistic director for the quartet since 2015, says about the anniversary: “No matter how modest you are about birthdays, reaching fifty seems to call for all the bells and whistles.”
For what executive director Shawn Puller calls its “golden moment,” the quartet thumbed through archives of old program books and tapped into the memories of loyal audience members to come up with a “golden year” of programming reflecting the center’s august history—the old and new that have always seamlessly intertwined at Garth Newel.
For the love of music
From its inception, the Garth Newel property has been a site for music and music lovers. The original owners, William Sergeant Kendall and his wife, Christine Herter Kendall—artists themselves—enjoyed hosting musical evenings with groups of friends at their country estate. William died in 1938, but Christine remained at the property for many decades. In 1973, she began work with Luca and Arlene Di Cecco, a musician couple and members of the North Carolina–based Rowe String Quartet. Together they started the Garth Newel Music Center Foundation; the Di Ceccos and their quartet hosted concerts on the property, and Christine made arrangements for its horse barn to be turned into a concert hall (where concerts are held still today).
Upon Christine’s death in 1981, the property was bequeathed to the foundation, allowing the Di Ceccos to carry on the Kendalls’ artistic legacy. On top of adding more concerts and gourmet meals, they transformed the property into a full-scale resort. The Manor House was converted into on-site lodging to accommodate a limited number of concertgoers, a popular option for many audience members to this day. For those seeking an off-property stay, the luxurious Omni Homestead Resort and its spring-fed pools are located within a couple of miles of the center.
The stars of the show
Although the grounds of Garth Newel are a highlight, its resident piano quartet is still the main attraction and draw for visitors. The group has performed at historic venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Chautauqua Institution, and the SoCal Chamber Music Workshop, and competition is fierce when a rare vacancy occurs. Fitz Gary, violist and co-artistic director, was among the forty-plus violists applying for the position in the fall of 2021. A Charlottesville, Virginia native and graduate of Juilliard, Gary pointed out how lucky he feels (especially as a local musician) to have been chosen out of a pool of applicants from across the globe. Like the other quartet members, he enjoys repertoires ranging from classical to jazz.
Violinist and co-artistic director Teresa Ling, who’s been playing at Garth Newel for over twenty-five years, says of the process, “One doesn’t become a chamber-music player unless one is flexible because it’s all about collaboration, and sometimes what you think will never work ends up teaching you a lot.”
An intimate setting for food and music
The Garth Newel experience isn’t just collaborative for musicians—it also allows for connection between musicians and guests. The four resident musicians, as well as guest musicians, dine side by side at tables with audience members who opt to have dinner (or Sunday lunch) after enjoying the concerts. As Ling points out, these shared moments are valuable for both guests and musicians. “Dining with concertgoers sometimes helps inform our programming,” she says. “If we learn someone really enjoys the composer Shostakovich, for example, we might consider performing one of his pieces.”
For one Friday evening program, the center welcomed a group of fourteen by pairing an informative, interactive bread-making tutorial by resident chef Josh Elliott with his four-course meal, starting with hors d’oeuvres and ending with bread pudding for dessert. The session included lessons on three different varieties—flatbread, focaccia, and cast-iron (Dutch oven) bread. Elliott’s tips were valuable, whether you were a beginner or an experienced baker. “Don’t worry about failures,” he emphasized. “You learn something new every time, whether it’s a success or failure.”
All of this is staged in Herter Hall, a world-class venue offering what regulars refer to as “something magical.” Here, anyone can quietly pop in during rehearsal or behind kitchen doors after dinner to give an appreciative shout-out to any of the performing artists or Chef Elliott.
The thrill of doing what you love
The delight of being educated, entertained, and well-fed by the musicians and staff at Garth Newel is part of the enchantment here—but it’s the fruit of much work. Gary talks of practicing, rehearsing, and/or performing eight hours a day, though it hasn’t deterred his gratitude. “Who wouldn’t want to perform and live out here?” he asks, nodding toward the windows showcasing the expansive 114 acres that make up the property.
Cellist and co-artistic director Isaac Melamed enjoys being the only musician to raise a family on this property; he has two young children, and his wife is also a musician. He’s participated in musical endeavors that have connected him to some of the greatest musicians of our time, but he remains a humble member of the crew at Garth Newel. Melamed typically lends a hand with outreach, recruiting, marketing, and scheduling transportation for the center’s Emerging Artist Fellows program—a ten-week summer festival for young musicians aged eighteen to twenty-eight. “It’s not only a full-time job but also a lifetime endeavor,” he says.
Fang—whose hands fly off the keys expressively during her imaginative performances—waxes poetic about her experiences here: “To be in a professional chamber ensemble is one of the most musically fulfilling experiences, and I somehow got lucky enough to be able to make a living from it because of Garth Newel. I also could not ask for better colleagues. They are some of the best people I know, and working with them as an artistic director as well as a pianist is a joy.”
For more info, visit garthnewel.org