About Music at Eden's Edge

"Difficult, daring and beautifully performed"

"A spirited but refined performance…balanced, intelligent, heartfelt and full bodied performances that left no doubt of the performers' abilities."-- Boston Herald

"Delightful afternoon with Eden's Edge "--Boston Globe

Read the Boston Globe article about MEE

Each year, music lovers on the North Shore have a feast of musical treats from which to choose.  For more than a quarter of a century, Music at Eden’s Edge (MEE), the region’s resident chamber music ensemble, has been a main course in that banquet. 

Summer Chamber Concert Series

Founded in 1982, MEE has come to represent the highest standards of musical performance artistry. Its Summer Chamber Music Series, which runs from June through September, features extraordinary musical artists performing in some of the area’s most beautiful and distinctive settings. MEE is known for its creative programming that ranges from the Baroque period to innovative 20th century and even 21st century works commissioned and premiered by this ensemble. Concerts combine rarely heard works with beloved favorites of the chamber music repertoire.  
To make the performances as meaningful and memorable as possible, the artists introduce each piece to the audience, really making the music come alive.  In addition, a free reception with the artists follows most concerts. That intimacy reflects the special nature of chamber music, which has often been described as a dialogue among performers. It is perhaps the most personal form of musical performance – each player is a soloist and yet only one part of the whole. Performing without the leadership of a conductor, each ensemble member is fully responsible for carrying on his or her own part of the musical conversation, leading and supporting as the music demands. 
Music at Eden’s Edge concerts are presented in venues chosen for their ambience, intimacy and superior acoustics. Venues for the 2008 Summer Concert Series are Peabody Essex Museum, Cape Ann Historical Museum, New England Biolabs, Community House of Hamilton and Wenham, and the Endicott College Chapel. 
From captivating repertoire to exceptional artists and fascinating venues, the Music at Eden’s Edge Summer Concert Series presents chamber music as it was intended to be enjoyed!

A Focus on Community Outreach

As an organization with deep roots in the North Shore, MEE has also made community outreach an important part of its mission. During the summer, MEE offers five free concerts as part of the Seniors/Family Series. Held on Tuesday afternoons, these concerts take place at the fully accessible Northshore Unitarian Universalist Church (NUUC) in Danvers. They are designed to bring the joy of chamber music to audiences ranging from young families to seniors, many of whom attend every single performance in the series. 

In addition, MEE reaches out into elementary schools throughout the region with a unique, multiple-year partnership program called the Youth Chamber Concerts. Now in its 18th year, the program takes place in March and April in eight elementary schools in six North Shore communities – Beverly, Lynn, Gloucester, Salem, Ipswich and Newburyport. Provided at no cost to the schools, the program teaches music appreciation skills while giving students a unique opportunity to experience live chamber music and work with professional musicians in a classroom setting.

The YCC programs are organized in a four-year cycle, which has been renewed enthusiastically by every participating school system. Designed to assist public schools in deepening students’ experience with and understanding of the arts, the MEE program uses chamber music performances and repertoire to teach four topics of music fundamentals – musical structure, motion in music, approaches to listening, and cultural uses of music. The topics support the school music teachers’ required curriculum. By putting the music and instruments into a cultural and historical context, the MEE curriculum also supports the requirements of the Massachusetts Frameworks Curriculum.

Each segment of the curriculum includes a plan for an annual Residency Day when MEE players visit the schools and perform for each grade. Keeping the groups small allows students to participate in interactive games and improvisations as well as hands-on activities and a question and answer session. This format also gives students a chance to feel close to the music making and share in the excitement and involvement of the musicians themselves.

Since beginning the Youth Chamber Concerts in 1990, MEE has introduced more than 30,000 elementary school students on the North Shore to music they might not otherwise have heard – and at no cost to the schools. Educational psychologists believe that experience with art and music enhances young children’s ability to learn academic subjects. MEE’s goal is to open another pathway to learning as well as to draw students into recognizing their own ability to respond to classical music.

Annual Family Concert

MEE also performs an annual Family Concert in late winter/early spring. This year’s program returns to the beautiful sanctuary of at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Beverly Farms. Proceeds from the Family Concerts benefit the free outreach concerts presented throughout the year by MEE: summer afternoon concerts of the Senior/Family Series and the spring Youth Chamber Concerts in eight North Shore public schools.

Presenting Fine Music to the Broadest Possible Audience

The ensemble’s performances have been aired on all the major classical music stations in Eastern Massachusetts, including WGBH’s Chamberworks, WCRB’s New England Concert Hall and WBUR. Both MEE’s artists-in-residence and guest artists are well known nationally and have frequently performed on the international stage.
The original mission statement of MEE recognized the need to bring fine music to “the broadest possible audience.” An active Board of Trustees, an involved Board of Advisors, and many hours of volunteer time form the supporting structures for MEE’s organization. Generous support from foundations, corporate sponsors, large and small businesses and individuals have also contributed to the organization’s success. 

In fact, MEE’s concert series and outreach programs could not have been introduced, maintained and enhanced without the help of grants from private foundations, sponsors, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and local Cultural Councils, and individual patrons from all walks of life. MEE looks forward to continuing to expand its relationships with the corporate and small business community in order to continue great program development with community involvement.