Lake Effect

Even though Minnesota is the state that brags about having 10,000 lakes, I have to say that New York has a number of very beautiful lakes of its own. Our summer festival tour this year took us to some very beautiful examples including Lake Luzerne (near Saratoga) and Canandaigua Lake (in the Fingerlakes region). What could be better than waking up to the sound of water lapping at the shore or having the chance to take a quick swim before rehearsal? I'm sure that's why these festivals ended up in such picturesque summer destinations.

You can see we had many boating options and one evening in Canandaigua we fit in a short sailing trip on an impressive 27 foot sailboat with some friendly supporters of the festival. Thanks Steve, Gail and Eliana!

In Lake Luzerne our cell phone service got pretty spotty - it's the only place we've performed in since Emily got her iPhone where Verizon had service and AT&T didn't. And in order to catch the Verizon signal I had to walk out to the very end of the pier in this picture. That was fine during the day but at night with no streetlamps it felt a little precarious!

After our performance and masterclass in Lake Luzerne, we were asked for an unusual kind of autograph. One of the the faculty members asked us to sign the wall of his cabin! He'd started this tradition last year when George Crumb had been the festival's composer in residence.

Though we couldn't contribute anything nearly as cool as the "Mystic Chord", we did make our mark.

I hope that one day I can start a festival of my own in a beautiful summer spot. The Canandaigua LakeMusic Festival was started by Ed Klorman and Amy Barston, friends of ours from Juilliard, and they've built up a wonderful summer series in just five years, though it's clearly a lot of work!

Any ideas of a place that would be perfect for a new summer music festival?

Next Stop: Canandaigua, New York!

This weekend, we are headed for Canandaigua, NY. Canandaigua is a city located on the northern shore of the third largest Finger Lake in the state of New York. I hear it is pretty and charming, and I have no doubt this is true as my husband and I have spent time in recent summers at our friends' lake house in the area! This will be the trio's first appearance at the Canandaigua Lake Music Festival, currently celebrating its fifth anniversary season (as we celebrate our tenth!). The concert is on Sunday, August 23rd at 7:30pm with a pre-concert chat at 7:15pm. The program will be:

Mozart Trio in G Major, K. 564

Ravel Trio

Mendelssohn Trio in D Minor, Op. 49

In addition, we will be presenting a free family concert on Monday, August 24th at 10:30am. Bring your children!

Sunday, Aug. 23rd @ 7:30pm:

Zion Fellowship, 5188 Bristol Road, Canandaigua, NY

Monday, Aug. 24th @ 10:30am:

All Things Art, 65 S. Main Street, Canandaigua, NY

For more information and to purchase tickets, you can go here.

This is a great opportunity for a weekend getaway. See you there!

ORD

There's not much to like about Chicago's O'Hare airport, but I am a pretty big fan of this tunnel. Connect on United, and you're pretty much guaranteed to have to run through it.