Host Anna Gray talks with pianist and Artistic Director Natalie Zhu about the 2026 Kingston Chamber Music Festival and its theme, Life, Liberty & Music.

They explore how a festival season is shaped--from concept to stage--and how chamber music can spark dialogue, connect cultures, and bring people together in meaningful ways. As the festival enters its 38th season alongside the nation’s 250th anniversary, this conversation reflects on music as a living, evolving art form how music that carries history and opens space for conversation in uncertain times.

The Kingston Chamber Music Festival's two-week festival will be held July 22-August 2, 2026 in Kingston, Rhode Island. More information and tickets: kingstonchambermusic.org/

On August 3, the Dover Quartet returns to the Kingston Chamber Music Festival (KCMF) to perform Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate (Chickasaw)'s Rattle Songs, a classical transcription of a piece originally written by Purá Fe and performed by Ulali, a trio who combined Native roots and contemporary styles with vocals, stomping, and rattling turtle shells. In this episode, Camden Shaw, cellist of the Dover Quartet, and Tate discuss the piece.

Listen to a panel conversation with Tate, Shaw, and others here.

KCMF's 37th season will be held July 23-August 3 in Edwards Hall at the University of Rhode Island. Learn more and purchase tickets on our website! See the full list of repertoire for the August 3rd concert here.

Thank you to our podcast sponsor, the Matunuck Oyster Bar, and our recording engineer, Ethan Hicks.

In this episode Natalie Zhu, Artistic Director of the Kingston Chamber Music Festival, and Allison Lacasse, Artistic Director of the URI Summer Music Academy, a camp for string, woodwind, brass, piano, and percussion students in the 7th through 12th grades, discuss the growing relationship between these two musical initiatives. This year, the GRAMMY-nominated Dover Quartet, acclaimed clarinetist Ricardo Morales, and other artists will provide masterclasses to campers, and the students will have free showcase performances on August 1st and 3rd in Edwards Hall prior to festival concerts.

In the second half of the episode, KCMF Social Media Intern Sophia Rousseau speaks with Carleton Fisher, the 2025 KCMF scholarship recipient.

KCMF's 37th season will be held July 23-August 3 in Edwards Hall at the University of Rhode Island. Learn more and purchase tickets on our website!

Thank you to our podcast sponsor, the Matunuck Oyster Bar, and our recording engineer, Ethan Hicks.