In past summers, David was a fellow at the Bowdoin International Music Festival, and has attended Tanglewood Music Center, where he was concertmaster of the TMC Orchestra and a member of the New Fromm Players, performing in masterclasses for artists such as Sarah Chang, Pamela Frank, Colin Carr, and members of the Juilliard, Borromeo and Brentano String Quartets, and worked with conductors including Andris Nelsons, Herbert Blomstedt, Ivan Fischer, Marin Alsop, Hugh Wolff, and Bramwell Tovey.
David has had frequent opportunities to collaborate and perform music by some of the leading living composers, having worked closely with Thomas Ades, John Adams, John Harbison, Augusta Read Thomas, Fred Lerdahl, and George Walker. David continues to be committed to expanding community access to classical music, and has twice been a fellow of New England Conservatory’s Community Performance and Partnerships program.
Chinese Pianist Jiarong Li enjoys sharing music with the community and believes music is a powerful language we all understand. She is currently pursuing her doctorate at Manhattan School of Music, where she studies with John Forconi. Jiarong holds a Master of Music from New England Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Music from Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where she was admitted with first place. Her former teachers includes Heasook Rhee, Pei-Shan Lee, Bruce Brubaker, and Xiang Zou.
She has won prizes at competitions including first prize in the Oxford Philomusica Piano Festival and Summer Academy Competition, the New England Conservatory Honors Competition, the International Music Competition-Best Schubert Performance, the Distinction Award of the Hong Kong-Asia Piano Open Competition, and was a finalist at New England Conservatory Piano Concerto Competition, semi-finalist at Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts International Concerto Competition, and a collaborative piano fellow at Bowdoin Music Festival.
Artists in Residence:
David Bernat, violin
David Rivera Bozon, tenor
Leona Cheung, piano
Jiarong Li, piano
Victor Main, guitar/composer
Grace Note Farm, also known as the Benjamin Smith homestead farm c. 1730, is nestled in the northwest corner of Rhode Island adjacent to the George Washington Management area.
Riders can enjoy over six hours of riding on wide, mostly sandy trails that connect to Connecticut and Massachusetts. Trails wind through a covered bridge, hemlock grove and pass picturesque lakes and streams. You can ride alone on the well marked trails, or join a guide. Over 25 miles are safe for carriages.
Guests bring their own horses and can stay one or more nights on their own or in groups of up to 8 people. The stalls are airy and there is plenty of turnout in the rolling pastures or corrals surrounding the farm. Grace Note Farm welcomes group rides, and offers breakfast or lunch. The farm hosts parties for horse enthusiasts.
Nearby activities include massage therapy for horse and rider, and private or group lessons in the outdoor ring. Mountain biking, hiking, swimming, fishing, canoeing, cross-country skiing are all permitted in the adjacent state park. Enjoy visits to Southwick Zoo (Mendon, Ma); Worcester Art Museum (Worcester, Ma); and the over thirty antique stores in Putnam, CT.
Recommended by the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council
Email: bvtourism@aol.com or call 401-724-2200