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Reviews and Letters from
Attendees of Seal Bay Festival
Participating in the Seal Bay Festival is like spending
two weeks in Paradise. The incredibly
beautiful island is both physically and spiritually
apart from the busy world of our regular lives.
All of the day is spent with the music that is being
created right now, with interludes of
community dinners and explorations of land and water. We
are all joined in the endeavor to
create beautiful and meaningful sounds, and our work is
enriched by that of our colleagues.
What a joyful experience!
Ursula Oppens
It was such a privilege to participate in the Seal Bay
Festival. Right away, I got the sense that this was a
festival I would learn a lot from, and leave with
memories to last a lifetime. The beautiful island of
Vinalhaven, the incredible composers, the concerts, all
of it, has left me wanting to go back and relive these
experiences again. The one-on-one lessons with the guest
composers were enriching, and so too were the moments
between the scheduled events. The discussions always
went beyond music, and touched on topics that were
valuable in the moment. It was a tremendous experience
all in all!
Sincerely,
Kristin Kirk
Seal Bay Festival is the warmest and most unique music
festival I have ever experienced. I am very grateful for
Cassatt String Quartet’s expressive, touching and vivid
world premiere of my new work The Incomplete Journey,
who increased my passion and confidence to compose more
chamber music for strings.
I also appreciate all faculty composers and the
composition lessons they offered, which broadened my
horizons and provided the ways I could achieve my
targets gradually. The most special and memorable thing
is the celebration of my birthday on July 13 during the
festival! When everyone sang the birthday song for me
and I made my wish in front of the birthday cake Cassatt
String Quartet baked, I feel so touched and so
surprised! In short, I have an excellent experience at
Seal Bay Festival. I encourage more composers to apply
for this wonderful program.
XinYan Li
Dear Muneko,
Thank you and everyone see at the Seal Bay
Festival for allowing me the privilege of attending this
year. The informal, family-style atmosphere (in the
beautiful state of Maine!), combined with the incredible
work of the Cassatt Quartet and the faculty composers,
made the festival one of the most memorable and unique
musical experiences of my life. I would attend again in
a heartbeat!
Thank you,
Gregg Welcher
Dear Dr. Godfrey,
I hope you are doing well! I know it's been a while,
but this is Jordyn Gallinek, one of the composer fellows
from this past summer at the Seal Bay Music Festival. I
wanted to reach out and say thank you again for both
your guidance and for hosting me this past summer. It
was an amazing experience, and I am so happy I was given
the opportunity to write for such an outstanding group
of musicians!
I wanted to let you know that I am going to be attending
Juilliard in the fall for my Master's in Music
Composition, and I really believe that the Seal Bay
Festival helped me get into the program. I can't thank
you enough for my experiences at the Seal Bay Festival,
and I hope I will see you again in the future!
Best,
Jordyn Gallinek
Dear Muneko, Jennifer, Ah Ling, Elizabeth, and Dan,
Thank you for your wonderful invitation and warm welcome
to your magnificent Seal Bay Festival. It was extremely
meaningful to me and I am deeply grateful for your
marvelous performances of HELIX SPIRALS. The gorgeous
setting, with its surrounding landscape and ocean, is
literally magical and inspiring. Dan, you and your
family spoiled us by opening your estate with such
grace, treating us like family! Taking us out on your
boat was above and beyond the call of duty and I LOVED
it! You all gave to me a totally unforgettable, fun,
musically rewarding trip! I remain in your debt! (READ
FULL LETTER)
Augusta Read Thomas, July
25, 2017
I
like the way that Seal Bay Festival provide a platform
for all the student and guest composers to meet
informally, which we share our musical ideas and
experience most of the time as a human but not a
composer, since all of us work and live closely with
each other. Besides taking private lesson with the
world class guest composers, you also have a chance to
be inspired by different form of arts like
participating in the visual arts workshop and going
into the nature. And of course, the stunning scenery
of the Marine state is one of the most important
things you cannot miss. It is definitely the best way
to spend a summer with some amazing composers and
performers in this beautiful place.
Lok Hei Alvin Tam,
Summer 2017
The Seal Bay Festival
Composer Institute is one of the most unique
festival experiences I have ever had. Beautiful
festival, beautiful people. I enjoyed all my
composition lessons and masterclasses with the
faculty composers; it was also truly rewarding to
work with and get to know the Cassatt String
Quartet throughout the festival - such a devoted
and passionate group of musicians.
Alison Yun Fei Jian,
Summer 2017
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