Preserving culture: a conversation at the Norfolk Library

At Norfolk Library on July 22, Vin Cipolla, President and CEO of Historic New England, and Melvin Chen, Director of Norfolk Chamber Music Festival discussed the rich tradition of music and arts festivals and their role in preserving culture.

Edward F. Gerber, a trustee of Historic New England, sponsors “Connecticut Preservation at Work,” a series of conversations with civic leaders, preservationists, and educators. Speaking to a full house, Gerber introduced Cipolla as, “a lifelong preservation and arts advocate protecting our cultural fabric.”

Cipolla has held leadership roles at the National Park Foundation, the Municipal Art Society of New York, David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, Fidelity Capital, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and has taught at Columbia.

Historic New England is the oldest, largest, independent preservation organization in the United States, with 38 history museums, farms and landscapes, and a collections center in Haverhill, Massachusetts that houses 1.5 million archival documents, plus 125,000 decorative arts objects. Cipolla shared plans for a “bold transformation” of their historic shoe manufacturing factories into Haverhill Center, a “cultural catalyst for the region that will reverberate internationally.”

Cipolla introduced Chen. “What I find spellbinding about chamber music is that connection, that warm intuitive partnership among musicians. Why is Norfolk important to artists and audience?”

Chen garnered global acclaim for his own musical performances, taught at Bard and was artistic director at Hotchkiss School Summer Portals. He received a doctorate in chemistry from Yale, and a double master’s degree from Juilliard in piano and violin.

Chen responded, “Norfolk is a small town, perhaps an unexpected place to have a major summer music festival. Early families Battell, Eldridge, Stoeckel had a vision for Norfolk. They commissioned architect Ehrick K. Rossiter in 1906 to build our Music Shed. Norfolk Chamber Music Festival is a natural outgrowth of that original vision.”

Ann Havemeyer, Director of the Norfolk Library and Vin Cipolla, President and CEO of Historic New England.Jennifer Almquist

Chen went on to say, “The important part of what we do is educating the next generation. When our young musicians arrive from around the world, I tell them they follow in the footsteps of great musicians who performed on our stage: Rachmaninoff, Caruso, Kreisler, Ralph Vaughn Williams, Percy Grainger, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and Sibelius.”

Vin Cipolla observed, “Something special happens in summer festivals that is irreplaceable in the field. Has the Norfolk experience affected your own music?”

Chen smiled. “It is rare in the life cycle of a professional musician to have the luxury of time to work on a piece. Here musicians delve deep, perform for an audience, then meet their audience.”

“At a time of much pressure,” observed Cipolla, “we are blessed with an abundance of festivals, yet we must be vigorous supporting them. What does preservation mean to you?”

Chen replied, “We are responsible for the programmatic preservation of the original spirit of Norfolk, while strengthening the current role of classical music in society. We have extraordinary talent here. I am optimistic that if we educators continue to encourage the creativity of young musicians and artists, people will be drawn to the arts and music.”

For more information on Historic New England Events visit: historicnewengland.org