Grounds For Sculpture, 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton Township, will host the 14th Early Music Festival on March 24.
Grounds For Sculpture, a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture garden, museum and arboretum, will feature Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and Early American music sung and played by ensembles from throughout the region.
From 12:30-5:30 p.m., the members of more than a dozen instrumental and vocal ensembles will play and sing music from the 12th through the 18th centuries on two stages in the Seward Johnson Center for the Arts.
There will be “Fringe Festival” events presented indoors and outdoors in the contemporary sculpture park. Local children’s ensembles will perform in the early afternoon.
The theme for this year’s festival is “Metamorphosis,” reflecting the current exhibits in the museum’s galleries.
The ensembles will express metamorphosis in music in diverse ways, reflecting three exhibitions currently on view: “Michael Rees: Synthetic Cells,” “James Carl: oof” and “James Carl: woof.”
In Rees’ exhibition, which features a layer of augmented reality, not all is visible with the naked eye, and his colorful inflated cubes transform when viewed from the supplied in-gallery tablets.
In Carl’s exhibitions, the artist is redefining commonplace materials of cardboard and Venetian blinds into mathematically intricate sculptures.
The afternoon will begin with an ensemble from the Youth Orchestra of Bucks County, Pa.
During the afternoon, guests will have the opportunity to interact with different types of instruments in an instrument “petting zoo,” according to a press release.
Hosts from WWFM (89.1 FM), The Classical Network, will participate as masters of ceremonies. WWFM is listener-supported public radio based at at Mercer County Community College, West Windsor. For more information, visit wwfm.org
Admission to the 14th Early Music Festival on March 24 is free with a Grounds for Sculpture admission. To guarantee entry, purchase admission tickets online in advance at http://www.groundsforsculpture.org/Visit/Buy-Tickets
Grounds For Sculpture was founded by sculptor Seward Johnson (John Seward Johnson II). Grounds For Sculpture combines art and beckoning spaces to surprise, inspire and engage all visitors in the artist’s act of invention, according to the press release.
The collection features more than 270 contemporary sculptures. Six indoor galleries offer rotating exhibitions. For more information, visit www.groundsforsculpture.org
The Guild for Early Music Inc. is a public charitable consortium of music ensembles of central New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The guild seeks to foster appreciation of early music and to encourage professional and amateur musicians and ensembles. For more information, visit www.guildforearlymusic.org
