The Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival is back, with inspiring live music and exhilarating changes after a two-year break because of the pandemic

Festival Artistic Director Kevin Krentz is thrilled to be assembling musicians and programming for six concerts in June. “We’re really, really looking forward to returning to the celebratory feeling of everyone being together after two years off,” Festival Executive Director Rebecca Lundquist said.

Audiences will see familiar faces on stage, including Krentz on cello, but will also enjoy new experiences. This year, concerts will be in a different venue, the Twisp Terrace Lodge, which provides a beautiful space, with high ceilings, a dramatic wall of windows, and great acoustics, Krentz said.

Krentz and the Festival board considered about 20 new Festival venues, and Krentz and his wife, cellist Haeyoon Shin Krentz, played their instruments to test sound quality and ambience at half a dozen finalists, Krentz said.

“A single note must be beautiful,” Krentz said. “The acoustics at Twisp Terrace Lodge were beautiful from the start.” The more intimate space lends exquisite detail to the sound, he said.

In addition to the change in venue, the Festival has revamped the concert schedule. This year, they’re offering a total of six concerts for two consecutive weeks on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each week, the Thursday and Saturday concerts will be completely different, offering four unique programs. Each Friday concert will combine selections from the other two nights that week, Krentz said.

The change in schedule will give people more opportunities to experience varied selections of music. It will also accommodate concert-goers in the new venue, which has a smaller capacity than the previous location, Krentz said.

Krentz is still assembling the roster of musicians. He’s planning strings and piano, plus a “flavor instrument” like a woodwind or percussion. Returning musicians include Mikhail Shmidt on violin, Zhenni Li on piano, and Christine Grossman on viola.

Krentz is programming great chamber music masterworks that allow the musicians to shine in soloistic roles. There will also be more contemporary takes on repertoire, such as arrangements of Scandinavian folk tunes by the Danish String Quartet, which captivated Festival audiences several years ago. Krentz promises programs bursting with romance and excitement that all audience members will find stimulating and compelling.

The Festival has long provided food and beverages so concert-goers can relax and socialize before the event, and Twisp Terrace Lodge proprietors Eric and Beth Blank will be offering a delectable dinner that people can order for a pre-concert picnic, Krentz said. Another attraction of the space is its climate-controlled environment, Lundquist said.

The Festival also hopes to host informal concerts at different locations throughout the valley, Lundquist said.

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DATES: This year’s festival will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 16, 17 and 18, and June 23, 24 and 25. TICKETS: $40. Available at methowmusicfestival.org in early April. LOCATION: Twisp Terrace Lodge.