OKM’s Festival Finale

OKM’s Music Festival will reach its climax on Monday, June 13 at Philbrook Museum of Art (2727 S. Rockford Rd., Tulsa) starting at 5:30 p.m. The progressive classical concert will present Tulsa Baroque Honors Orchestra, Balourdet Quartet, Lorelei Barton, and Verona Quartet.

The Tulsa Baroque Honors Orchestra will perform first at 5:30 p.m. on the Terrace while guests can view the museum’s art and sip on cocktails. The youth string orchestra is in its 42nd year of providing excellent string instruction as well as providing numerous opportunities for performances including Kilkenny’s Irish Restaurant, Arnie’s St Patrick’s Day, Burns Supper for the Scottish Club, The Tulsa Performing Arts Center and the Mayo Hotel. Tulsa Honors Orchestra (THO) is comprised of three different orchestras, their advanced one being the Tulsa Baroque Honors Orchestra. THO was founded by Jody Naifeh, mother of the violinist and composer, Karen Naifeh Harmon. Naifeh passed away in 2019 but her spirit lives on through the amazing students she taught through her loving family.

Guests will be moved to into the Patti Johnson Wilson Hall for an intimate concert by the Balourdet Quartet. The group was formed in 2018 at Rice University in Houston, Texas and is now based out of Boston, Massachusetts. The Balourdet Quartet gets their name from Antoine Balourdet, chef extraordinaire at the Hotel St. Bernard and beloved member of the Taos School of Music community. They have shared the stage with renowned artists such as Cho-Liang Lin and members of the Dover Quartet. They have studied and performed at festivals including the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Robert Mann String Quartet Institute, and Accademia Musicale Chigiana.

Lorelei Barton will perform twice at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. in the Rotunda. Enjoy canapés and wine for her first concert and dessert and coffee for her second. She is a versatile musician who has studied the piano, viola, and harp. Barton originally dreamed of becoming a professional singer but she found a new inspiration with the harp through her instructor, Suzann Davids. She is the former creator and Artistic Director of Midwest harp Academy, a non-profit promoting education and enthusiasm of the harp. Since residing in Tulsa for 38 years, Barton plays for weddings, receptions, and recitals in solo and chamber music.

The Verona Quartet will perform at 8:30 p.m. in the Pattie Johnson Wilson Hall. Verona has appeared across four continents enchanting audiences at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center (NYC,) Library of Congress (D.C.,) Jordan Hall (Boston,) Wigmore Hall (UK), and Melbourne Recital Hall (AU.) The quartet has performed at a multitude of festivals such as La Jolla Summerfest, Chamber Music Northwest, Caramoor, Alpenglow, and Bravo! Vail, and many more. They were recently earned the Cleveland Quartet Award and a reputation as a “…outstanding ensemble…cohesive yet full of temperament.” by the New York Times. A string quartet for the 21st century, the Verona Quartet champions the rich breadth of the string quartet repertoire from the time-honored canon through contemporary classics. Notable commissions and premieres include works by composers Julia Adolphe, Sebastian Currier, Corey Dundee, Texu Kim, as well as Michael Gilbertson’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated Quartet. Verona’s most recent projects include a live performance art installation with artist Ana Prvački, performances with dancers from Brooklyn’s Dance Heginbotham, artistic exchanges with traditional Emirati poets in the UAE, and a collaboration with GRAMMY-winning folk trio I’m With Her.

Tickets are $100 (includes four concerts, wine, champagne, canapés, and sweets.) For more information call 918-336-9900 or go to www.okmmusic.org