FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 29, 2007

CONTACT: Katie McElwain/ Marketing Coordinator

(802) 447-1571 Fax (802) 442-8305

Third Annual Burr Harpsichord Concert to Be Held at the Bennington Museum

An unusual afternoon of classical musical entertainment will be held at the Bennington Museum on Sunday, June 10 at 3 p.m. The third annual Burr Harpsichord Concert will feature critically acclaimed keyboard artist Margaret Irwin-Brandon. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Bennington Cultural and Arts Council, this concert is offered to the public free of charge.

Ms. Irwin-Brandon's professional focus is on early keyboard instruments. She has performed numerous solo concerts in music festivals in both the United States and Europe. Her harpsichord performances of J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, were received with particular acclaim, and her music has received praise from critics and organizations worldwide. As a Fulbright Scholar in Germany, she studied organ with Karl Richter and continued harpsichord studies with Gustav Leonhardt.

In 1989 Ms. Irwin-Brandon was Founding Artistic Director of the Arcadia Players Baroque Orchestra, Chorus and Chamber Ensembles, based in Northampton, MA. In addition to many live performances, her production of "Arcadia Players - a Baroque Celebration" was filmed and presented on WGBY-TV in 1992. After directing Arcadia Players for fifteen years, Ms Irwin-Brandon felt the need to devote more of her time to solo performance.

The harpsichord to be featured in the June 10 concert was built by Walter and Berta Burr of Hoosick Falls, New York. The Burrs are self-taught instrument-makers who are masters in their field and have been called by some "the best harpsichord makers in the world."

The harpsichord on which Ms. Irwin-Brandon will perform is an exact replica of one made in Paris in 1760 by the Alsatian master Benoist Stehlin. Designed in early Neoclassical style and decorated in red, gold, and white, Stehlin's harpsichord was acquired in the 1970s by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, where the Burrs were given special access to the inner musical mechanisms as well as the decorative outer case to create their replica. It is unusual for French harpsichords of this period to have survived the French Revolution. The concert on June 10 is an excellent chance to hear a master musician perform and to see a perfect replica of a very rare instrument.

The Bennington Museum is located at 75 Main Street in Bennington, VT. It is 35 miles east of Albany, NY, and 15 miles north of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. The museum is open daily (closed Wednesdays) from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The museum is handicapped accessible. For additional information please visit the museum's web site at www.benningtonmuseum.org or call (802) 447-1571.