Newport Classical presents Two Chamber Series Concerts - Benjamin Appl on March 13 and Ars Poetica on March 27
L-R: Benjamin Appl and James Baillieu, Ars Poetica. Photos available in high resolution here.
Newport Classical Continues 2025-2026 Chamber Series
Baritone Benjamin Appl and Pianist James Baillieu Perform Franz Schubert’s Die Winterreise
Friday, March 13, 2026 at 7:30pm
Ars Poetica Performs Dance and Transfiguration
Friday, March 27, 2026 at 7:30pm
Information & Tickets: www.newportclassical.org
Newport, RI – Newport Classical continues its fifth full-season Chamber Series, which features twelve concerts held on select Fridays between September 2025 and June 2026 at the organization’s home venue, the Newport Classical Recital Hall (42 Dearborn St.), with two concerts in March. Baritone Benjamin Appl and pianist James Baillieu perform on Friday, March 13, 2026 at 7:30pm and Baroque ensemble Ars Poetica performs on Friday, March 27, 2026 7:30pm.
On Friday, March 13, baritone Benjamin Appl, whose voice “belongs to the last of the old great masters of song” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) and whose artistry has been described as “unbearably moving” (The Times), presents Schubert's hauntingly beautiful Die Winterreise with his frequent collaborator, pianist James Baillieu. Named Gramophone Award Young Artist of the Year in 2016, Appl continues to captivate listeners with artistry that gracefully weaves timeless tradition and vivid, heartfelt expression. He brings this hauntingly beautiful song cycle to life, offering an unforgettable journey through loneliness, memory, and the stark poetry of winter. Appl’s recent recital debuts include Carnegie Hall, San Francisco Performances, Dallas Opera, Boston Celebrity Series, New York’s Park Avenue Armory (of all three Schubert song cycles), Sydney Opera House, Mozarteum Salzburg, Festival St. Denis, and three presentations of Winterreise by the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona.
Watch Benjamin Appl and James Baillieu Perform Die Post from Die Winterreise
On Friday, March 27, Newport Classical presents Ars Poetica, an ensemble of acclaimed musicians who share a passion for bringing historical music to the stage. Comprised of a colorful array of Baroque instruments, including viola, lute, recorder, and voice, Ars Poetica’s concerts combine innovative repertoire choices, particularly of music from the high Renaissance to early Baroque, with sophisticated interpretations. Their Newport Classical program Dance and Transfiguration finds its inspiration in music that has taken previous material and turned it into something new. This is celebrated in the beauty of bastarda repertoire, diminution practices, and in music with strong text settings. Each of these genres rely on previously written material to come to life.
Newport Classical's Chamber Series takes place at Newport Classical Recital Hall in downtown Newport, known for its striking architecture and excellent acoustics. Audiences are invited to enjoy performances by world-class classical musicians in a relaxed setting, with complimentary wine generously provided by Gold's Wine and Spirits served when the doors open at 7:00pm and again during intermission. Both performers and audience members alike have described these concerts as some of their favorites. “Beautiful concert, high artistry and exciting programming . . . a deeply moving and soulful experience, with a rousing and brilliant virtuosity that kept you on the edge of your seat,” raved one attendee.
As part of Newport Classical's desire to create connections between classical music, the artists who perform it, and the Newport community, all musicians performing on the Chamber Series will also visit a local school or organization to present their talents and meaningfully engage with students and community members of all ages through Newport Classical's Music Enrichment and Engagement Initiative.
The Chamber Series continues with violinist Yevgeny Kutik, who makes his Newport Classical debut on April 10 alongside returning pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner. Praised for his "dark-hued and razor-sharp technique" (The New York Times), Kutik performs works by Debussy, Prokofiev, and Grieg. Rising-star pianist James Zijian Wei, first-prize winner at the 2024 Cleveland International Piano Competition, makes his highly anticipated Newport debut on May 8 with a program featuring Ravel, Liszt, and more. The Chamber Series concludes on June 5 with flutist Amir Hoshang Farsi and pianist Chelsea Wang, both Carnegie Hall Ensemble Connect alumni, presenting a program of sparkling impressionism featuring works by Fauré, Lili Boulanger, and contemporary composers Reena Esmail, Ian Clarke, and Yuko Uebayashi.
The 2026 Newport Classical Music Festival will take place from July 2-19, 2026.
About Newport Classical
Newport Classical is a premier performing arts organization that welcomes people of every age, culture, and background to intimate, immersive musical experiences. The organization presents world-renowned and up-and-coming artistic talents at stunning, storied venues across Newport – an internationally sought-after cultural and recreational destination.
Originally founded in 1969 as Rhode Island Arts Foundation at Newport, Inc., Newport Classical has a rich legacy of musical curiosity having presented the American debuts of hundreds of international artists and is most well-known for hosting three weeks of concerts in the summer in the historic mansions throughout Newport and Aquidneck Island. In the 56 years since, Newport Classical has become the most active year-round presenter of live performing arts on Aquidneck Island, and an essential pillar of Rhode Island’s cultural landscape, welcoming thousands of patrons all year long.
Newport Classical invests in the future of classical music as a diverse, relevant, and ever-evolving art form through its four core programs – the one-of-a-kind Music Festival; the Chamber Series in the Newport Classical Recital Hall; the free, family-friendly Community Concerts Series; and the Music Education and Engagement Initiative that inspires students in local schools to become the arts advocates and music lovers of tomorrow. These programs illustrate the organization’s ongoing commitment to presenting “timeless music for today.”
In 2021, the organization launched a new commissioning initiative – each year, Newport Classical will commission a new work by a Black, Indigenous, person of color, or woman composer as a commitment to the future of classical music. To date, Newport Classical has commissioned and presented the world premiere of works by Stacy Garrop, Shawn Okpebholo, Curtis Stewart, Clarice Assad, and Cris Derksen.