Garth Newel Music Center, Warm Springs, Virginia
Bath County Travel Guide: Bath County Overview | Garth Newel | Lake Moomaw & George Washington National Forest | Hidden Valley | The Homestead | Jefferson Pools | Warm Springs Gallery | Warm Springs Mountain Preserve | Bath County History | Douthat State Park
There is no better place to hear live music than Garth Newel Music Center, located just a few miles from The Inn at Gristmill Square bed and breakfast, halfway between Warm Springs and Hot Springs in Bath County, Virginia. The combination of world-class artistry, gourmet food, friendly people, and breathtaking scenery make Garth Newel the perfect place to relax and enjoy excellent music. Their unique concert hall with superb acoustics allow them to perform chamber music as it was intended – in an intimate and informal setting for small friendly audiences. The setting allows us to truly appreciate the exchange and spontaneity of the musicians as well as the depth and range of the music. And you can sip a glass of wine during a concert. The main season runs from the end of April to the end of October, and the Summer Festival may be their best known time of year. But exciting events are happening year round at Garth Newel including Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve, and other occasional events. Parking is free and there is ample parking for all events on Garth Newel’s grounds. The atmosphere at Garth Newel is generally casual, and all dress is acceptable. In addition to providing superb acoustics, the concert hall is fully enclosed, heated, and air conditioned. The Garth Newel Piano Quartet, their resident ensemble, plays many of the concerts. Though most of the concerts are classical chamber music, you’ll notice a number of jazz and blues concerts throughout the year. The Quartet is known for high-energy performances, virtuosity, and offering fresh insight into both standard and new repertoire. Their concerts are informal, conversational, and even interactive. As artists-in-residence at Garth Newel Music Center, they perform over 50 concerts each year. They possess the rare ability to captivate an audience with the spirit and passion they bring to every concert. The Quartet has performed throughout the United States and on five continents as a quartet and individually. Recent tours have included concerts at New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Corcoran Gallery. The Garth Newel Piano Quartet serves as faculty for the Garth Newel Summer Fellowship Program for college-age musicians and work regularly with local public schools. They also coach adult and student ensembles and host the Garth Newel Amateur Chamber Music Workshop each March. Each June, the Virginia Blues & Jazz Festival comes to Garth Newel with three days of music on the side of Warm Springs Mountain. The great music sounds even better with delicious food and beautiful views through Dunn’s Gap. History Garth Newel is a Welsh phrase meaning new hearth or new home and it was the name given to the property in the 1920s when William Sergeant Kendall and his young bride Christine Herter Kendall moved to Bath County. Mr. Kendall was a well-known painter and his work is in a number of important museum collections. He resigned his position as chairman of the School of Fine Arts at Yale University and built Garth Newel in 1924 where the couple trained and rode fine Arabian horses, painted, and enjoyed musical evenings in their home with friends. Unfortunately Mr. Kendall suffered serious riding accidents in 1931 and 1937. He never recovered from the latter and died in February 1938 at the age of 69. Christine Herter Kendall, first cousin of Eisenhower Secretary of State Christian Herter, was born in 1890 and grew up in New York City in a family devoted to the arts. Her early life in this prominent family shaped her career as an accomplished artist, musician, and patron of the arts. Christine studied the violin as a child and her family spent many evenings playing chamber music together. She went on to study painting in Paris and then at Yale. She continued to paint throughout her life and many of her paintings hang at Garth Newel. Following her husband’s death, Christine donated much of the property to the Girl Scouts of America to be used as a summer camp. The Girl Scouts found that it was too much to maintain, so she regained possession in 1969 and began to search for another use. A mutual friend arranged for Christine to meet Luca and Arlene Di Cecco, who at the time were cellist and violinist of the Rowe String Quartet. At Christine’s urging they began a chamber music study program for their students in the summer of 1973, and the Rowe Quartet began giving concerts on the property. Christine arranged for repairs to long-abandoned buildings including the conversion of the indoor riding ring where the Arabian horses had once trained into a wonderful concert hall. Christine died in June 1981, bequeathing the property and a modest fund to the Garth Newel Music Center Foundation. The Di Ceccos devoted themselves to the continued development of the Music Center and it grew from a season of a half-dozen concerts in the mid-70s. Location The entrance to Garth Newel is clearly marked on Route 220, half-way between Hot Springs and Warm Springs, Virginia. After a concert, drive just a few miles back to your guestroom at The Inn at Gristmill Inn bed and breakfast. For more information, please call them at 540-839-5018 or visit their website.	Garth Newel is home of Virginia Blues and Jazz Festival each June, bringing in many world-class performers.