Puddingstone Music Festival makes its debut with two performances this weekend. The festival kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5, with a special event that blends jazz with classical. “Ears of Steel” John Lindsay on the sax and award-winning Colescott Rubin on the bass will perform both classical pieces and Jazz-arrangements of evergreens such as Bach's Inventions, Strauss’ Blue Danube and Brahms’ Hungarian Dances as well as free-style and counterpoint improv. Festival founder Clemens Teufel will chime in on the piano and present some intimate solo and improv pieces. Award winning painter Alastair Dacey will present recent works and converse about the difference of creating art based on structure vs improvisation. Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

On Saturday, Oct. 7, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the IYRS Boat Restoration School in Newport, the festival stages a unique blend of music, poetry, painting (and food and wine)!

Fresh off their debut at Buffalo’s prominent summer music festival ArtPark, the new ensemble CS4, headed by violinist Chase Spruill, brings a thrilling program including a New England premiere.

A specialist in the music for Philip Glass, having recorded multiple albums on the composer’s own label, CS4 brings its expertise to two major works for string quartet, including Glass’s String Quartet No.4, dedicated to the artist Brian Buczak - and the New England premiere of Glass’s most recent work for quartet, the tempestuous String Quartet No.9 “King Lear”, which was drawn from the composer’s 2019 music for the Broadway production starring Glenda Jackson as Lear. The program is rounded out with a homage to the locale, Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude arranged for quartet.

The event will also feature poetry by Emily Manice as well as Alison Gibbons Watt’s large scale paintings.

For information and tickets, go to: https://puddingstonefestival.com/shows