Harpsichord Nature Retreats on the Eastern Maine Coast

The Eagle Hill Institute welcomes professional and aspiring harpsichordists seeking an escape to the eastern Maine coast during the fall, winter, and spring where they can immerse themselves in a contemplative setting to enjoy the use of a 1978 single manual harpsichord after French examples by Eric Herz (Boston) tuned to A440 (but transposable to A415), or a newly restored 1968 double manual harpsichord after French examples by William Dowd (Boston) tuned to A415. By committing to these retreats, the institute recognizes that it is important that harpsichords are well cared for, regularly used, and kept in tune.

The institute campus occupies the summit of the only peninsula between the Schoodic Point section of Acadia National Park and the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge. It lies 1,700 feet from Dyer Bay within 150 heavily forested acres with a quarter mile of deepwater frontage looking east toward the forever wild shore of the refuge.

The two harpsichords are housed in the concert room in our Commons Building. During interludes, you can meander 2.5 miles of trails down to the ocean and a blueberry field, sit by a fireplace, or choose a book from our 10,000-volume browsing library, all while surrounded by a collection of 19th-century and earlier works of art. The Commons Building has fiberoptic cable internet service and a commercial kitchen which is available for use on days when it is not being used to host an event, such as a concert.

Our simple accommodations include the use of a room in our classroom building with both a full bed, twin bed, and a private bathroom with a shower, along with shared use of a kitchenette.

We require two recommendations from teachers or professional harpsichordists who can vouch for your sensitivity when playing a harpsichord and your ability to personally tune one.

The cost is $75 per person per night. Arrival and departure days are flexible.

An all-wheel drive vehicle is needed during snowy winter months. Our gravel road is plowed and sanded. A grocery store and pharmacy are 13 minutes away in Milbridge. A 24/7 hospital is 42 minutes away in Ellsworth.

Funds from the harpsichord retreats allow us to commit to the restoration and ongoing care of early keyboard instruments whose owners are seeking to donate their cherished instruments to a good home. A growing collection of such instruments will make it possible for musicians with scholarly inclinations to appreciate playing on keyboard instruments similar to those used by composers of bygone eras.

joerg@eaglehill.us

718-715-2824