Maine violinist gets back to playing

Meeting Dean Stein, given all the hats he wears, the image of a man with multiple heads springs to mind.

First and foremost, Stein is a violinist. He is a teacher and mentor to young musicians. He is an arts advocate and enthusiast. He also is well-known as the Arcady Music Society’s executive and artistic director.

Now, after a local performing hiatus of almost two years, Stein again will don his performer’s hat when he and Bangor pianist Patricia Stowell give a series of concerts May 8-11 throughout eastern Maine.

Under the auspices of Arcady, Stein and Stowell will perform sonatas for violin and piano by Beethoven, Franck and Prokofiev, as well as Ravel’s Tzigane. The concerts mark the debut of Stein’s new musical partnership with Stowell and his first performance in Maine since assuming administrative duties with Arcady two years ago.

Performing is definitely not a new hat for Stein, who began violin lessons at the age of 5 at the Henry Street Music Settlement on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He credits his early teacher Margaret Berend as a major influence, not only on his music but also on his teaching style.

“Children are like learning sponges,” Stein said. “If you can capture their attention they learn so fast!”

Stein continued his musical career at The Juilliard School, the University of Maryland and with the Guarneri String Quartet. For a time, he was concertmaster of the Harrisburg Symphony and associate concertmaster of the Richmond Symphony, but it was chamber music that changed his life.

In 1996, Stein, then with the DaPonte String Quartet, came to Maine as part of a rural-residency arts grant from Chamber Music America and the National Endowment for the Arts. The residency lasted three years, long enough for the quartet to fall in love with rural Maine.

“I think we were the first group to actually permanently move to their rural community and base a career from a place like Maine,” Stein said.

When Arcady’s founder, Masanobu Ikemiya, resigned last summer, Stein took over as both executive director and artistic director. That turned his thoughts toward performing again. Earlier this year, Stein toured with Yo Yo Ma, Gil Shaham and the Singapore Symphony for an 11-concert international tour. Stein joked: “That was just a warm-up,” implying his real audience is here in rural Maine.

In addition to the Stein-Stowell concerts, Arcady plans to feature the Vienna Piano Trio and the Shanghai String Quartet as part of its 2005 lineup. This year marks the society’s 25th season bringing diverse classical music to Maine.

The Shanghai String Quartet, Stein said, is “one of the top five quartets in the world. There’s fire, singing and soul in their playing.”

Next winter, he plans to launch a new M.O.M. (Musicians of Maine) concert series, highlighting the state’s performers and music.

Of next week’s concerts, Stein said, “So many sonatas to choose from and so little time. The main thing for the audience is that they simply sit down and enjoy the music.”

The Stein-Stowell Duo will perform at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 8, at St. Saviour’s Episcopal Church in Bar Harbor; 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 9, at the Congregational church in Dover-Foxcroft; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 10, at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bangor and at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 11, at the Alamo Theater in Bucksport. Admission is $16 at the door, $13 in advance or by reservation and $7 for college students with identification. Admission is free for those 18 and under. For more information, visit www.arcady.org.