The following was provided to BAM by Marcy Swartz, winner of a BCAC  Heart of the Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2005. 
It’s always exciting to find a treasure in your backyard – okay, well, 35 minutes down Route 17 to Hancock – and the West Branch International Music Festival & Academy is a MAJOR treasure.
It’s a blissful coming together of noted musicians from around the world; intelligent, inspiring chamber music and orchestral programming, and the incredible beauty of the natural environment. 
The intimate chamber music concert space – a  lodge-like room with great acoustics at  the West Branch Angler & Sportsman’s Resort – contributes to the total experience. This year the festival added a high-level training program for young performers, who come from around  the country and from countries such as Argentina, Israel and Italy.
But hurry! The last of the series’ chamber concerts are scheduled for this Thursday( July 29) at 8 p.m. and this weekend, with the8 p.m.  Saturday (July 31) concert featuring the Schubert “Trout Quintet,” appropriate for this popular fishing mecca.  The festival’s  final orchestral concert is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 1).
For more information about the West Branch Music Festival in Hancock,  see their website at www.westbranchfestival.org.
EDITOR’S NOTE:  The Broome County Arts Council has some free tickets available first-come, first serve for remaining concerts (Thursday, Saturday and Sunday).  To request tickets, call the BCAC office at 723-4620 or e-mail  sball@bcartscouncil.com .