Salt Bay Chamberfest (SBC), an annual chamber music festival centered in Damariscotta, is set to open its 28th season next week. Continuing until August 20, the nationally recognized festival will feature a series of concerts as well as free community events. The first concerts will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 9 and Friday, Aug. 12, at Damariscotta’s Lincoln Theater. There will be free events in the community on Aug. 8 and 11.

Opening night, Tuesday, Aug. 9, will feature marimbist Makoto Nakura presenting “The Story of Aoyagi,” a ghost tale told through Japanese music, poetry, and video projection. Called “a revelation on the marimba” by the Los Angeles Times, Nakura will be joined by the world-renowned Horszowski Piano Trio in several works, ending with Mendelssohn’s “Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor,” a piece whose mood transforms from brooding to triumphant.

On Friday, Aug. 12, Rachmaninoff’s second Trio élégiaque will be played by internationally acclaimed pianist Ignat Solzhenitsyn, virtuoso violinist Sean Lee, and cellist Yeesun Kim (of the Borromeo String Quartet). Paired with it will be Home Within, an audio-visual project exploring the Syrian revolution and its aftermath. It will be presented by its creators, Syrian composer-clarinetist Kinan Azmeh (“Spellbinding” – The New Yorker), and visual artist Kevork Mourad.

The first of the season’s free presentations will take place on Monday, Aug. 8, when violinist Jesse Mills gives an “OffTopic!” informal lecture/demonstration. To begin at 3 p.m., it will be held outdoors at Riverside (39 Glidden St., Newcastle), the grounds of a private home overlooking the Damariscotta River. A free Thursday @ Noon recital is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 11 at 3 p.m. at the Lincoln Theater. Entitled “From Damascus to Damariscotta,” it will feature Home Within’s creators and an inside look at their multi-media project.

SBC requires masks to be worn at all indoor events. Any updates to the Covid policy will be communicated to ticket buyers directly and posted at www.saltbaychamberfest.org.

Full Salt Bay Chamberfest 2022 season at a glance: Monday, Aug. 8 - OffTopic! with Jesse Mills, 3 p.m. at Riverside, Newcastle); Tuesday, Aug. 9 - Festival Concert 1, at 7:30 p.m. at Lincoln Theater (2 Theater St., Damariscotta), with a 6:30 p.m. pre-concert talk); Thursday, Aug. 11 - Noon with the creators of Home Within at Lincoln Theater; Friday, Aug. 12 - Festival Concert 2 (7:30 p.m. at Lincoln Theater, with a 6:30 p.m. pre-concert talk); Tuesday, Aug. 16 - Festival Concert 3 (7:30 p.m. at Lincoln Theater, with a 6:30 p.m. pre-concert talk);  Wednesday, Aug. 17 - Benefit Event: Piano Puzzlers (5 p.m. at The 1812 Farm, 1297 Bristol Road, Bristol); Thursday, Aug. 18 - Thursday @ Noon with Jennifer Koh (noon at Strand Theatre. 345 Main St., Rockland); Friday, Aug. 19 - Master Class (1 p.m. at Lincoln Theater) and Festival Concert 4 (7:30 p.m. at Lincoln Theater, with a 6:30 p.m. pre-concert talk); Saturday, Aug. 20 -  Family Concert (10:30 a.m. at Lincoln Theater).

For complete information, visit https://saltbaychamberfest.org.