Tremper, a multifaceted event space formerly known as Mount Tremper Arts, launched its inaugural season of programming on May 27 with an avant-garde concert.
The evening featured flutist Adriana Tampasis, who opened with a nontraditional, inventive performance. She was followed by MAW, a trio composed of upright bassist Frank Meadows, electric guitarist Jessica Ackerley and pianist Eli Wallace, who played a “prepared piano”—an instrument altered by inserting or placing objects on the strings and piano keys to change its sound.
Mathew Pokoik, the driving force behind the space’s transformation, described Tremper as a “hybrid space” that merges cultural, economic and hospitality systems designed to support one another. The venue spans 182 acres, and Pokoik envisions it as a “radical structural model,” shifting from a traditional nonprofit framework to a for-profit model.
The change, he said, was prompted in part by the loss of National Endowment for the Arts funding, but also by the desire to create a more sustainable operation—one that retains volunteerism while enabling fair compensation for performers and staff.
His vision, already in progress, includes a cultural series featuring music, dance and visual arts. The ecological component has begun as well, with volunteers now living in the on-site farmhouse and working to establish gardens and, eventually, a field of native fruit trees.
“There are already fields of hickory trees,” Pokoik said. “I want this to be a space for curiosity.”
He described the project as a “tripod of arts, ecology and hospitality,” with three interdependent branches: an expanded cultural arts center, an ecological institute growing from the existing farm, and a hospitality arm that will eventually include a small hotel.Tremper’s performance season, presented in partnership with Notice Recordings, runs from May through August. The venue is located at 647 Plank Road in Phoenicia. More information is available at tremper.org.
Jane Davis is a contributing reporter. Send correspondence to reporting@theoverlooknews.com.