Mel Kaplan Sets the Pitch
by John Hammer
July 15, 2010, pg 5-A

Whenever you hear an orchestra tuning up, you’ll hear a quiet little A note played by the oboe in the middle of the orchestra. It’s that oboe that sets the pitch for all. On July 18, Grand Opening Night of this year’s Vermont Mozart Festival program, you can bet that perfect little A note will come from the oboe of Charlotte’s Mel Kaplan.

Just as Mel sets the pitch for a performance, he also is the driving force behind the programming of the festival in his all-important role of Artistic Director. He has served in this capacity for the festival’s 37 years.

Back in 1974 he joined two others from the Burlington community to found the Mozart Festival, which is modeled “on festivals in the European tradition – performed in a variety of locations and comprising a variety of events, all interrelated.” Mel works his magic by making this interrelationship work. The proof is in the festival’s continuing success.

Mel and his wife, Ynez, live on Spear Street just south of Baptist Corners in East Charlotte, where they have maintained their picturesque farm home since 1974. On their first visit here in 1971, they were, “floored by the valley and by the piece of land with barn which (they) converted into a house.” Part of the charm was the possibility for Ynez to buy a horse for their daughter, Chrissy, and opening up the riding facilities of Fox Horn Farm.

Moving to Charlotte didn’t keep them from leading a full musical life with global travel centered and based in New York. Mel, who started his musical life on the piano at the age of three, went on to graduate from the Julliard School of Music where, upon graduation, he taught for 30 years.
Mel has the unique ability, found in few good musicians, to combine the performance of music on a high level with a strong sense of business. As he says, “Performing is subjective while management is objective,” and it is hard to find a person who does both well. He describes himself as “a musician with a talent for making programs.”

Mel is the powerhouse behind Melvin Kaplan, Inc. His business has represented a wide range of high-end classical musicians from all over the globe for more than 50 years. Mel attributes his ability to make those important connections to luck. His artistry and forthright nature have led to numerous connections between top-flight artists, conductors and business people. A precocious youth, he began representing artists at the age of 17.

While at Julliard, he founded a wind quintet and fell in love with Ynez Lynch. Ynez had just completed preparing to dedicate herself to a career in music. She studied the viola, finishing with a master’s in music from Yale. Mel and Ynez were founding members in 1957 of the New York Chamber Soloists, while Mel also founded the Festival Winds and Vermont Mozart Festival. He continues as a renowned performer, teacher, lecturer and writer. Ynez continues to perform and teaches the viola and violin from her studio in Charlotte. Both travel widely.

Mel suggests that the story of the founding of the Vermont Mozart Festival was also pure luck. As the result of his active networking, he was meeting with a group of music lovers from the Burlington area when they asked him to “dream up something to do in the summer.” It wasn’t long before he was invited to the Webbs’ house on Shelburne Point. At the time it was virtually unknown by locals, who were never invited to the big house. When he saw it, he proposed to Mrs. Webb that concerts be held there, and so the festival’s favorite venue was identified. The festival began as ten concerts over two weeks, but soon grew to its present size of 19 different concerts at 14 different venues over 21 days.

The program is audacious, but then, so are Mel Kaplan and his ideas.