Amid all the chaos and excitement of this summer in Wareham, many residents are looking forward to spending some time relaxing, and enjoying the refined sound of classical music courtesy of one of the fastest growing events in the area will be a way for them to do so.

Three short years ago, renowned classical violinist Ariadne Daskalakis started the Music From Land's End festival in an effort to bring free classical music to a community she loved. The previous two festivals drew large crowds, with attendees coming from all over Wareham and the surrounding towns. This year is expected to be Music From Land's End's largest yet, with three performances planned in Wareham and, for the first time, one in Marion.

"[This year's festival] combines making music at a very high level and also making that accessible to all audiences," said Daskalakis.

This year, the eight festival performers from around the world will put on four separate concerts with three differing themes and sets. The "Mixed Doubles" concert will open the series at the Church of the Good Shepherd on July 20, followed by the return of the "Family Concert" at the Wareham Free Library on July 24, at which donations in support of the library will be accepted.

The next two concerts on the 25th and 26th are both themed "Crazy Eights," with the first taking place at St. Gabriel's Church in Marion and the second closing the series at the Church of the Good Shepherd.

"Our concert programs have been designed and custom-tailored to give classical repertoire a fresh, new perspective," said Daskalakis. "In both our "Mixed Doubles" and "Crazy Eights" programs we offer contrasting styles which highlight one another."

"The program design is a musical choreography," she added.

"It's Ariadne's gift to her town," said festival coordinator Patti Wylde. "She's a summer resident here, grew up here as a child, and loves Wareham."

"She wanted to give something back to the community," added Wylde, "and I was of course delighted to help her in any way that I could."

Wylde has known Daskalakis since the latter was a child living in Wareham. When Daskalakis came to her with the idea of starting the festival three years ago, Wylde volunteered her expertise in the area to help out. Wylde is heavily involved with many classical music projects, including the effort to bring music education to Wareham schools, and was more than willing to help her friend organize the event.

"She's an artist, really, with the violin," said Wylde of Daskalakis. "There are violinists who can play the violin and there are artists who are artists but to put the two together is very unusual. So she's really got it, and I knew that this was something that was very sincere and was very worth trying to help."

The Marion event on July 25 is the festival's first expansion out of Wareham.

"The response in the last two years was so enthusiastic and the audiences were so large," said Daskalakis, "we did have people coming from Marion who expressed great interest, so we decided to take the leap and present a performance there and we hope very much that it will be enjoyed and well-received."

"They really love to play their music and they want to share it with as many people as they can," said Wylde.

When asked why they thought the festival had connected so well with residents, Daskalakis and Wylde both said said that they believed that people were ready for an event like this.

"I think this is a really special community," said Daskalakis, "and in a way I felt like something like this was waiting to happen because there's such a receptive audience."

"The audience was there," agreed Wylde, "it's just that they never really had any place to go to listen to [this kind of music]."

Daskalakis says she is grateful for what the huge response to the festival has allowed her and the other performers to do artistically.

"But," she said, "this is only possible thanks to the generous support of the community!"