HUNTSVILLE — Twickenham Fest unexpectedly called it quits after providing North Alabama with an eclectic chamber music concert series for the past 13 years.

Susanna Phillips Huntington and Matthew McDonald wowed Huntsville residents when they founded Twickenham Fest in 2009.

Fans described the concerts as a gift to the community because there was no charge for admission. Residents opened their homes to the musicians to help the festival cut down on costs, which granted classical music fans front row seats into the lives of the artists.

“It really was a high point of the summer for us to hear so many really good performances in just a matter of a few days,” said Patrick Robbins of Huntsville. “Twickenham Fest made people in Huntsville understand that it was possible for a smaller middle-sized city to have world-class musical acts.”

Robbins said he and his husband Chris Wesley were among the original festival sponsors and hosted two musicians in their home within the past decade.

“This was one of the great bonuses of supporting the festival,” said Robbins. “Very seldom do members of the community have the chance to really mingle with the artists.

“Twickenham Fest had an intimate, friendly feel to it.”

Twickenham Fest began as two concerts inside the Huntsville Museum of Art. Then, it quickly grew to packed venues across the city. Valerie Connaughton said she didn’t miss a show, except one year on a family trip overseas.

“There’s a tendency to always think of Huntsville as a town of engineers without much culture going on,” she said. “Susanna and Matthew brought lots of music to the local people in Alabama that we wouldn’t have heard.

“They made it clear that Huntsville is not a dead-end place for art.”

Click here to read Huntington and McDonald’s thank you letter to the community.