Carl Ellenberger chronicles the 50-year journey of Gretna Music, from its humble beginnings to becoming a premier Mid-Atlantic concert presenter, in his new book “Mozart in the Woods.”

Mozart in the Woods; Gretna Music’s 50 Years begins with the story of a Gilded Age millionaire who established Mt. Gretna in 1882 as an amusement park around a small mining railroad station. He added a Chautauqua and a Brethren religious retreat, a narrow-gauge railroad, and an encampment for the Pennsylvania National Guard before declaring bankruptcy in 1893.

Table of contents: Mozart in the Woods

Overture
Some Gretna Musicians
Chapter 1. The Place where we play music
Mt. Gretna from the Air
Chapter 2. The Music we play in the woods
Chapter 3. The Spark that started it
Chapter 4. The Audubon Quartet, key to our success
Chapter 5. Expanding Borders beyond chamber music
Chapter 6. Organization; becoming a festival
Chapter 7. Good Fortune comes our way
Chapter 8. Crash and recovery
Chapter 9. Collapse, an unexpected blessing
Chapter 10. College, a second home
Chapter 11. A New Century demands adaptation
Chapter 12. The Congregation supporting us
Finale
Appendix 1: Members of our congregation
Appendix 2: Others speak
The Author
Acknowledgements
Endnotes

This unique place continued to attract summer visitors, including a U.S. president, but declined with the rise of automobile travel, the World Wars, and the Great Depression. Residents demolished hotels and other buildings, but cherished memories.

The birth of summer stock theater in 1927 (now Gretna Theatre) provided a glimpse of rejuvenation.

Then, in 1975, two resident artists, the author, and the Chautauqua continued this revival by establishing a summer outdoor art show and a music festival.

Both were eventually recognized nationally as among the best of their kind and helped make Mt. Gretna the thriving arts village it is today.

Ellenberger’s historical account captures this long moment in time, which has simultaneously passed in the blink of an eye, while also offering a blueprint for similar endeavors.

Before and after the original Chautauqua Auditorium collapsed in 1994, Gretna Music transformed its open-air home, the Mt. Gretna Playhouse, into a rural ‘Carnegie Hall,’ continuing to host more than 750 concerts and 2,000 renowned artists, including Wynton Marsalis, Midori, Lionel Hampton, Stéphane Grappelli, Dave Brubeck, Leon Fleisher, the Martha Graham dancers, the Audubon String Quartet, Emanuel Ax, and Hilary Hahn.

Mozart in the Woods, a blend of history and memoir, celebrates the enduring power of music and the vibrant community spirit that defines Mt. Gretna today. The author makes the case for the timeless value of enduring music written over the past millennium and continues to be written today. Books can be ordered from any bookstore, are available online, and are sold at Gretna Music concerts.