Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra Concert
The Friends of Music will present a Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra concert in Shepherdstown, WV on March 25. The concert will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church at 7:30 p.m. Entitled "Songs and Dances of Love," it will feature three works: Johannes Brahms' "Liebeslieder Waltzes," Edward Elgar's Serenade, and the Marimba Concerto No. 1 of Brazilian composer Ney Rosauro. The soloist will be Michelle Humphreys, the Orchestra's Timpanist and Principal Percussionist. Humphreys, who formerly taught at Shepherd University, is now Professor of Percussion at Towson University. An early music specialist, she performs regularly with many of the region's top ensembles, including the Washington Bach Consort, Folger Consort, National Cathedral Baroque Orchestra, Philadelphia's "Tempesta di Mare," and the Handel Choir of Baltimore. Music Director Jed Gaylin will conduct. The Brahms waltzes were composed in 1869. Sumptuous in style, they are based on a collection of folk songs and love poems. It has been said that Brahms was moved to write them by his frustrated love for Clara Schumann, the wife of fellow composer Robert Schumann. Elgar's Serenade is a work of great lyricism. The composer wrote it in 1892 to commemorate the third anniversary of his marriage to his wife, Alice, whom he loved deeply. Elgar retained a great fondness for this work throughout his life and referred to it often as his favorite. It was the last piece he recorded before he died in 1934. Rosauro's Marimba Concerto is another very lyrical work that blends classical, jazz, and Brazilian motifs. The composer dedicated it to his son Marcelo, who was born around the time of the composition in 1986. Its four-movement structure is based on a Brazilian "Serenata," a lover's serenade that consists of a greeting, a lament, a dance, and a farewell. Admission to the concert will be free for Friends of Music members. The ticket price for others will be $25 per person ($22.50 before March 12). Tickets can be purchased on the Friends' website at www.friendswv.org or by mail (FOM, PO Box 220, Shepherdstown, WV 25443) or, if space is available, at the church the evening of the performance. Visa and Master Card will be accepted. In addition to on-street parking around the church, free parking will be available at the Bavarian Inn's upper parking lot, with free shuttle bus service to and from the concert. Full information about the Friends, the Orchestra, and the concert season is available at www.friendswv.org.