Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra Concert
The Friends of Music will present a Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra concert in Shepherdstown, WV on Saturday, November 18. The concert will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church at 7:30 p.m. Entitled "Joyful Noise," it will feature three works: "Träumerei," by Robert Schumann; Prokofiev's 2nd Violin Concerto; and Beethoven's 7th Symphony. The featured soloist will be violinist Ruotao Mao. 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 November 5). 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. Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra Music Director Jed Gaylin will conduct. Gaylin says the evening's program "will demonstrate that classical music can, quite simply, be a lot of fun, and this is fun on overdrive!” The concert will open with Schumann's "Träumerei," a short, beautiful work that the legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz frequently played as an encore. "It may look simple on the page," Horowitz said, "but it is a masterpiece." Prokofiev’s 2nd Violin Concerto is one of the finest examples of the composer's effort to establish a "new simplicity" in music, centered on graceful melodies. Beethoven’s 7th Symphony is full of relentless energy. It is generally regarded as one of the most innovative, compelling, and ecstatic symphonies ever written. Mr. Mao, the violin soloist, is a native of Beijing, China who graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music with a "distinction in performance" award. He currently teaches violin and chamber music at The College of New Jersey and is the concertmaster of the Delaware Valley Philharmonic Orchestra, the Riverside Symphonia, the Bay Atlantic Symphony and most recently, the Glimmerglass Opera Orchestra. The Classical Network of New Jersey has described his playing as a "virtuoso display of world-class magnitude." This concert is dedicated to the memory of the late Sherman Ross of Shepherdstown, a longtime Friends of Music patron, by his wife Elinor. The Friends of Music is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1999 to support and promote musical excellence. The Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra was established by the Friends in 2007. Gaylin was named Music Director in 2012. He also serves as the Music Director of Baltimore's Hopkins Symphony Orchestra and the Bay Atlantic Symphony in New Jersey, and is an Artist in Residence at New Jersey's Stockton University. This year's Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra Concerts are being supported by a grant from the WV Division of Culture and History and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the WV Commission on the Arts. Full information about the Friends, the Orchestra, and the concert season is available at www.friendswv.org.
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.
Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra All-Mozart Concert
The Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra will launch its new season on November 19 with an all-Mozart concert in Shepherdstown, WV. The concert, which is sponsored by Friends of Music, will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church at 7:30 p.m. The program will include Mozart's Symphony No. 39, the overtures to the "Marriage of Figaro" and "Cosi Fan Tutte," and arias from these and other Mozart operas. The Orchestra's Music Director, Jed Gaylin, will conduct. The featured artist will be Washington DC-based soprano Jennifer Casey Cabot, who has sung in venues throughout the world, including the Boston Lyric Opera, Washington Opera, New York City Opera, and many others. 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 November 6). Memberships and 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 in the vicinity of 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. For more information contact the Friends at 304-876-5765 or info@friendswv.org.