March, April and May Concerts are Postponed
Dear Friends of Music Members and Patrons,
We have decided to postpone the remaining three concerts in our 2019-20 series due to the Corona virus and the need for social distancing. Our highest priority is your health and safety and that of our musicians.
Our goal is to reschedule this concert at the earliest possible time, once this hardship has passed and we are confident it is safe to resume operations. As several of you have mentioned to me, most Friends of Music musicians are not salaried and therefore not eligible for unemployment payments. Without jeopardizing anyone, we want to minimize the difficulties they face, too, and will follow up with details about rescheduling when it is available.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. And please stay safe and healthy.
Judy
Judith Miller Jones, President
Friends of Music
TWO RIVERS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA UNTRIED AND TRUE — POSTPONED
Saturday, March 28, 2020 — POSTPONED
• Richard Rodney Bennett (1936–2012) Saxophone Concerto
• James Grant (b. 1954) —Waltz for Bets Anjan Shah, tenor saxophone
• Alexander Borodin (1833–1887) —Nocturne
• Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) —Holberg Suite
This concert, conducted by our Music Director, Dr. Jed Gaylin, begins with two American works for tenor saxophone solo. Our soloist, Anjan Shah, has recorded the concerto, which was written originally for Stan Getz by master orchestrator and composer Richard Rodney Bennett. In contrast to the bopping sounds of this work, James Grant’s Waltz for Bets is sultry and lyrical. Continuing in this vein, but from another continent, is Borodin’s yearningly romantic Nocturne, followed by a retro (Baroque) suite by Grieg that sparkles with clean lines and crisp air from Scandinavia.
WINCHESTER MUSICA VIVA BUT OF CHORUS — POSTPONED
Saturday, April 18, 2020
• Franz Schubert (1797–1828) Mass No. 2 in G major
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) Cantata No. 127 Herr Jesu Christ, Wahr’ Mensch Und Gott
• Georgiann Toole (b. 1958) — Several original works written for this occasion
The Friends of Music have long admired Winchester Musica Viva, and we’re delighted to bring this wonderful choral ensemble to Shepherdstown for a special concert under our auspices. Founded in 1981, this is an independent chamber choir composed of professional-level volunteer singers from many different vocations and backgrounds who share a love of, and commitment to, musical excellence. Their program for this concert will include several original works by Shepherdstown’s own Georgiann Toole. The choir’s longtime artistic director, Dr. Kenneth Nafziger, professor of music emeritus from Eastern Mennonite University, will conduct. Members of the Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra will accompany.
TWO RIVERS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA HIGHLAND/LOWLAND — postponed
Saturday, May 16, 2020
• Carl August Nielsen (1865–1931) Serenata ind vano
• Franz Schubert (1797–1828) Octet in F major, D. 803
Our final concert of the season, conducted by Dr. Jed Gaylin, Music Director, begins with a quirky work by the Danish composer Carl Neilson. His Serenata in vano is humorous and fresh, with a down-to-earth urbanity. Schubert’s Octet is a monumentally sumptuous piece, full of melody and beauty, that transports us to the heights.
TWO RIVERS STRING QUARTET CLASSIC CONTOURS
Saturday, October 5, 2019
• Arvo Pärt (b. 1935) — Fratres
• Charles Gounod (1818–1893) Quartet No. 3 in A minor
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) — Quartet No. 14 in G major
One of the Friends of Music’s most important assets is our resident small ensemble, the Two Rivers String Quartet. For this concert, these talented musicians bring us a program that runs from mystical to rollicking. Pärt’s music is imbued with a kind of spiritual minimalism that entrances in its simplicity. Gounod’s quartet shifts soon from this kind of austerity through charm into playfulness. Mozart’s homage to his older witty friend, Haydn, is also filled with cheer and brilliance in this program celebrating clarity of expression.
TWO RIVERS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA MAGIC AND MAJESTY
Saturday, November 23, 2019
• Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) Fair Melusina Overture
• Manuel de Falla (1876–1946) —El Amor Brujo, Kyle Engler, mezzo-soprano
• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) —Symphony No. 8
Conducted by our Music Director, Dr. Jed Gaylin, this will be a program of contrasting halves. Mendelssohn’s overture to the tale of The Little Mermaid juxtaposes her fluid aquatic motions, in major, with the razor-sharp sounds of her more anguished life on terra firma. Magic transformations also abound in the mystical duende of de Falla’s compelling score, sung by brilliant mezzo-soprano Kyle Engler. Beethoven’s streamlined yet grand 8th symphony brings us back to earth, but with unparalleled passion and vigor.
