Previous Concerts
SPRING CONCERT 2022
MERZ PIANO TRIO (Mika Sasaki, Piano, Brigid Coleridge, Violin, Julia Yang, Cello) with guest artist JORDAN BAK (Viola, making the Trio into a Piano Quartet).
Saturday, March 5, 4:00 p.m.
The Merz Trio caught our attention with their imaginative programing that combines classical standards, “new music,” and their own arrangements of familiar and forgotten works. For this concert, they are accompanied by Jamaican-American Jordan Bak, recitalist and chamber musician known for his “dynamic interpretations and fearless power.” These young artists have already won impressive competitions and prizes, and have a busy schedule of concerts lined up for the 2022-23 season.
Their program, “Soliloquy and the Artist’s Voice,” includes the beautiful Brahms Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Minor, and the Piano Trio No. 25 in E minor by Haydn, plus shorter pieces by Mahler, Berg, and Vieuxtemps, along with works by lesser-known contemporaries Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti, and Jeffrey Mumford.
FALL CONCERT 2021
THE GESUALDO SIX, on tour from England
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2021, 4:00 p.m. (Indoor Concert)*
(RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR THIS CONCERT AND WILL BE ACCEPTED STARTING OCTOBER 20; LIMITED SEATING, MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS EARLY!)
Founded in 2014, The Gesualdo Six is an a cappella vocal ensemble of six male singers originally formed at Trinity College, Cambridge, England. The group is making its first U.S. tour and its first appearance with Beacon Hill Concerts. While they have taken their name from the Italian composer Carlo Gesualdo, their repertoire is wide-ranging, from the motets and madrigals of the Elizabethan Age to modern and contemporary works.
Under the capable direction of Owain Park, the group has produced three recordings: “English Motets,” “Christmas,” and “Fading.” One reviewer of their music wrote: “The quality of the singing—the blend and bass-anchored balance, the rounded, unforced tone, the control from solo voices—is exhilarating.”
The Program they will present, titled “Fading,” will take us to another realm. As the Program Notes describe it, “It is based on the ancient church service of Compline, which marked the end of the day, ushering in the darkness of the night, and evoking a contemplative atmosphere. Renaissance polyphony by Byrd, Mouton and Gombert that contains startling harmonic shifts and expressive word painting is juxtaposed with contemporary reflections by Joanna Marsh, Richard Rodney Bennett, and Estonian Veljo Tormis.”
Make your request for Reservations by contacting Dan Crawford (dandcrawford@gmail.com) with the name(s) of the attendees. Requests for reservations, which will be accepted starting October 20, are official only when you receive confirmation. As usual, there is no fee for this concert, but a suggested donation ($15 adult, $10 senior, $5 student) can be given at the door.
*Masks are optional, but required when indoors if unvaccinated.
BEACON HILL CONCERTS, SUMMER 2021
THOMAS MEGLIORANZA
American Songs from 100 Years Ago
Saturday, July 10, 3:00 & 5:00 p.m. (Outdoor Concert)
(Reservations for this concert accepted starting June 10)
Outstanding baritone Thomas Meglioranza will delight us with his enticing program AMERICAN SONGS FROM 100 YEARS AGO, selections from Charles Ives (Down East), Ruth Crawford Seeger (Five Songs, poetry by Carl Sandburg), and the beloved parlour music of Carrie Jacobs Bond (A Perfect Day, I Love You Truly), and more. These songs overflow with beauty, humor, and heartache, and have an appeal that is uniquely American. He is accompanied by pianist and active chamber musician Reiko Uchida.
Meglioranza has performed as soloist with major orchestras and chamber players throughout the U.S. and has gained a reputation for his high standard of performance in many genres from oratorio, song-cycles, and opera, to theater music and pops.
His wide-ranging repertoire includes works by Bach, Schubert, and Mozart, as well as Copland, Bernstein, Peter Maxwell Davies, John Harbison, and Milton Babbitt. He also regularly performs with the Mark Morris Dance Group.
Thomas is a graduate of Grinnell College and the Eastman School of Music. More information at www.meglioranza.com .
TERRENCE WILSON, pianist
Saturday, July 24, 3:00 & 5:00 p.m. (Indoor Concert)
(Reservations for this concert accepted starting June 24)
Terrence Wilson is a world-class pianist who has performed as soloist with leading symphony orchestras and chamber orchestras in the U.S. and abroad, as well as performing solo recitals in New York City (Lincoln Center), Washington DC (Kennedy Center), and many other venues. He has appeared in all the major U.S. Festivals including Tanglewood, Ravinia, Wolf Trap, and Caramoor.
In his debut performance with Beacon Hill Concerts, Wilson will favor us with an exciting mix of Bach (English Suite), early 20th century composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor‘s arrangements of ˜Negro Spirituals,‘ an extra by jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal (My Flower), and more.
Terrence is a graduate of Juilliard School and on the faculty at Bard College Conservatory of Music. More at www.terrencewilsonpiano.com .
VISION DUET: ARIEL HOROWITZ, violin, & BRITTON-RENE COLLINS, percussionist
Genre-fication
Saturday, August 14, 3:00 & 5:00 p.m. (Indoor Concert)
(Reservations for this concert accepted starting July 14)
Beacon Hill Concerts presents the two young artists of VISION DUET, Ariel Horowitz and Britton-Rene Collins, in the unique program GENRE-FICATION, described as an exploration of musical genres and sonic possibilities for violin and marimba. The program includes fascinating duo arrangements”works by Bach (Sonata for Violin and Keyboard), Piazzolla (History of Tango), and Sheridan Seyfried (Blues Train), as well as solo performances of Bach (Violin Partita no. 2 in D minor), and their own compositions.
A recent graduate of the Yale School of Music, Ariel Horowitz has performed with numerous symphony orchestras, and is the founder and Artistic Director of the Heartbeat Project music education initiative for Navajo youth. She currently teaches violin and chamber music at Mt. Holyoke College. More at www.arielhorowitz.com .
Britton-Rene Collins has dedicated her artistry to promoting the growth of modern percussion repertoire, and to bringing about a more inclusive community in which all musicians can thrive equally. She has recently completed her degree program in Percussion Performance at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. More at www.brittonrene.com .
ALKEMIE, Early Music Ensemble
Florilegium: Plant Strains Across the English Channel
Saturday, August 21, 3:00 & 5:00 p.m. (Indoor Concert)
(Reservations for this concert accepted starting July 21)
The Early Music ensemble, Alkemie, founded in 2013, returns to the Beacon Hill Concerts, but with a different composition of singers and players (called Alkemie & Friends), to perform a highly original program with a botanical theme: Florilegium: Plant Strains Across the English Channel. The stated mission of this group is to perform a series of informal, musically experimental, and multi-sensory concerts that explore collaborations with other adjacent musical fields.
Their concert with us will explore 16th century music from England, France, and the Low Countries, with songs by Wilbye, Holborne, Crequillon, Clemens non Papa, Bateson, Susato, and contemporary Ben Matus.
Grounded in historical performance practice, the six singers in this group (Tracy Cowart, Harrison Hintzsche, Jim Hopkins, Ben Matus, Sian Ricketts, and Corey Shotwell) are also proficient instrumentalists and will employ a bevy of instruments including lute, medieval harp, recorder, doucaine, dulcian (early bassoon), hummelchen (Renaissance bagpipes), and melodica. More at www.alkemie.org .
BEACON HILL CONCERTS, FALL 2020
ELISE QUAGLIATA, mezzo-soprano
Saturday, September 19, 2020, 1:00 & 3:00 p.m.
(Rain date: Sunday, Sept 20, 1:00 & 3:00 p.m.)
We are so fortunate that the versatile mezzo-soprano Elise Quagliata is returning for her 5th appearance with us, with pianist Mike Fennelly, on Saturday, September 19, for two live, outdoor performances at 1:00 & 3:00 p.m. from the porch of our music hall.The PROGRAM will include a mix of opera arias (Bizet, Heggie, Poulenc, Cilea), and our favorites from the American Songbook (Porter, Gershwin, Weill, Sondheim, Kosma). Those of you who have attended Elises previous concerts know how easily she can move between these different genres.
The March 28, 2020 Rose Ensemble concert is CANCELED – Update on March, 17th, 2020
THE ROSE ENSEMBLE
“Land of Three Faiths:Ancient Mediterranean Voices of Jews, Christians, and Muslims”
March 28, 2020, 4:00 p.m.
Pre-concert lecture by Sidnie White Crawford, 3:00 pm
(Reservations for this concert accepted starting February 15)
Nell Snaidas Zafer Tawil
Rose Ensemble
We are so fortunate to have the ROSE ENSEMBLE with us Saturday, March 28, 2020, 4:00 p.m., after their wonderful performance last March (American Roots) that many of you heard and enjoyed so much. The next concert will be something very different from the last one, but equally entertaining and enlightening””Land of Three Faiths: Ancient Mediterranean Voices of Jews, Christians and Muslims.
The groups multi-talented artistic director and founder, Jordan Sramek, describes this concert as at once sacred, secular, folk, and classical, embarking on a fascinating exploration of language, spirituality, and cultural exchange.
The cast of 8 performers includes the vocalists/instrumentalists of the Rose Ensemble, plus guest artists American-Uruguayan soprano Nell Snaidas, specialist in Sephardic song, and Palestinian-American Zafer Tawil, multi-instrumentalist and singer.
The program (based on extensive research and training) features exotic vocal styles and multiple instruments, (most of which will be new to us), that express the rich histories of the three Abrahamic faiths during the Hispanic-Arabic Middle Ages when they co-existed in relative harmony. From this cultural mix, you will experience laments of the Sephardic Jews, Arab-Andalusian dances, Spanish court songs, along with Marian cantigas, Hebrew cantillation, and Sufi mystical songs.
Founded in 1996, The Rose Ensemble, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, has achieved a reputation as a premier American early music ensemble, and internationally as a leader and innovator in the vocal music scene. Over the past 23 years, the group has been delighting audiences with its creative programing and expansive repertoire that spans 1,000 years and over 25 languages, including programs of music from Malta, Germany, Hawaii, the Middle East, Cuba and others. (A number of these programs are available on their 11 critically acclaimed recordings.) They have toured across the U.S., Europe, and Latin America, winning first-place awards at international festivals and competitions. Details of their many accomplishments at www.RoseEnsemble.org .
In addition, Dr. Sidnie White Crawford will give a pre-concert lecture exploring the shared roots of the three faiths, as well as their similarities and differences. The lecture will add to your enjoyment of the concert.
Dont miss this rare opportunity! We are accepting reservations for this concert starting Saturday, February 15. More information about Beacon Hill Concerts, our suggested donation, and how to reserve seats at this website.
BEACON HILL CONCERTS, Fall 2019
Vocal EnsembleVOX LUMINIS
Director, Lionel Meunier
STABAT MATER
Thursday, Oct 31, 2019, 6:00 p.m.
Now that fall is upon us, we look forward to our next Beacon Hill concert, Stabat Mater, Thursday October 31, 6:00 p.m., when the vocal ensemble, VOX LUMINIS, under the able direction of Lionel Meunier, returns for its fifth concert with us. Based in Belgium and now in its 15th year, VL defines itself as a group of soloists in varied combinations, with continuo and additional instruments as needed. They are undoubtedly in the top tier of European Early Music ensembles with their rich and precise interpretations of this complex repertoire”primarily Italian, English, and German, spanning the 16th through the 18th centuries.
For Halloween this year, there will be no tricks, only some real treats of sacred music by composers Claudio Monteverdi (Lamento della Ninfa), Domenico Scarlatti (Stabat Mater), Antonio Lotti (Crucifixus), Alessandro Della Ciaia (Lamentatio Virginis), and others. The centerpiece of the program is Scarlattis Stabat Mater (Mary standing at the foot of the cross), a beautiful work, with each of the 10 singers on their own individual part.
Visit www.voxluminis.com for reviews, photos and more information about VOX LUMINIS and its members, and explore their 13 CDs.
BEACON HILL SUMMER CONCERT SERIES (2019)
Poorwill Lane (String) Duo,
Hyeyung Yoon (violin) & Gregory Beaver (cello)
Saturday, June 1, 4:00 p.m.
Experience the unique husband-and-wife string duo, Hyeyung Yoon (violin) and Gregory Beaver (cello), with guest pianist Molly Morkoski (making it a Piano Trio). Educated at Juilliard, Hyeyung and Greg comprised half of the Chiara String Quartet for 18 years from their founding to the breaking up of the group last year; (the Chiara Quartet gave us three unforgettable performances in previous summers). As a part of Chiara, they performed the Beethoven, Brahms and Bartok quartet cycles and recorded the latter two BY HEART! Their recording of Jefferson Friedman’s quartets was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2011. Also, the quartet was Artist-in-Residence at Harvard University (2008-2014) and at the Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln (2005-2018).
Hyeyung and Greg have since continued actively teaching, composing, conducting workshops, and performing as soloists and as a duo. Hyeyung teaches at the Hartt School in CT and has just returned from a trip to her native South Korea where she studied a traditional folk performance practice called Madang, which she will share with us in our concert. In addition, the program will include solo works, along with gems from the classical repertoire including Bach solo, a Ravel duo, and Beethoven’s Ghost Piano Trio. Join us for what I know will be a lively, virtuosic performance by this talented couple.
Stile Antico, vocal ensemble
Queen of Muses
Sunday, June 16, 4:00 p.m.
We present another of Europe’s outstanding vocal ensembles, the 12-member Stile Antico, performing their sensitive and imaginative renditions of polyphonic Renaissance music. Based in London, the group has toured regularly in North America and on four continents; (recently returning from a trip that included Hong Kong, Macau, and South Korea). These young singers have appeared in all the major venues and festivals in Europe and will be coming to us directly from a performance of the same concert at the Boston Early Music Festival. I first encountered them in the Netherlands at the Utrecht Early Music Festival where they performed before a packed cathedral audience. Recently, they released their 13th recording, In a Sorry Land, with Harmonia Mundi.
In our concert, Queen of Muses, they treat us to a selection of English compositions from the court of Elizabeth I, who was the most significant patron of music in British history. We will hear motets and madrigals from all the great composers of this time, some of whom were suitors of the queen, some whom Elizabeth favored with court appointments, (William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, and the Italian Alfonso Ferrabosco); and some who were not so favored, (John Dowland). This is a rare opportunity to hear a world-class ensemble that you won’t want to miss. www.stileantico.co.uk
Montreal Guitare Trio (MG3)
Program Danzas
Saturday, August 3, 4:00 p.m.
The Montreal Guitare Trio (MG3) will give us our semi-classical concert with a creative program of Spanish guitar music that pays tribute to some of the great Spanish composers such as Manuel de Falla and the flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia, plus some of the trio’s own compositions, plus songs by George Harrison and Pat Metheny.
For over 20 years, guitarists Sebastien Dufour, Glenn Levesque, and Marc Morin have delighted audiences across North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, winning numerous awards along the way, and recently producing their 7th album. I can guarantee that their unique style, mixed program, and colorful stage presence will win you over and draw you into the rich tradition of Spanish music. Don’t miss it! www.mg3.ca
Arianna & Robin Piano Duo, four-hand piano
Saturday, August 17, 4:00 p.m.
For the first time in our Beacon Hill series, we present a piano duo, Arianna & Robin, performing four-hand piano music. Arianna Korting and Robin Giesbrecht met six years ago at Juilliard while preparing for piano careers as individual artists, both having won impressive Young Artist competitions. Soon thereafter, they performed together at a Pianofest in the Hamptons, and found their passion playing both two pianos and four-hand works.
Since their formation as a duo, they have had debut performances at the Hamburg Philharmonic Hall and Carnegie Hall’s Weil Recital Hall, with selections from the vast duo repertoire as well as their own compositions and transcriptions of pieces originally not written for piano. Their program for our concert will include works by Schubert, Saint-Saens, Debussy, Czerny, and Gershwin (Rhapsody in Blue), plus the well-known Vardar by Bulgarian Pancho Vladigerov. We hope you’ll join us for this unique introduction to the art of the piano duo. www.ariannarobin.com
BEACON HILL SPRING CONCERT (March 24th, 2019)
Join us for our spring concert, Sunday, March 24, 4:00 p.m. at our usual concert hall (119 Barn Rd., E. Stroudsburg, PA 18301) for THE ROSE EMSEMBLE with 11 singers (and instruments), on tour from Cleveland, performing American Roots: Harmonies That Shaped a Nation.
Founded in 1996 by Artistic Director Jordan Sramek, The Rose Ensemble has achieved an international reputation as a premiere American early music ensemble. The program they have designed for us is a bountiful harvest of over 300 years of American song, from its origins in ballads, hymns, and fiddle tunes of the British Isles giving birth to new American traditions of four-part harmonies in country churches, and what would become Bluegrass and Old-Time Gospel music with tunes like I’ll Fly Away, Wayfaring Stranger, and the Sweet By and By. (For more, visit www.roseensemble.org .)
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BEACON HILL FALL CONCERTS (2018)
Saturday, October 27th, 4:00 p.m. VOCAL ENSEMBLE VOX LUMINIS, “THE BACH DYNASTY – 100 YEARS OF MOTETS”
Christmas Concert: Tuesday, December 11, 6:00 p.m. VOCAL/INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLE CORRESPONDANCES, CHARPENTIER, “PASTORALE DE NOEL,”
ENSEMBLE CORRESPONDANCES, A Christmas Concert: Charpentier’s Pastorale de Noel
Tuesday, December 11, 6:00 p.m., we are very fortunate to have a new group with us, ENSEMBLE CORRESPONDANCES, with 8 singers and 8 instrumentalists, on tour from France, for a Christmas concert featuring Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Pastorale de Noel and his Advent Antiphones, (a liturgy of seven petite motets sung on each day of the week before Christmas), telling the whole story of the nativity.
Correspondances was founded in 2009 by artistic director Sebastien Dauce and a group of musicians who met while studying at the National Conservatory of Lyon. The ensemble specializes in 17th century French sacred music and seeks to revive some of the masterpieces of this grand century of Louis XIV.
I first heard the group perform in Utrecht in 2016, when they did a breathtaking performance of Charpentier’s Mass for 4 choirs with 43 musicians on the stage. Since then, I have enjoyed their concerts twice more”at the Boston Early Music Festival last summer, and again in Utrecht in 2017, performing with another large cast. They are now in the forefront of the European Early Music scene, with 10 CDs and many prestigious awards. Presently, I am enjoying their latest CD, Perpetual Night, with star alto Lucile Richardot doing English ayres and songs. See and hear more at www.ensemblecorrespondances.com .
We are taking reservations for this concert beginning a month beforehand, on November 11. This beautiful Christmas music will be just what we all need to start Christmas in the right spirit. Mark your holiday calendar, and plan to attend this unique concert.
NOTE: To avoid possible bad weather, we will be holding this concert off-campus”at the nearby Grace Covenant Church on 523 Fawn Rd., E. Stroudsburg. The church has more seating, restrooms, and ample parking, and seems a more suitable setting in which to hear the Christmas story. I’ll send more info about its location in my next email.
VOX LUMINIS, The Bach Dynasty “ 100 Years of Motets
Saturday, October 27, 4:00 p.m., the Belgian vocal ensemble, VOX LUMINIS returns for the third time with 12 singers (plus organ and viola da gamba) for a full concert of motets by J. S. Bach and other members of the Bach family: Johann Michael, Johann Christoph, and Johann Ludwig.
Founded in 2004 by their current director, Lionel Meunier, Vox Luminis specializes in the performance of 16th through 18th century vocal music. They have performed in just about every major festival and concert hall across Europe and are making their fourth tour of the U.S. I have heard the group perform many times now, (in Utrecht, Boston, and Berkeley) and have become one of their most ardent followers.
The group boasts 12 albums, most recently recordings of Handel’s Dixit Dominus and J.S. Bach’s Magnificat. I have enjoyed listening to another of their recent recordings: Ein Feste Burg: Luther and the Music of the Reformation. (Choral Award Winner 2018, Music Magazine) See and hear more at www.voxluminis.com .
We are taking reservations for this concert beginning a month beforehand, on September 27. MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW! and plan to attend this very special concert by a world-renowned group, right here in Stroudsburg.
Spring 2018 Concert
COMING FROM SWEDEN TO BEACON HILL CONCERTS
RINGMASTERS BARBERSHOP QUARTET
INTERNATIONAL QUARTET CHAMPIONS (2012)
SUNDAY, MARCH 4, 2018, 3:00 p.m.
RINGMASTERS is one of the world’s best barbershop quartets, as gold medalists at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s 2012 International Quartet Championship in Portland”the first quartet from outside North America to win this highly competitive annual event. (They also won the International Collegiate Championship at the 2006 Convention in Nashville; and in the same year, the Nordic Barbershop Quartet contest in Stockholm.)
I heard the quartet live at the Philadelphia convention in 2010 (when they placed third), and still remember their lush harmonies and stunning performance.
You have to hear contemporary barbershop singing to understand how sophisticated and demanding this a cappella style has become.
The program is being worked out with the quartet, but you can expect a mixture of their unique arrangements of barbershop classics (Smile, Up a Lazy River), tunes from the 50s & 60s (All Shook Up, Java Jive, Blackbird, Tonight, Tonight), as well as their own contemporary hits. To hear samples of some of their songs, go to www.ringmasters.se or look for them on YouTube.
As one patron said after attending one of our previous barbershop concerts: Normally, to hear a group of this caliber involves sharing the experience with thousands of music lovers where the sound is amplified through a PA system. The pure sounds heard last night are still ringing in my head. My friends and I were totally awestruck by the event.
Make your reservation request by email to dcrawford1@unl.edu or dandcrawford@gmail.com or call 570-476-1308. And please take note that the concert is on a Sunday and starts earlier than usual, at 3:00 p.m.
2018 Summer Concert series
Saturday, May 26, 4:00 p.m., PIANIST PAUL BARNES
Saturday, June 9, 4:00 p.m., NEW YORK POLYPHONY, VOCAL ENSEMBLE
Saturday, July 7, 4:00 p.m., DUO SERENISSIMA, SOPRANO ELISABETH HETHERINGTON & LUTENIST DAVID MACKOR
2018 Summer Concert Schedule
Saturday, May 26, 4:00 p.m., PIANIST PAUL BARNES
Internationally acclaimed Paul Barnes, Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and head chanter at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Lincoln, presents a unique lecture/recital, Love, Death, and Resurrection in the Musical Vision of Philip Glass, Franz Liszt, and Ancient Chant. His program includes a selection of Barnes’ own piano transcriptions of Philip Glass’ 1992 opera Orphee (which Barnes transcribed into his seven-movement Orphee Suite for Piano); Franz Liszt’s monumental Ballade No. 2; interspersed with three orthodox hymns (chanted); and more. A once-in-a-lifetime experience! www.paulbarnes.net .
Saturday, June 9, 4:00 p.m., NEW YORK POLYPHONY, VOCAL ENSEMBLE
New York Polyphony”Geoffrey Williams, Steve Wilson, Chris Herbert, and Craig Phillips” returns for a fourth visit to Beacon Hill with their beautifully blended voices of individual distinction. Their program includes a rich tapestry of Early and Contemporary works: madrigals by de Rore, Lassus and Verdelot, plus Janequin’s gem La Guerre; Penalosa’s lush Lamentations of Jeremiah; and the world premiere of contemporary composer Greg Spears’ The Bitter Good, based on the earliest hymn tunes in America from the German cloistered community in Ephrata PA. A concert that will strike familiar notes, but also take us to new places! www.newyorkpolyphony.com .
(The world premier of Gregory Spears’ The Bitter Good is a commissioned work made possible by the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Program, with generous funding provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Chamber Music America Endowment Fund.)
Saturday, July 7, 4:00 p.m., DUO SERENISSIMA, SOPRANO ELISABETH HETHERINGTON & LUTENIST DAVID MACKOR
A new act in our series, Duo Serenissima with Canadian soprano Elisabeth Hetherington and Dutch lutenist David Mackor. The Duo was founded in 2016 and is presently based in the Netherlands, where they perform regularly in major cities and concert halls. When I heard them perform, I was dazzled by Elisabeth’s pure voice and theatrical stage presence. They will do a selection of 16th-17th century English songs that incorporates three different aspects of English life”folk songs, courtly music (John Dowland), and theatre (Robert Johnson). A beautiful serenade! www.duoserenissima.com .
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Fall 2017 Concert Series
Saturday, October 14, 4:00 p.m., PIANO TRIO ALETHEIA
PIANIST FEI FEI DONG RETURNS TO BEACON HILL CONCERTS with PIANO TRIO ALETHEIA
Saturday, October 14, 4:00 p.m. (Reservations accepted starting September 14)
Get ready for another very special performance when world-class pianist Fei Fei Dong returns to our BHC series for our Fall Concert, Saturday, October 14, 4:00 p.m. This time, she will share the stage as a member of her piano trio, Aletheia, with violinist Francesca DePasquale and cellist Juliette Harlin. Fei Fei will perform Mozart’s Sonata in D major, Liszt’s Don Juan, and 3 Chinese pieces (Spring Dance, Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake, and Happy Times). The trio will do the Brahms Trio in B major.
Born in Shenzhen China, Fei Fei Dong moved to New York to study at The Juilliard School where she earned her Bachelor and Masters of Music Degrees. She is the winner of the Concert Artists Guild Competition and was a finalist in 2013 at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. She did her Carnegie Weill Hall debut performance to a sold-out audience in February 2016, and has been the featured artist in concerts with major symphony orchestras and prominent conductors all over the country. Outside of the U.S., she has performed at the Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall, the Louvre, and with the Shanxi and Shenzhen Symphonic Orchestras in China. She has been featured many times on New York’s WQXR radio.
The Aletheia Piano Trio is one of the rising groups of young artists that is making itself known in the world of chamber music. The Trio has performed at the Rose Studio in New York City, Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, and the Terrace Theater of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC., and has been featured at other prominent venues in the U.S. We are accepting reservations for this concert starting September 14. Reserve a place by emailing Dan Crawford (dandcrawford@gmail.com or dcrawford1@unl.edu); or call Jean at 402-476-1308. You won’t find a better setting at this time of year for listening to beautiful chamber music than our small and intimate music hall right here in Stroudsburg.
Summer 2017 Concert Series
Saturday, October 14, 4:00 p.m., PIANO TRIO ALETHEIA
Thursday, April 27, 4:00 p.m., VOX LUMINIS
Saturday, May 20, 4:00 p.m., Elise Quagliata, Mezzo-soprano & Michael Fennelly
Saturday, July 8, 4:00 p.m., Artem Belogurov
Saturday, July 29, 4:00 p.m., TENET
Saturday, August 12, 4:00 p.m., Alkemie
VOX LUMINIS returns to Beacon Hill Concerts
I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVETH
April 27, 2017, 4:00 p.m. (Reservations accepted beginning March 27)
Vox Luminis, the Belgian vocal ensemble that has risen to the forefront of the European early music scene, will be returning to Beacon Hill Concerts Thursday, April 27, 4:00 pm, to give us more of their beautiful music. Many of us will not forget their stunning performance here of Schutz and the Bach Family in October, 2014. This year, the 12-member ensemble will present a selection of music of the English Renaissance by composers Tallis, Purcell, Byrd, and White, and English royal funeral music by Morley and Purcell, in a program titled I Know that my Redeemer Liveth.
Founded in 2004 in Namur, Belgium by their current director Lionel Meunier, Vox Luminis specializes in the performance of 16th through 18th century vocal music. I have heard the group perform six times now, and I can personally vouch for what is said about them in their promo materials”their seamless blend of high-quality individual voices, exquisite tuning, and clarity of sound. They are truly in a class by themselves.
VL has performed in major festivals and venues across Europe in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Croatia. Of their many recordings, the ensemble’s 2012 recording of Schutz’s Musicalische Exequien has received several prestigious awards including Gramophone’s Recording of the Year. See and hear more at www.voxluminis.com .
Elise Quagliata, Mezzo-soprano & Michael Fennelly, accompanist
Spanish and Sondheim
Saturday, May 20, 4:00 p.m.
Elise Quagliata returns with accompanist Michael Fennelly for her fourth appearance at BHC, once again combining opera and cabaret in a program especially designed for us, Spanish and Sondheim. Since we last saw Elise in 2014, she has been very busy doing operatic roles around the country; to mention just a few, she did the lead role in Carmen with the New York City Opera, and then toured this production with the company in Europe and Asia; and she sang Hedda Hopper in Hopper’s Wife, also with the New York City Opera. Recently she was in Baton Rouge doing a jazz rendition of Monteverdi’s Return of Ulysses, and after that, her signature opera role of Sister Helen in Dead Man Walking with Pensacola Opera.
Elise will do a delightful program of Spanish arias and popular canciones by composers Obradors, Wolf, and De Falla, combined with arias of the female leads from Sondheim’s well-known theater pieces (Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd, the Baker’s Wife from Into the Woods, Sally Plummer from Follies), as well as some classic Hammerstein gems (whom Sondheim cited as a major influence). No one can combine these different styles of music better than Elise. This is a concert not to miss! (Reservations accepted starting April 20.)
Artem Belogurov, Piano
19th Century American Romantic Music
Saturday, July 8, 4:00 p.m.
The accomplished young pianist, Artem Belogurov, will favor us with a recital of 19th century American Romantic Music, a style of music with strong European influences, but a distinctively American flavor. Artem has put together an impressive sampling of these romantic composers that includes Margaret Lang (Rhapsody in E), Arthur Foote (Suite #1), John Paine (In the Country,) and Louis Gottschalk (Le Banjo ˜Fantasia Grotesque’).
Artem was born in Latvia, grew up in the Ukraine, and studied at the New England Conservatory. Today he divides his time between Boston and Amsterdam. He has given performances in many of the major venues in the northeastern U.S.A. and Europe. I heard one of these performances last fall at the Early Music Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands, and was bewitched by this charming, romantic style of music, so beautifully performed by the artist. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind piano recital. (Reservations accepted starting June 8.)
TENET, Vocal & Instrumental Ensemble
Music of Medieval France: The Sounds of Time
Saturday, July 29, 4:00 p.m.
TENET returns this summer with artistic director Jolle Greenleaf and an ensemble of singers and players with a unique program: Music of Medieval France: The Sounds of Time. This program consists of distinctively French compositions covering a range of innovative styles developed in the 1300s to 1500s”including songs of courtly love, cheeky tales, eloquent monodies, and rhythmic dance-tunes. From this rich, rarely explored tapestry of styles and sounds, you will hear songs by both lesser-known and celebrated composers (Machaut, Du Fay, Binchois, Busnois, and others).
The performers this year, besides soprano Greenleaf, are tenors Brian Giebler and Jason McStoots, along with Dongmyung Ahn (Vielle), Priscilla Herreid (winds), and Charles Weaver (lute) players. TENET has risen to the top of the Early Music scene in New York, and we are privileged to have Jolle back with us again doing the kind of music that her groups perform with such masterful skill and authenticity. (Reservations accepted starting June 29.)
Alkemie, 3 Sopranos & Instruments
Rosa das Rosas
Saturday, August 12, 4:00 p.m.
More Early Music for you from the vocal and instrumental ensemble, Alkemie, who gave us such a vibrant concert last year. We are so pleased to have this group back again”the three sopranos Sian Ricketts, Elena Mullins, and Tracy Cowart, plus David McCormick and Niccolo Seligmann on vielles and percussion, and Paul Holmes, theorbo. This year they will do a program of sacred music, Rosa das Rosas, on the theme of the Virgin Mary, consisting of medieval music from Spain, France, and Germany, as well as French baroque repertoire by Charpentier, Nivers, and Boesset. In addition to the religious pieces, the program includes a delightful sprinkling of instrumental medieval dance. I heard these singers perform a similar concert two years ago at the Boston Early Music Festival, and was struck by the beautiful harmonies and melodies. This music will transport you into a world of deep feeling and devotion, one that inspires and uplifts. (Reservations accepted starting July 12.)
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Fall Concert, Saturday, October 29, 2016, 4:00 p.m.
CANTUS: No Greater Love Than This
For our added fall concert, we are fortunate to have with us the highly-acclaimed male vocal ensemble, CANTUS, Saturday October 29, 4:00 p.m. Their touring program, entitled No Greater Love Than This, comprises a set of 18 songs about the lives and experiences of individual soldiers in settings of war and conflict that evoke emotions of bravery, camaraderie, vulnerability, loss, and longing.
Praised as the premier men’s vocal ensemble in the United States (Fanfare),CANTUS performs more than 60 concerts each year both in national and international touring, and has performed on major stages, including Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, UCLA, San Francisco Performances, Atlanta’s Spivey Hall, and Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.
The program they will do for us covers a wide range from traditional, Janacek’sAch Vojna, Dvorak’s Goin’ Home, Cohan’s Over There, and Whiting’sEternal Father, to works by recent composers Richard Peaslee (When I Would in Boyhood Muse), Lee Hoiby (Last Letter Home), Bob Chilcott (Five Ways to Kill a Man), Timothy Takach (Luceat Eis), John Lennon (Imagine), Rob & Ferdi Bolland (In the Army Now), and a commissioned work by Jeff Beal.
When I last heard these eight singers perform a cappella, I was struck by their rich harmonies, flawless vocal technique, and meticulous presentation, as well as their creative mix of musical arrangements and styles, from classical to folk to popular. Find out more about CANTUS by visiting www.cantussings.org (click on hear cantus audio).
Visit https://youtu.be/csUW1JbgpKE for a preview of the No Greater Love Than This concert, October 29.
2016 SUMMER SCHEDULE
Saturday, June 11, 4:00 p.m., New York Polyphony, vocal ensemble
Saturday, June 25, 4:00 p.m., Fei-Fei Dong, pianist
Saturday, July 2, 4:00 p.m., Anna DeGraff, soprano & David Alpher, accompanist, Thank Heaven for Little Girls
Saturday, July 30, 4:00 p.m., Alkemie Early Music Ensemble, with Sian Rickets, Elena Mullins, & Tracy Cowart, sopranos, La Bella Rosa
NEW YORK POLYPHONY, Vocal Ensemble
SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 4:00 P.M.
The vocal ensemble New York Polyphony (Geoffrey Williams countertenor, Steven Wilson tenor, Chris Herbert baritone, Craig Phillips bass) returns for their fourth appearance with us. Every time I hear these singers, I am overwhelmed by their blend and the ease with which they convey difficult music, both ancient and modern. In the past few years, NYP has been performing regularly in major concert series and festivals around the globe and has firmly established a reputation as one of the finest a cappella chamber ensembles in the world today. Highlights include Miller Theatre at Columbia University, London’s Wigmore Hall, The Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and (my favorite) Festival Oude Musiek Utrecht. They have been featured on Performance Today, Footprints to Paradise: A Medieval Christmas, BBC Radio 3’s In Tune, and The Martha Stewart Show. They now have five CDs, and their current release, Sing thee Nowell, has won them their second GRAMMY nomination.
Both in performance and on recordings, the ensemble has shown a commitment to presenting contemporary works that explore the boundaries between traditional and modern music. This is evident in the unique program that Geoffrey Williams has made for us, including pieces from the medieval to the classical and contemporary periods. You will hear the plainsong Pater noster, and three other versions of Our Father by Willaert, Durufle, and Andrew Smith; and works by composers as diverse as Clemens non Papa, Saint-Saens, Brahms, Schubert, and Richard Bennett, as well as modern arrangements of traditional hymns and songs such as I Wander as I Wander, and Sweet Hour of Prayer.
FEI-FEI DONG, Pianist
SATURDAY, JUNE 25, 4:00 P.M.
Get ready for a very special debut performance at BHC from world-class pianist Fei-Fei Dong. Born in Shenzhen, China, she moved to New York to study at Juilliard where she earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees. She has been called one of the most engaging and promising rising stars in the musical firmament. She has been praised for her natural musicality and beauty of tone, and her winning stage presence. Fei-Fei has performed in recitals at Alice Tully Hall, Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall, and the Louvre, and as soloist with the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra and many symphony orchestras. She has been featured many times on New York’s WQXR radio.
She is a member of the Aletheia Piano Trio, which debuted at the Kennedy Center in February 2014. When I heard her perform in Ft. Worth last year at a Cliburn Festival, I was impressed by her magnetic personality and the joy she takes in playing the classical repertoire and sharing it with her audience. Fei-Fei just did her Carnegie Weill Hall debut (February 2016), which, she told me, was sold out and went very well. She will do the same program for us (in case you missed it), comprising works by Galuppi (Sonata in C Major), Schumann (Papillons), Liszt (Sonata in B Minor), and Lowell Liebermann (Gargoyles). Join us for what I am sure will be an exciting performance.
ANNA DEGRAFF, Soprano / DAVID ALPHER, Accompanist
“THANK HEAVEN FOR LITTLE GIRLS”
SATURDAY, JULY 2, 4:00 P.M.
We welcome mezzo-soprano Anna DeGraff and accompanist David Alpher (one half of the Alpher-Litt duo who did our cabaret show last August). Anna DeGraff is a rare talent who moves in music circles in the Midwest, performing in musical theater, solo recitals, and various operatic roles. She earned a Masters and Doctoral degree in vocal performance at the University of Minnesota.The program Anna and David have designed for us, Thank Heaven for Little Girls, puts together a rich selection of songs from the classical and musical theater repertoires about young girls”the innocence of youth, adolescence, and looking back on youth. You will be surprised at the scope of this program, ranging from Massenet (Premiere Danse), Howells (Girl’s Song), Donizetti (La Zingara), Gilbert & Sullivan (When But a Maid of Fifteen Years), and Jake Heggie (Paper Wings), to Gershwin (Someone to Watch Over Me), Sondheim (I Know Things Now), Bernstein (Who Am I?), Rogers & Hart (Little Girl Blue), and Alpher/Litt (How I Learned to Ride my Bike); and Anna has the looks, the voice, and vivacious stage presence to put all of these songs across . . . convincingly.
ALKEMIE EARLY MUSIC ENSEMBLE,
with SIAN RICKETTS, ELENA MULLINS, TRACY COWART, Sopranos
SATURDAY, JULY 30, 4:00 P.M.
We are fortunate to have another newcomer to our BHC series, the recently formed Virginia-based Early Music ensemble Alkemie, featuring three young vocalists, sopranos Sian Ricketts and Elena Mullins, and mezzo-soprano Tracy Cowart (all three of whom hold Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Historical Performance Practice from Case Western Reserve University), along with David McCormick and Niccolo Seligmann on vielles. Their program, O Rosa Bella, will focus on the love songs expressed in the intricate polyphonic works of Renaissance composers Machaut, Landini, DuFay, Ciconia, and others.
All five of these performers are heavily engaged in the arts, performing with multiple period ensembles and major orchestras. When I heard the singers last June at the Boston Early Music Festival, I was struck by their well-trained voices and beautiful harmonies, and knew immediately that they would fit perfectly into our series.
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2015 SUMMER SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 23, 4:00 p.m. Allant Piano Trio, Beth Nam, Anna Park, Alina Lim
Sunday, May 31, 4:00 p.m. Parthenia, Consort of Viols, & tenor Ryland Angel
Saturday, June 27, 4:00 p.m. TENET, three sopranos, Concerto della donne
Saturday, July 11, 4:00 p.m. Fry Street Quartet, (Britten, Beethoven, Larsen)
Saturday, August 1, 4:00 p.m. Cabaret, David Alpher/Jennie Litt (Porter, Berlin)
ALLANT PIANO TRIO
Saturday, May 23, 4:00 p.m.
I would defy even the most exhausted and jaded listener to experience even a moment of boredom in this group’s high-voltage evening. (New York Concert Review, Rorianne Schrade on Carnegie Hall Debut)
We begin this summer with the young Korean artists of the Allant Piano Trio, formed at The Julliard School in 2010”Beth Nam (piano) Anna Park (violin) and Alina Lim (cello), who gave us such a stunning performance to close out our last season. These talented instrumentalists, each with extensive and distinguished careers in chamber music, amazed our audience last summer with their energy and poise. The Trio’s 2014 season included a highly acclaimed debut recital at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, and this past fall they completed a hugely successful tour in Korea, performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Seongnam Philharmonic, with radio and TV broadcasts.
The Trio has performed at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Yehudi Menuhin Chamber Music Festival in San Francisco, the Banff Centre in Canada; and were semifinalists at the Trondheim International Chamber Music competition in Norway.
Last year also saw the release of their first album, Ignition, under Sony Classical.
For our concert, they will do a mix of classical (Haydn Trio in C major, Brahms Trio No. 1) and contemporary music (Jennifer Higdon Trio I, Pale Yellow/Fiery Red), plus a special hymn arranged by Ms. Nam. Find out more about them at www.allanttrio.com
PARTHENIA & Tenor RYLAND ANGEL
Sunday, May 31, 4:00 p.m.
Some of you will remember a performance several years ago by Parthenia, a Consort of Viols (Lisa Terry, Rosamund Morley, Beverly Au, Lawrence Lipnik) with tenor Ryland Angel. And more recently, Parthenia performed in our series with guest soprano, Julianne Baird. Well, the Parthenia/Ryland Angel combo is back, accompanied by virginal and player Dongsok Shin, with a program of the hauntingly beautiful music of Scotland and England from the 1500s: The Flaming Fire: Mary Queen of Scotts and her World.
The viol, or viola da gamba, is a family of stringed instruments celebrated in European music from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment. Today soloists and viol groups”known as consorts”have rediscovered the lost repertoire and ethereal beauty of this early instrument. On Sunday, May 31, Parthenia and Angel will give us a rich sampling of this repertoire.
The Consort has performed in major venues in this country and abroad, from the Metropolitan Museum in New York to the Tage Alter Musik Festival in Regensburg Germany. And British tenor/countertenor Ryland Angel has built an international reputation on both the opera and concert stage at major opera houses, concert halls and festivals throughout Europe and America. (See Ryland’s website www.rylandangel.com for his very impressive list of recent engagements and recordings.)
The group’s program this year includes Scottish and Elizabethan Songs, Dances, and Fancies; Psalms from Kirk, Croft, and Chapel; and four settings by Richard Einhorn for voice and viol of traditional Scottish tunes with the poems of Robert Burns. More at www.parthenia.org
TENET: JOLLE GREENLEAF, MOLLY QUINN, VIRGINIA WARNKEN
Saturday, JUNE 27, 4:00 p.m.
Those of you who attended the TENET concert last summer with sopranos Jolle Greenleaf and Molly Quinn may have thought, as I did, that it doesn’t get any better; but if you did, you were wrong. This year the same two singers are returning with a third”mezzo-soprano Virginia Warnken, and three instrumentalists playing harpsichord, theorbo, and baroque guitar. The ensemble will do a memorized, semi-staged show, Concerto della donne, featuring music composed and performed by notable women of 17th century Italy, some of whom lived and worked in wealthy courts, while others were nuns living in convents that allowed for surprising freedom. The group has already done a shorter version of this program at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to great acclaim, and will do the full program in NYC this spring. Don’t miss another wonderful afternoon of singing and playing that shows off the Italian vocal style in close harmonies by what the New Yorker called one of the city’s liveliest and busiest early-music groups. www.tenetnyc.com
FRY STREET QUARTET
Saturday, JULY 11, 4:00 p.m.
We are presenting a new String Quartet this season that is bound to delight. Founded in 1997, the Fry Street Quartet (Rebecca McFaul, Robert Waters, Bradley Ottesen, Anne Francis Bayless) has gained a reputation in the classical chamber music world not only for its technical astuteness and depth of expression (Deseret Morning News), but also for its innovative programming and its creative community engagement.
The Quartet has reached audiences from Carnegie Hall to Sarajevo”traveling there as cultural ambassadors to the Balkan States, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Additionally the group recently returned from a successful UK tour that featured a program exploring the connections between music and Theosophy. Their program will include the classical works of Britten (Three Divertimenti) and Beethoven (Op. 127), and a commissioned work by contemporary Libby Larsen (Rising Tide). Fry Street Quartet currently holds the Endowed String Quartet residency at Utah State University. More at www.frystreetquartet.com
CABARET: DAVID ALPHER & JENNIE LITT
Saturday, August 1, 4:00 p.m.
Our Cabaret performance this season will bring a very creative husband and wife team, David Alpher (composer & pianist) and Jennie Litt (lyricist & singer) for a program of songs, The Elegant and the Immigrant: Cole Porter and Irving Berlin Together, that explores the similarities and differences between these two master songwriters: Porter, ivy-educated Midwestern son of privilege, and Berlin, lower East Side immigrant waif. The program features many of their standards”by Berlin (Change Partners, Suppertime, No Business Like Show Business, The Song is Ended) and Porter (Tale of the Oyster, Love for Sale, You’re the Top); PLUS original songs from Alpher & Litt’s brand new CD (Two Apples, Hello in There, I Want to be a TV Chef) that will tickle the funnybone, tell truths, and touch the heart. This show will be a one-of-a-kind, unforgettable, pure delight. www.litt-and-alpher.com
RICHTER UZUR DUO: Guitar and Cello
Monday, November 16, 2015
After our successful concert last fall with the vocal ensemble Vox Luminis from Belgium, Beacon Hill Concerts is presenting another fall concert, Monday, November 16”this time something very different, a duo of guitar and cello!
The interplay between the two is playful yet stunning. It grooves, it sings, it’s fresh and exciting; this music has it all. ”Guitar International
Guitarist Brad Richter and cellist Victor Uzur are consummate performers and composers, who have each played around the world to critical acclaim, winning many prestigious competitions and awards. Trained in two of the most respected musical institutions”The Royal College of Music in London, and The Moscow Conservatory”they combine elements of classical music, rock, and Eastern European folk, all played with a native sense of vernacular, integrity and charm, producing a sound that is all their own. The duo is perhaps best known in the U.S. through its regular appearances on NPR’s Performance Today, North America’s most listened to classical music program.
The program they will do for us is similar to the one they did last March 29 in their New York City debut performance at the Rubin Museum. It will feature their own version of the Renaissance theme, La Folia; Bach’s Prelude for solo cello (from Suite IV); Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances, as well as many of the duo’s unique compositions, including Richter’s “Fragments Transcending,” inspired by Navajo and Tibetan culture and the resemblances between their art and spirituality, and unfortunately their fates.
Brad Richter is based in Tucson, Arizona, and is the Director of Lead Guitar, an organization that establishes guitar programs in schools with large numbers of at-risk youths nationwide. Victor Uzur is cello professor at Weber State University in Utah, and founder and director of the Bonneville Chamber Music Festival.
www.richteruzur.com
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2014 SUMMER SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 17, 4:00 p.m. Antioch Chamber Ensemble, dir. Joshua Copeland
Saturday, June 14, 4:00 p.m. James Ruff & Drew Minter, Celtic, Harps and Voices
Sunday, June 29, 5:00 p.m. TENET, Jolle Greenleaf & Molly Quinn, “UNO + ONE”
Saturday, July 26, 4:00 p.m. Elise Quagliata, Art Songs, Arias, Cabaret
Saturday, August 16, 4:00 p.m. Allant Piano Trio, Beth Nam, Anna Park, Alina Lim
ANTIOCH CHAMBER CHORALE, “Darkness and Light”
Saturday, May 17, 4:00 p.m.
We start the season earlier than usual, Saturday, May 17, 4:00 p.m. with the 12-voice a cappella vocal group, Antioch Chamber Ensemble, directed by Joshua Copeland, returning with another program of beautiful sacred and secular music around the theme “Darkness and Light.” With a core group of the New York Metropolitan areas’s finest singers, Antioch has earned a glowing reputation for its pitch-perfect and expressive interpretation of modern music.
The centerpiece of their concert this year will be Renaissance composer Robert White’s “Lamentations of Jeremiah” along with pieces by Purcell (“Hear My Prayer, Oh Lord”) and Gesualdo (“Tristis est Anima Mea”), and modern composers Matthew Brown, Kenneth Leighton, Ivo Antognini, Eric Whitacre, and Leo Sowerby. This is a concert that will stir the heart, mind, and soul.
Antioch’s past performance highlights include feature performances for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, and the Festival des Choeurs Laureats in France. In 2008, the group won first-place honors in the highly prestigious Tolosa International Choral competition in Spain, establishing it among the top rank of professional choirs in the world. In April 2013, the ensemble made its debut with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in a program celebrating the work of late Renaissance composer Carlo Gesualdo. Look and listen at www.antiochchamberensemble.org
DUANLIED, JAMES RUFF & DREW MINTER
Music for Harps and Voices from the Celtic Lands
Saturday, June 14, 4:00 p.m.
On June 14, 4:00 p.m.,the duo “Duanlied” —James Ruff, tenor and early Gaelic wire harp, and Drew Minter, countertenor and medieval harp– bring their exceptional talents to our series for the first time. Their concert, “Am Bron Binn–The Sweet Sorrow–brings to life the early music orf the people of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Ruff and Minter skillfully bridge these traditions, exploring the expressive worlds of Gaelic bards and Lowland poets. Haunting modal tunes, the lilting sounds of the Gaelic language, Scots songs and rhythmic Celtic dances combine in a concert of unearthly beauty. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear Celtic music as it was meant to be heard. www.jamesrufftenorharper.com
TENET, Jolle Greenleaf & Molly Quinn, “UNO + ONE”
Sunday, June 29, 5:00 p.m.
On Sunday, June 29, 5:00 p.m. (note different day and time), we will experience a feast of selections from the works of the master of Renaissance vocal music, Claudio Monteverdi, performed by two sopranos, Jolle Greenleaf and Molly Quinn, and instrumentalists Daniel Lee and Dongmyung Ahn (violins), Hank Heijink (theorbo), and Avi Stein (harpsichord). The program, “UNO + ONE,” consists of duets from Monteverdi (including the breathtaking “Pur ti miro”) and a selection from his contemporaries (Rossi, Pesenti, Castaldi, Costello), as well as several pieces by English composer Henry Purcell (“Two Daughters of this aged stream” and “Shepherds, shepherds leave decoying”). Ms. Greenleaf and Ms. Quinn are members of the ensemble TENET and have sung with us on several occasions. There will be an unforgettable, rich sound filling our hall from these six musicians. http://www.tenetnyc.com/projects/uno-one
ELISE QUAGLIATA, Cabaret
Saturday, July 26, 4:00 p.m.
Cabaret singer, Elise Quagliata, who has become a favorite of our audience, returns for a third performance on Saturday, July 26, 4:00 p.m. Once again she will delight us with her unique “rich expressive voice and passionate delivery” (New York Times), and a new program, designed for our series, of art songs and arias, and familiar cabaret tunes. No one can combine classical and popular styles as skilfully and naturally as Ms. Quagliata. If you have not yet heard one of her mesmerizing performances, you simply must attend this concert! www.elisequagliata.com
ALLANT PIANO TRIO
Saturday, August 16, 4:00 p.m.
You’re in for a surprise and a real treat on Saturday, August 16, 4:00 p.m. when the Allant Piano Trio — with Korean artists Beth Nam (piano), Anna Park (violin), and Alina Lim (cello) — make their Beacon Hill debut, (coming on the heels of their Carnegie Hall debut in February). These young instrumentalists, each with extensive and distinguished careers in chamber music, formed their trio at The Julliard School in 2010. They have received a long list of impressive awards and prizes (which you can learn about on their website).
For our concert, they will perform a mix of classical music (Mendelssohn Piano Trio No.1 in D minor) and contemporary pieces by Kelly-Marie Murphy (“Give Me Phoenix Wings to Fly”) and Joachim Turina (“Circulo”). I assure you that this performance will be a grand finale to our series. Do not miss it. www.allanttrio.com
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2013 SUMMER SCHEDULE
Saturday, June 15, 4:00 p.m. Parthenia, with sop Julianne Baird
Saturday, June 22, 4:00 p.m. Antioch Chamber Ensemble
Saturday, July 13, 4:00 p.m. Elise Quagliata, Cabaret, w. Mikhail Hallak
Saturday, July 27, 4:00 p.m. GQ, 2012 Sweet Adelines champions
Saturday, August 17, 4:00 p.m. Dali String Quartet
PARTHENIA, Consort of Viols, with Julianne Baird
“Les Amours de Mai”
June is a busy month for all of us, but you won’t want to miss the soft, melodious strains of Parthenia, a Consort of Viols returning on Saturday June 15, 4:00 p.m., this time with a guest violinist, Margaret Ziemnicka, and with soprano Julianne Baird, truly an icon in Early Music circles. The program, played on their unusual viole da gamba (leg viols), is appropriate for the season: Les Amours de Mai: Love Songs in the Age of Ronsard.
Based at Corpus Christi Church in Manhattan, Parthenia is a dynamic ensemble exploring the rich repertory for viols from Tudor England to the court of Versailles and beyond. The group has collaborated regularly with the world’s foremost early music specialists, and has been featured in prestigious festivals and series worldwide. Julianne Baird has been called “one of the most extraordinary voices in the service of early music this generation has produced.” She has over 100 recordings to her credit.
Our concert will feature songs and dances of French Renaissance music, and the Consort will do several beautiful settings of Psalm 137 (By the Waters of Babylon) and Psalm 96 (Oh Sing Unto the Lord) by Goudimel and Sweelinck. www.parthenia.org http://juliannebaird.camden.rutgers.edu
ANTIOCH CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
On June 22, 4:00 p.m., the vocal ensemble, Antioch, directed by Joshua Copeland, will do a varied program of sacred (Sweelinck, Bruckner Alice Parker’s arr. of Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal) and secular songs, from Monteverdi and Gesualdo to contemporaries Eric Whitacre (“the city and the sea”) and Matthew Brown (“though love be a day”). Now in its sixteenth year of professional music-making with a core group of 12 of New York metropolitan area’s finest singers, Antioch has gained a reputation for its pitch-perfect clarity of tone and intonation. In 2008, the group won first-place honors in the highly prestigious Tolosa International Choral competition in Spain, establishing them among the top rank of professional choirs in the world.
Antioch’s past performance highlights include feature performances for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, and the Festival des Choeurs Laureats in France. In April of this year, the ensemble made its debut with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in a program celebrating the work of late Renaissance composer Carlo Gesualdo. Look and listen at www.antiochchamberensemble.org
ELISE QUAGLIATA, CABARET
“SONGS THAT POP!”
The versatile Elise Quagliata (and accompanist Mikhail Hallak) will again delight us on Saturday July 13, 4:00 p.m. with her rich expressive voice and passionate delivery (New York Times), and a new program, designed for our series, of art songs and cabaret she calls Songs that Pop! “a selection of “popular songs” by the classical composers, Maurice Ravel and Manuel de Falla, that have found their way into the musical idiom of a culture, along with a set of standards that have made notable appearances in American films over the years (My Funny Valentine, I Love Paris, Stormy Weather, and more). www.elisequagliata.com
GQ, 2012 “RISING STAR” SWEET ADELINES CHAMPIONS
In the last three years, we broadened our series to include barbershop singing, in recognition of the high level of sophistication and presentation that this musical style has attained. This year, on Saturday July 27, 4:00 p.m., we have another international champion quartet coming”GQ”the Rising Star contest-winners at the 2012 Sweet Adelines Competition in Denver, receiving the highest scores the competition has seen thus far. Since then these young women have been in great demand. Along with barbershop favorites like Deed I Do and Put Your Arms Around Me, they’ll do their own arrangements of other related styles (Samson and Timshel), and at my request, some gospel songs. (View their winning performance at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dawvJWpfBD8 )
DALI STRING QUARTET
The Dali String Quartet’s captivating performances of traditional string quartet and Latin-American repertoire create an extraordinary concert experience that takes listeners on an eclectic journey of rhythm and sound. The quartet has appeared at Carnegie Hall, toured widely in Europe and Asia, and collaborated with some of the finest composers of our time. Trained both in Venezuela’s social and music education movement, El Sistema, and in American conservatories, this internationally-acclaimed group of young artists will present on Saturday August 17, 4:00 p.m. a two worlds concert that includes Haydn’s Quartet in G major, as well as modern pieces by Latin composers including Joaquin Turina’s religiously-inspired La Oracion del Torero (The Bullfighter’s Prayer). www.daliquartet.com
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2012 SUMMER SCHEDULE
Sunday, June 3, 4:00 & 7:00 p.m. (2 shows) Vocal Spectrum Barbershop Quartet
Saturday, June 9, 4:00 p.m. New York Polyphony
Saturday, July 7, 4:00 p.m. Tapestry
Sunday, July 15, 5:00 p.m. Chiara String Quartet
Saturday, August 4, 4:00 p.m. Elise Quagliata
Sunday, August 26, 4:00 p.m. TENET (Note: NEW DATE!)
Tapestry
Song of Songs: Come into my Garden
Saturday, July 7, 4:00 p.m.
Get ready for another transporting experience when this Boston-based ensemble of five women’s voices (Laurie Monahan, Cristi Catt, Daniela Tosic, Diana Brewer, and Shira Kammen, with harp and vielle) takes up the biblical love poetry of the 3,000 year old Song of Songs. Their program (described as a cornucopia of sensual pleasures (San Diego Reader)) weaves together Hebrew, medieval Latin, Arabic, and new, modern settings of the Old Testament text. Last season, we witnessed what one commentator wrote about Tapestry: they plant haunting vibrations old and new in our ears. To get a taste of their beautiful melodies and six unique recordings, visit www.tapestryboston05.com
To Make Reservations
Directions
Chiara String Quartet
Sunday, July 15, 5:00 p.m.
TAKE NOTE, this concert is scheduled on Sunday, at 5:00 p.m.!
Returning for a third time in our series, the Chiara String Quartet (Rebecca Fischer, Julie Yoon, Jonah Sirota, Gregory Beaver)”currently Artists-in-residence at Harvard University and University of Nebraska-Lincoln”have developed a devoted following in our area. Now in their eleventh season, these four young instrumentalists have established themselves as among America’s most respected ensembles, lauded for their highly virtuosic, edge-of-the-seat playing (The Boston Globe). Every time I hear this group, I am overwhelmed by the togetherness of their playing and their vibrant interpretations of both classical and contemporary compositions, whatever the mood of the piece may be. This summer we will have another creative program with fresh works by old and new composers. Discover more at www.chiaraquartet.net
To Make Reservations
Directions
Elise Quagliata
Saturday, August 4, 4:00 p.m.
For some time, I have wanted to add cabaret to our line-up, and this year I have found the singer to do it”Elise Quagliata, (with accompanist Mikhail Hallak). Ms. Quagliata is accomplished both as an operatic singer, performing leading roles at major opera houses (she recently stunned audiences with her dark expressive voice in the demanding role of Sister Helen in Dead Man Walking), and is also adept in a variety of lighter styles from jazz to cabaret. So alongside of Bizet and Debussy, you’ll hear the soft, sentimental tunes of Gershwin, Porter, and Bernstein. (Her rendering of Speak Low is not to be missed.) Find out more at elisequagliata.com
To Make Reservations
Directions
TENET
A Feast for the Senses
Sunday, August 26, 4:00 p.m. (Note: New Date of Concert)
TENET performed in our 2010 series, and we are happy to have them back for a concert that will be a real feast for our ears. Under the able direction of soprano Jolle Greenleaf, this mixed vocal quintet (with soprano Molly Quinn, alto Virginia Warnken, tenor Marc Molomot, bass Charles Evans, with lutenist Hank Heijink) will do a program drawn mostly from their latest CD that features a rich variety of musical styles from Monteverdi madrigals to spirituals (including one of my favorites His Eye is on the Sparrow). TENET has become a major force in NYC Early music circles, and I can assure you that you will not be disappointed when you hear them sing in our intimate setting. For bios and musical selections go to www.TENETnyc.com.
To Make Reservations
Directions
Vocal Spectrum
Sunday, June 3, 4:00 & 7:00 p.m.
We welcome back Vocal Spectrum, with amazing tenor Tim Waurick, lead Eric Dalbey, baritone Jonny Moroni, and bass Chris Hallem, for another double concert (this one on a Sunday). It was a thrill last season to experience at close range their musical acrobatics and beautiful arrangements of old and new favorites: Good Vibrations, Bring Him Home, It is Well With My Soul. Winners of the international barbershop quartet competition (2006) and collegiate quartet champions (2004), VS continues to be the premier attraction in the barbershop world. Both performances were done to a full house last year, so make your reservations early.
Bios and musical selections at www.vocalspectrum.com
To Make Reservations
Directions
New York Polyphony
Saturday, June 9, 4:00 p.m.
This New York-based ensemble of four male voices (Geoffrey Williams, Steven Wilson, Christopher Herbert, Craig Phillips), almost overnight, has become one of the most sought after in their field of classical ensembles of a new generation. Their interpretations of the Early music repertoire are so fresh and lively that it is hard to distinguish the early from the modern compositions. The precision and purity of their blend, tuning, and ensemble singing is unequaled. The program this year will include an unusual selection of madrigals from Italy, France, and England, as well as a newly commissioned work, Missa Charles Darwin by Smith College composer Gregory Brown, which melds the musical architecture of the traditional Catholic Mass with the fundamentally secular texts of Darwin. (The composer will be in attendance at the concert.) See “Programs” for the full program.
Learn more at www.newyorkpolyphony.com
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2011 SUMMER SCHEDULE
Tapestry
Saturday, June 11, 4:00 p.m.
Tapestry is a Boston-based ensemble of four women’s voices and percussionist, whose trademark is combining medieval repertory and contemporary compositions in bold conceptual programming. True to form, the program they will do with us, The Spirit Takes Flight, is a creative mix of old and new, framed by two folk tales that explore universal ideas of spirituality”a medieval Portuguese tale of the miracles of St. Isabel, and a tale of compassion set in modern day Tibet. Over fifteen years, Tapestry has performed in the major music festivals in North America and Europe. To get a taste of their beautiful harmonies and six unique recordings, visit www.tapestryboston05.org
To Make Reservations
Directions
Parthenia, with tenor Ryland Angel
Saturday, June 25, 4:00 p.m.
Parthenia is a New York-based quartet of four viols performing with tenor vocalist Ryland Angel and lutenist Daniel Swenberg. This unique ensemble, brought together for our concert, will do A Renaissance Songbook,”an intimate collection of early European art songs that leads you through the private chambers of Renaissance life and love. Parthenia has collaborated with the world’s foremost early music vocalists and ensembles, and our concert is no exception. Tenor/countertenor Ryland Angel has performed a wide variety of musical styles in major venues around the world. The concert program will include Purcell’s beautiful Evening Hymn for voice and viols, and the Scottish hymn Our Father God Celestial(The Lord’s Prayer). For bios and recent CDs go to www.parthenia.org .
To Make Reservations
Directions
New York Polyphony
Saturday, July 9, 4:00 p.m.
This New York-based ensemble of four male voices will make a return visit for what is sure to be another mesmerizing concert. Under the skilled leadership of Geoffrey Williams, this group delivers a dynamic performance of sacred and secular music in a wide range of styles from Renaissance to contemporary. As we discovered last season, the purity and precision of their sound can transport the listener into another realm. The program this year will be based upon the Song of Songs. Don’t miss this group, as they are fast becoming one of the finest classical ensembles of a new generation. Learn more at www.newyorkpolyphony.com .
To Make Reservations
Directions
Vocal Spectrum
Saturday, July 16, 4:30 & 7:00 p.m.
We are doing BARBERSHOP again! this year with another international champion quartet”Vocal Spectrum with the amazing tenor Tim Waurick, lead Eric Dalbey, baritone Jonny Moroni, and bass Chris Hallem doing old and new songs including Good Vibrations, Bring Him Home, This Ole House, On the Street Where You Live, and some gospel songs you haven’t heard them do. Last summer’s concert by Crossroads convinced any who may have had doubts that barbershop is a serious, sophisticated style of music. And Vocal Spectrum is the premier attraction in the barbershop circuit, having won the international barbershop quartet competition in 2006, and the collegiate quartet contest in 2004.
Because of the popularity of the group, we are offering two concerts this year, at 4:30 & 7:00 p.m. Make your reservations early; there is limited seating (70 seats), and once our concert room is full, it is full. Bios and musical selections at www.vocalspectrum.com .
For this concert only, we invite you to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy down by our beautiful lake anytime after 1:00 p.m. (before or after the concert you attend).
To Make Reservations
Directions
Chiara Sting Quartet
Sunday, July 31, 5:00 p.m.
TAKE NOTE! this is the only concert scheduled on Sunday, (at 5:00 p.m.)!
Now in their tenth season, these four young instrumentalists”currently Artists-in-residence at Harvard University and University of Nebraska-Lincoln”have established themselves as among America’s most respected ensembles, lauded for their highly virtuosic, edge-of-the-seat playing (The Boston Globe). The Chiara Quartet”Rebecca Fischer violin, Julie Yoon violin, Jonah Sirota viola, and Gregory Beaver cello”is coming back to our series after a stirring concert last summer that left all of us overwhelmed by their vibrant interpretations of the classical repertoire and modern compositions, some written especially for them. And this summer we will have another creative program with fresh works by new composers. Discover more at www.chiaraquartet.net .
To Make Reservations
Directions
Saturday, May 15, 3:00 p.m. CROSSROADS BARBERSHOP QUARTET
Saturday, July 10, 4:00 p.m. TENET Vocal Ensemble
Sunday, July 18, 5:00 p.m.CHIARA STRING QUARTET
Saturday, August 21, 4:00 p.m. NEW YORK POLYPHONY
Saturday, August 28, 4:00 p.m. CHRISTOPHER LEE (violin) ELISABETH TURCHI(soprano), REBECCA BUTLER (piano)
Sunday, December 26, 3:00 p.m. SINGING BOYS OF PENNSYLVANIA
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2010 SUMMER SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 15, 3:00 p.m.
CROSSROADS BARBERSHOP QUARTET
Crossroads is the current (2009) international champions of barbershop singing, having won the coveted gold medal at last year’s competition in Anaheim. Audiences are mesmerized by their versatility, precision harmonies, sweet leads, effortlessly held chords, and gorgeous arrangements. You will thrill to their rendition of Lucky Old Sun. This is an opportunity to experience the best that this distinctively American style of music has to offer. Find out more about Crossroads at http://www.crossroadsquartet.com
Saturday, July 10, 4:00 p.m.
TENET
This New York-based a cappella group of six singers (for our concert)–each of them a soloist in his/her own right–has given a brilliant performance in the past two years in our series, and will do so again with their mix of Renaissance works, madrigals, a Bach motet, folk songs, and spirituals. Jolle Greenleaf, artistic director and leader of the group, has established herself as a specialist in Renaissance and Baroque music. TENET’s performance of Claudio Monteverdi’s collection of sacred music (Moral and Spiritual Forest) last February in New York City was one of the most memorable musical experiences I have ever had. Find out more about Tenet at http://www.tenetnyc.com
Sunday, July 18, 5:00 p.m.
CHIARA STRING QUARTET
These four young instrumentalists (Rebecca Fischer, Julie Yoon, violin, Jonah Sirota, viola, Gregory Beaver, cello) are currently Artists-in-residence at Harvard University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They have played in major venues and festivals in Europe and America and have won more than their share of prestigious awards and prizes. My eyes were opened to the beauty of the Beethoven string quartets when I heard the group perform them this past year. The quartet’s first violinist, Rebecca Fischer, speaks of the “transformative power” of that music in her own experience. An exquisite togetherness in their playing. See the full PROGRAM for the July 18 concert on this web site and discover more about the quartet at http://www.chiaraquartet.net
Saturday, August 21, 4:00 p.m.
New York Polyphony
This four-voice male vocal ensemble has already gained a reputation as one of the finest classical ensembles of a new generation. They deliver a dynamic performance of sacred and secular music in a wide range of styles from simple plainchant to dance-like Renaissance to the rich chromatics of contemporary works. The purity of their sound will transport you into higher realms, as it did for me. View bios and hear selections at http://www.newyorkpolyphony.com
Saturday, August 28, 4:00 p.m.
Christopher Lee (violin), Elisabeth Turchi (soprano), Rebecca Butler (piano)
This talented trio, assembled especially for our concerts, return to do another rich and varied program of classical and popular selections from Bach to Gershwin to musical and movie classics. Simply put, they won our hearts last summer.
Christopher Lee has played hundreds of solo concerts (with such luminaries as Stokowski, Bernstein, Foss, and Fiedler). One reviewer said: “He draws the listener into the world of each composer and distills a kind of musical essence.” Elisabeth Turchi is a young artist to watch, who has charmed audiences at home and abroad with her stage presence and agile vocal style. For more details, go to http://merynda.com/ChrisLeebio.html, http://www.elisabethturchi.com
Sunday, December 26, 3:00 p.m.
The Singing Boys of Pennsylvania
Britten’s “Ceremony of Carols,” & Sacred Christmas Music and Carols
Director: Dr. K. Bernard Schade