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ChamberFest 2018: September 14-15, 2018

The 2018-2019 season of Concordia Chamber Players is rich in its offerings. We launch the season with ChamberFest with “Whirled Music”. The first half of this program offers music inspired by deep spirituality of Judaism in an arrangement of Kol Nidre for string quartet by John Zorn, the energy and the joy of African music in “White Man Sleeps” by Kevin Volans for string quartet and the deeply meditative harmonic journey of “Fratres” for string quartet by Arvo Part. The “Five World Dances” by Sergio Assad for guitar and string quartet will take you on a musical exploration of Middle eastern, Irish, African, Latin American, and Baltic music. Performing on guitar will be recent Curtis graduate and first prize winner of the Andres Segovia International Guitar Competition, Hao Yang. You will also be introduced to the 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, violinist Alexi Kenney. Also new to our audience is violist Scott Lee, sought after soloist and chamber musician. Returning to Concordia is the gifted violinist, Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu.

September 14th: 2pm

FREE Open Rehearsal at New Hope Public Library

September 15th: 10:30am

Open Rehearsal at The Barn at Glen Oaks Farm

September 15th: 7pm

Concert at The Barn at Glen Oaks Farm
(includes reception at intermission)

Kol Nidre for string quartet — John Zorn

White Man Sleeps for string quartet — Kevin Volans

Fratres for string quartet — Arvo Pärt

Five World Dances for guitar and string quartet — Sergio Assad

Alexi Kenney, Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu – violins, Siwoo Kim – viola, Michelle Djokic – cello, Hao Yang – guitar

Location:
The Barn at Glen Oaks Farm – 6871 Upper York Road Solebury, PA 18963

Subscription Concert I: November 11, 2018

Our first subscription concert of the season will be a largely British lineup of music and several new and exciting artists for you to experience. Opening the program will be the Phantasy Quartet by Benjamin Britten for oboe and string quartet, a work that brilliantly uses the texture of the oboe and strings. Following this is a string quartet written by the British composer Jonathan Dove called “Out of Time.” Written at a time when minimalism had not yet reached its popularity of today, it is original and profound in its simplicity and richness of colors. I have also chosen to share with you the Piacevole movement from the String Quartet in E minor, Opus 83 by Sir Edward Elgar for its ecstatic beauty. Rounding off this program will be the clever and delightful Quartet by Jean Françaix. While not English at all, it does feature an English Horn along with string trio!

Phantasy Quartet for oboe and string trio, Opus 2 — Benjamin Britten

Out of Time for string quartet — Jonathan Dove

Piacevole, in E minor, Opus 83 — Sir Edward Elgar

Quartet for English horn and string trio — Jean Françaix

Yoojin Jang, Emily Daggett Smith – violins, Richard O’Neill – viola, Michelle Djokic – cello, Kemp Jernigan – oboe/English horn

We also invite you to a free Open Rehearsal

Saturday, November 10, 4:00-5:30 pm

Rojo’s Roastery, Lambertville NJ

2019 Gala at Cradle Valley Farm

January 11, 2019, 7pm

Project Fusion

The eclectic and dazzling saxophone quartet, Project Fusion, has garnered countless top prizes in world wide competition.

We will present the award-winning “Project Fusion,” hailed as “a joy to watch, sparkling as much as the instruments in their hands”. The only thing better than the saxophone is four saxophones! Please join us as we gather in the Music Barn of Cradle Valley Farm over great music, great food, and wonderful friends.

Dannel Espinoza, soprano, Matt Amedio, alto, Michael Sawzin, tenor, Matthew Evans, baritone

Subscription Concert II: February 17, 2019

featuring all women composers

For our second subscription concert we proudly present a fantastic program of compositions spanning three centuries, all written by women. We open this program with the devilishly difficult and dynamic Piano Quintet by Ellen Zwilich written in 2010 with the same instrumentation and somewhat inspired in structure by the famous Trout Quintet by Schubert. Next you will hear the romantic and expansive Piano Trio by Amy Beach written 1938. Closing this program will be the Piano Quintet no. 1 by Louise Farrenc composed in 1839. I have to admit to being unfamiliar with the works of Farrenc until one of our audience members suggested we program one of her compositions. A celebrated pianist, Farrenc greatly enriched our repertoire with this virtuosic, original remarkable work full of romantic sweep.

Piano Quintet — Ellen Taaffe Zwilich

Trio in A minor, Opus 150 — Amy Beach

Piano Quintet No. 1, Opus 30 — Louise Farrenc

John Novacek – piano, Miho Saeguso – violin, Ayane Kozasa – viola, Michelle Djokic – cello, Anthony Manzo – bass

We also invite you to a free Open Rehearsal

Selections from our February 17th concert will be presented at our open rehearsal.

Saturday, February 16 from 4 – 6 pm

Lambertville Hall
57 Bridge Street • Lambertville, NJ 08530

Subscription Concert III: April 28, 2019

Our final subscription concert is an incredible discovery of exciting and thrilling music. We will be featuring two works by composer Andy Akiho, described by the NY Times as “mold breaking,” “dramatic,” “vital.” To open the program we present “21” for cello and marimba. This composition, inspired by the 21st measure of the Fugue movement of Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 1, calls for the cellist to also play the kick drum and trigger a looping pedal joined by the marimba player who uses many techniques in addition to playing the marimba. You will then hear the String Quartet No. 2 of Sergei Prokofiev based on Kabardinian themes. I chose this work to compliment the rhythmic vitality of the Akiho compositions while immersing you in the sounds of strings only. We all come together then for a performance of another Akiho composition, “LIgNEouS” meaning “made, consisting of or resembling wood” for marimba and string quartet.

“21” for cello and marimba — Andy Akiho

String Quartet No. 2 “Kabardinian” — Sergei Prokofiev

LIgNEouS for marimba and string quartet — Andy Akiho

Ian Rosenbaum – marimba, Kristin Lee, Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu – violins, Dimitri Murrath – viola, Michelle Djokic – cello

We also invite you to a free Open Rehearsal

“Rhythmic Integrity”

Selections from our April 28 concert, works by Andy Akiho and Sergei Prokofiev, will be presented at our open rehearsal.

Saturday, April 27 at 5:00 pm

Princeton Public Library, 65 Witherspoon Street, Princeton NJ

The Princeton Festival: Friday June 7, 7:30 pm

CONTRASTING DUOS, A POWERFUL TRIO

Beethoven’s charming set of variations for cello and piano, a relatively early work (1801), is based on a duet from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute). The duet, sung in the opera by Pamina and Papageno, is a paean to love between husband and wife. Beethoven’s music brings out the sweetness of that sentiment, with the piano leading the way.

Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály’s Duo for violin and cello was composed in 1914, but not performed until 1924. Along with Ravel’s Sonata of 1920-22, it is a landmark of the small repertoire for this unusual but beautiful combination of instruments. Folkloric elements give the first movement a rhapsodic feeling, while the second movement is a passionate Adagio. The work concludes with a sparkling Presto.

The first movement of Felix Mendelssohn’s fiery and moving Piano Trio, Op. 66 was written in 1845, two years before his untimely death. It has tension and passion that may surprise those who think they know this composer’s musical personality. There are glorious melodies, of course, along with echoes of his brilliant Midsummer Night’s Dream, written nearly 20 years earlier. Yet the piece also looks forward to the architectural power of Brahms.

Seven Variations on ‘Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen’ Wo0 46 – Beethoven

Duo for violin and cello, Op.7 – Kodály

Piano Trio in C minor, No.2, Op.66 – Mendelssohn

Alexi Kenney – violin, Michael Brown – piano, Michelle Djokic – cello

Miller Chapel, 64 Mercer Street, Princeton, NJ 08540

Concordia Chamber Players is supported in part by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.