By Roy Ziegler
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Hai-Ye Ni[/column]
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Denise Djokic[/column]
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Michelle Djokic[/column]
Question: What do three vintage cellos played by three world-class cellists sound like? Answer: Anything they want to!
For the past nine seasons Concordia Chamber Players’audiences have marveled at the sheer talent of Concordia ’s founder, cellist, Michelle Djokic. But the prospect of hearing three Djokic family cellists, each with remarkable careers, was so intriguing that it brought out an overflow crowd to the Nakashima studio on Sunday afternoon in New Hope.
As the audience arrived for the tenth anniversary benefit concert they quickly learned that while Denise Djokic, Michelle’s Juno-award winning niece, was tuning up for the concert; brother, Pierre Djokic, assistant principal cellist for the Montreal Symphony, had returned to his home in Canada to tend to an emergency.
But serendipity prevailed. The audience sighed when it was announced that the new principal cellist for the Philadelphia Orchestra, Hai-Ye Ni, had come to the rescue. Responding to Michelle Djokic’s frantic, last-minute plea, the internationally acclaimed cellist dashed off to New Hope from her home in Philadelphia to complete the cello trio in the grandest fashion imaginable.
As the cellos opened with George Frederic Handel’s Grave and Fugue from his Concerto Grosso in D minor, it was apparent that it was going to be a musical afternoon to savor for a long time to come. Following a deeply contemplative Francois Couperin “Pieces at a Concert”, Bach’s Sonata #1 flowed from the cellos like the bubbling brook described by Djokic in her introduction. These cellos from three different centuries sounded at times like pianos, drums, violins and even a harpsichord.
And if the audience was not yet in a celebratory state of mind, “Rags” arranged by Thomas Mifune sent them stepping lightly to the champagne reception that followed.
The Concordia Chamber Players regular season begins on Sunday, November 19 at 3:00 PM at the Stephen Buck Theater in the New Hope-Solebury High School campus on 180 West Bridge Street in New Hope. Works by Mozart, Martinu and Bliss will be performed. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling 215-297-5972. or online at www.Concordiaplayers.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THIS NEWS RELEASE PLEASE CONTACT ROY ZIEGLER AT 215-862-0883 OR ROYZIEGLER@AOL.COM.