Community Music School Faculty
The Laid Back Jazz Quartet
Music lovers are in for a treat with 4 fabulous concerts scheduled from Thursday through Sunday. On Thursday evening, November 7, maestro William Boughton will lead the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and the Yale Glee Club in a concert at Woolsey Hall titled Lyricism and Longing. The orchestra will perform works by English composers William Walton and Ralph Vaughn Williams, German composer Kurt Weill and American composers Charles Ives and Samuel Barber. Charles Ives, a Danbury, CT native holds the title of the Official Composer of the State of CT. The concert celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University. The Symphony’s performance of Walton’s Crown Imperial March and Symphony No.2 will be recorded live for a commercial CD to be released on Nimbus records. NHSO will also perform Samuel Barber’s aching Adagio for Strings and works by William Walton; the Yale Glee Club will join the Orchestra for selections from Charles Ives, and Concertmaster Ani Kavafian will take on Vaughan Williams’ soaring Lark Ascending.
Pre-concert activities are also scheduled including a pre-concert lecture from 6:30 -7pm with Jeffrey Douma, Director of Yale Glee Club at Sudler Hall; and a student showcase at 6:45pm in the Woolsey Hall Rotunda featuring the Music Haven Orchestra directed by Tina Lee Hadari. In addition to these events program notes for kids and program notes and audio clips for adults are available on the New Haven Symphony Orchestra website. Tickets for the concert are also available on the NHSO website.
This coming Friday, November 8, the Musical Art Society of Branford presents its annual scholarship fundraiser concert at 7:30pm in the First Congregational Church of Branford’s Pilgrim Hall. For more than 90 years MAS has been bringing quality musical performances to the public and providing music scholarships to a senior student at Branford High School. This Friday’s concert will feature the Laid Back Jazz Quartet with special guests and vocalist. The opening act will be the Walsh Intermediate School Jazz Band under the direction of Carol Titcomb. Tickets are $15/$10 for students.
The Laid Backs include Sal Caruso on guitar, Keith Coakley on keyboard, David Mix on bass, Rich Calitro and Luke Rodney on drums and Julie Bjornberg, vocalist. This group regularly performs at Old Saybrook's Paperback Cafe, playing a casually sophisticated jazz with vocals that brings listeners from all over the Northeast. This will be a lively concert in the church hall with room to dance. Branford's own David Mix is also known locally as an experienced luthier specializing in double bass repairs.
Musical Art Society is a non-profit cultural arts group founded in 1920, presenting several free concerts in the community each year and awarding an annual music scholarship. New members and sponsors are welcome. Information: musicalartsociety@snet.net or Barbara Shaw: (203) 481-2819.
On Saturday, November 9th Greater New Haven Community Chorus will perform a concert of American Music - from Billings to Broadway, rounds to Rock 'n' Roll and more, featuring a commissioned work by award-winning composer Joshua Hummel. This commissioned work entitled Beginnings is in celebration of the 50-year history of GNHCC and founding director Ronald Dean Konetchy. Joshua Hummel is a sought-after composer and recipient of the Leonard Bernstein Award and Frederick Fennel Prize. The chorus will perform under the direction of Noah Blocker-Glynn at 7:30pm at Hamden Middle School. Following the concert there will be a reception. Join members of GNHCC, the Artistic Team, distinguished guests and sponsors to celebrate this silver anniversary at a lovely wine and cheese event. Concert tickets are $21.00; concert with reception tickets are $31.00. Tickets may be purchased on-line here.
On Sunday, November 10, thirty years of music education and community will be celebrated when the Community Music School faculty takes to the stage for its annual concert at the Centerbrook Meeting House. This year’s performance, which is open to the public and free of charge, promises to be unlike any before it. More than 20 members of the esteemed group along with students will close the program with an ambitious musical piece commissioned by the school and composed by CMS Music Director Thomas Briggs.
According to Mr. Briggs, “The Community Music School has been a huge part of my life so this project is very special for me. I was given a blank score to musically reflect, dream, and explore. The challenge was to create music that was inclusive and summarized the history of the school yet was also interesting for the listener and our talented faculty musicians to play. I also had to find a balance writing for a large chamber ensemble with very limited rehearsal opportunities.”
The end result is “Music For A CMS Celebration”, a one movement, three-part composition that begins with an ethereal section called “Reflection” featuring a multitude of wind chimes to be sounded by CMS vocal instructors stationed throughout the hall. The second part titled “Dedication”, focuses on the history and foundation of the school, while the third and final section “Jubilation” appropriately ends the piece in a celebratory manner. The concert is scheduled for 4:00 pm and also includes performances by various faculty ensemble groups and a post-performance reception. At-will donations to Community Music School will gratefully be accepted. (CMS article reprinted from Valley News Now).
The Centerbrook Meeting House is located at 51 Main Street in the Centerbrook section of Essex. For more information on this or other Community Music School events, go to www.community-music-school.org or call 860.767.0026. The Community Music School is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the community through outstanding private and public music instruction and performances for all ages since 1983
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