The Friends of Music will resume their 2021-2022 concert season with two performances of an all-Mozart concert by the Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra. Titled “Winds for Wolfgang,” the concert will feature famous selections from Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro” and “Magic Flute,” and the entirety of his Serenade No. 10 (“Gran Partita”). The Orchestra’s music director, Jed Gaylin, will conduct.
This is the first time the Friends have offered an afternoon matinee concert. Friends president Judy Miller Jones said this is partly to allow greater social distancing among audience members while concerns over COVID-19 continue, and partly because a good number of concertgoers have indicated a preference for afternoon performances. She said matinees will also be offered for the next two Friends’ concerts this season, and if this format proves to be as popular as expected, it will become a regular feature of future seasons.
The Friends of Music is a non-profit organization founded in 1999 to support and promote musical excellence. The Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra was established by the Friends in 2007 and held its first concert in the fall of 2008. Gaylin has been music director since 2012. He also serves as music director of Baltimore’s Hopkins Symphony Orchestra and the Bay Atlantic Symphony in New Jersey, and he is the Principal Guest Conductor of the Cape May NJ Music Festival.
Two additional concerts are planned this season. The Vivaldi Project will perform on April 3 & 5, featuring innovative programs of Baroque and Classical string repertoire. The Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra will return on May 21 & 22 with guest cellist and Sphinx Competition winner Christine Lamprea. More information about the Friends, the Orchestra, and the concert season is available online at FriendsWV.org.
Event details: March 19 (Sat), 7:30 pm, March 20 (Sun), 3:00 pm. Both performances at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Shepherdstown (208 W German St). Admission is $35 per person (free for Friends of Music members). Ticket purchase online (credit card) at FriendsWV.org or by mail (check only) to FOM, PO Box 220, Shepherdstown, WV 25443. Tickets will be available at the door if space is available (seating will be limited by social distancing requirements).
By Staff Contributor