The St. Mary’s College of Maryland River Concert Series is right around the corner! The 12th year of the weekly world-class music celebration begins Friday, June 18, and continues every Friday through July 30. Enjoy outstanding music and delicious food from local vendors. Gates open at 5 p.m. and concerts start at 7 p.m. Renowned guest artists join music director Jeffrey Silberschlag and the Chesapeake Orchestra, with a fireworks display over the St. Mary’s River July 2. These outdoor concerts are free and open to the public, and picnic baskets are welcome.
For more information, visit the River Concert Series Web site at www.riverconcertseries.com or call (240) 895-3038.
The seven-week River Concert Series festival is expected to draw about 40,000 fans. The event has entertained more than 400,000 during its 11-year history. Broadway star and Tony Award-nominated singer Kate Baldwin will join our stage for the season finale on July 30 just after a performance of Beethoven’s monumental Fifth Symphony. For the night of June 18, accomplished jazz and classical pianist Jeffrey Chappell joins Silberschlag and the Chesapeake Orchestra for Samuel Barber’s Piano Concerto; the program also features Robert Schumann’s First Symphony “Spring” in celebration of both composers’ birthdays. The night of June 25 will feature Giuseppe Nova, internationally acclaimed flutist from Italy and faculty member in the college’s program in Alba, as well as renowned guitarist and SMCM faculty member Orlando Roman. Fireworks will fill the sky over the St. Mary’s River July 2 as both the college’s own Brian Ganz and the Sax Quartet from the “President’s Own Marine Band” perform with the Chesapeake Orchestra. The concert features the works of John Williams, Gershwin, and the Sousa Marches.
Larry Vote, St. Mary’s College provost and a Helen Hayes Award winner, will guest conduct the Chesapeake Orchestra July 9 in an evening of opera aria favorites featuring Michelle Johnson, soprano; Olivia Vote, mezzo soprano; and Brian Major, baritone. The July 16 concert will welcome the first annual Young Artist Concerto Competition winners. The orchestra will also perform the world premiere of William Kleinssaser’s “Many Rivers” and Prokofiev’s “Symphony No. 5.” St. Mary’s faculty artist and internationally renowned violinist José Cueto will perform Lalo’s “Symphony espagnole.” The evening will also feature a celebration of Mahler’s 150th birthday anniversary with a performance of his powerful seventh symphony.
Below is the 2010 River Concert schedule:
June 18—Birthday Boys:
Silberschlag and the Chesapeake Orchestra celebrate the birthdays of Samuel Barber and Robert Schumann, featuring classical and jazz pianist Jeffrey Chappell. Chappell has performed with such orchestras as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Washington Symphony Orchestra, and the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, among many others.
June 25—Trills and Thrills:
Internationally acclaimed flutist Giuseppe Nova, guitarist Orlando Roman, and harpist Floreleda Sacchi will join Silberschlag and the Chesapeake Orchestra for an evening of music, including Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella Suite” and Richard Strauss’ “Bourgeois Gentilhomme Suite.” Italian-born Nova is a faculty member in the college’s Alba, Italy, study abroad program. Roman is a guitar instructor at SMCM and has participated in numerous performances throughout the United States, Mexico, Spain, Germany, Colombia, Cuba, and Eastern Europe.