Curiosity Concerts Ready to Open 2nd Season in Greenwich

The Greenwich Arts Council has announced the second season of Curiosity Concerts, a series of free classical music concerts for families. Designed for children ages 6 years and older, in its 2014-15 season Curiosity Concerts will present 10 free concerts at different venues in the Greenwich area.

All of the concerts will be presented by professional musicians, under one hour, free, interactive, and fun.

Curiosity Concerts is an innovative coalition effort. It brings together many organizations involved with music and dedicated to the enrichment of young children. In doing so, concert organizers say they hope to offer great entertainment to families while raising the visibility of and support for many arts organizations in Greenwich and the region.

Curiosity Concerts producer Shelly Cryer says, “We were thrilled by the community’s response to our first season. We knew there’d be interest, but we never expected one ‘sold out’ concert after another.” Cryer says, “Watching the faces in the audiences made me sure I wanted to continue the series – children and their parents alike looked so happy enjoying a special hour of quality music. We’re aiming to have our second season top our initial success.”

Curiosity Concerts opens on Saturday, Sept. 27, at 2 p.m., when the New York City-based Sonic Escape flute, violin, and cello trio presents “The Music Makers.” The 50-minute program – which debuted at Lincoln Center last December – weaves folk, classical, pop, Bluegrass, protest songs, and sea shanties into a tale of how North America’s music came to be. The concert takes place at Greenwich Library’s Cole Auditorium and has been underwritten by Whole Foods Market Greenwich. It’s free, but advance registration is required.

The remaining nine concerts will feature a range of musical styles and repertoire in different settings throughout town. “Curiosity Concerts is presenting exceptional music to our community, designed to inspire the adults as well as the children in the audience,” Cryer said. Curiosity Concerts will present choral music, a percussion ensemble, and jazz, as well as more traditional chamber music ensembles. Two of the concerts (on Dec. 20 and May 30) are collaborations with the Greenwich Library’s Ashforth Children’s Concert Series.

New this season, Curiosity Concerts will host one fund-raiser for adults. The Aizuri Quartet – currently String Quartet-in-Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia – will present an intimate one-hour concert for adults on Friday, Dec. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Greenwich Arts Council. Supporters will enjoy great music, champagne, and sushi. Tickets are $65 and available at www.CuriosityConcerts.org. Proceeds will help pay for the concerts, which Cryer says cost approximately $3,000 each to produce.

And there’s another way to support Curiosity Concerts — on Wednesday, Sept. 24, Whole Foods Greenwich, 90 E. Putnam Ave., will donate 5 percent of sales to the organization.

Curiosity Concerts are supported by donations from its audience members and other community friends, as well as the Aquarion Water Company, Ashforth Children’s Concert Series, CTC Foundation, Fairfield County Community Foundation, Richard and Mary Radcliffe, Joanne and Chris Stavrou, TD Ameritrade, Treetops Chamber Music Society, and Whole Foods Market Greenwich.

Concerts are free but space is limited at many venues. Advance registration is required.

The complete program schedule including details on concert venues, and reservations are available at www.curiosityconcerts.org.