New Britain Symphony Presents Jazz, Steel Drums, and American Pops in February

This month, the New Britain Symphony presents three programs that offer a range of musical styles including jazz and steel drums, as well as a special American Pops concert that features themes from Harry Potter, Star Wars, and West Side Story.
 
On Sunday, February 3, at 3:00 p.m., the symphony celebrates Valentine’s Day early with a performance by the Samuel Parker Jazz Quartet at Mooreland Hill School. Jazz lovers will enjoy this intimate concert of jazz and blues selections. Complimentary refreshments (including wine, punch and cookies) will be served. There is no admission fee, but free will offerings will be accepted to benefit the NBSO and the Mooreland Hill School Scholarship Fund. The school is located at 166 Lincoln Street in Kensington.
 
On Thursday, February 21, at 6:30 p.m., the popular NBSO Steel Drum Ensemble presents a free library program at Plainville Public Library. This family event includes an instrument “petting zoo” that gives young people a chance to touch and learn about the instruments. The concert is made possible through support from the Plainville Community Fund at the Main Street Community Foundation. The library is located at 56 East Main Street in Plainville.
 
On Sunday, February 24, at 3:00 p.m., the NBSO returns to CCSU’s Welte Hall with an American Pops Festival, an exciting mainstage concert presented under the baton of young, energetic conductor Julian Pellicano of Boston. The program will feature some familiar movie themes including Harry Potter and Star Wars, as well as classic Broadway tunes from such shows as Bernstein’s West Side Story. Acclaimed pianist William Braun of New Haven also will be featured as soloist in Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue.’ The audience will be engaged and entertained by Pellicano, who is known making classical music fun and accessible for families. Tickets are available at the door: $15 adults; students and children 18 and under are free. 
 
“February brings some of our most popular and exciting programming of the year,” says NBSO President Nancy Judd. “Our Valentine’s event always draws a big audience; it is a relaxing afternoon of music and refreshments in a nice setting, and it provides a double header for jazz enthusiasts on Super Bowl Sunday. The Steel Drum Ensemble also is a hit wherever it performs, energizing young and old with its Caribbean rhythms. And we are thrilled to have the full orchestra performing under Maestro Pellicano in a fun and entertaining Pops program that will appeal to people of all ages.”
 
Three other performances are planned for later this season: one by the NBSO Piazzola (Tango) Quartet at the New Britain Museum of American Art on March 10; the final Magnum Opus II concert, presented in collaboration with the Connecticut Virtuosi, on April 14, in CCSU’s Welte Hall; and a reprise of the Steel Drum Ensemble at Berlin Peck Memorial Library on April 17. The Magnum Opus concert has an American theme and will include Charles Ives’ Three Places in New England and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, “From the New World.”
 
For more information about the NBSO or specific upcoming events, call the Symphony office at (860) 826-6344, or visit the NBSO website at www.newbritainsymphony.org.