St. John's Dedicating New Piano With a Concert

On Sunday, May 19, St. John's Episcopal Church will present a piano dedication concert featuring acclaimed pianists Maria and Markus Centola and soprano Lisa Williamson.  

The event is scheduled to begin at at 4 p.m. The Church is in Vernon but has members fro  Tolland. 

The concert-quality baby grand piano being dedicated was recently acquired through the contributions of several anonymous patrons of the arts, church officials said. 

Pianist Maria Centola often appears in international festivals and concerts performing solo, ensemble, classical, and latin music throughout Russia, the U.S., Italy, Spain and the Canary Islands. She studied piano performance at the Gnessin’s Academy of Music in Moscow, and completed her graduate studies at the Hartt School of Music under the guidance of maestro Luiz de Moura Castro and Oksana Yablonskaya at the Juilliard School of Music.

Pianist and accordionist Markus Centola performs a wide range of repertoire from classical to modern, from folk to jazz, and has traveled to share his love of music throughout the U.S., Russia, Italy, and China. He has received his B.M. and M.M. from the Hartt School of Music in music theory with an emphasis in piano. In addition to performing, Markus is a dedicated instructor and director of music at St. John's Episcopal.

Lisa Williamson earned a Master of Music in voice at the Yale School of Music, Performer's Certificate from the University of Connecticut and a Bachelor of Music from the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University. She has been a young artist at The Glimmerglass Festival, Chautauqua Opera, and Connecticut Opera.

The program will include works by Bellini, Berlin, Liszt, Mozart and more.
Refreshments will follow the performance.

Free-will donations will be gratefully accepted at the door: $15 General, $10 Seniors, $5 Students.

St. John's Episcopal Church is located at 523 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon. For more information, call 860-872-0517.