Zhu Performs at Concerts on the Hill Sept. 20

Concerts on the Hill presents Beiliang Zhu this Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015, according to a press statement.

The winner of the 2012 Leipzig International Bach Competition will perform music for cello and viola da gamba by Johann Sebastian Bach and Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach at St John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, NH. The concert begins at 4:00 pm. There is a suggested at-the-door donation of $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. Children under 16 are welcomed and encouraged to attend at no charge.

This is a rare opportunity to hear an internationally-acclaimed performer play both cello and viola da gamba. The program will include works by Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as his 9th son Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, who was a very successful composer in his own right - though in a completely different style than his father. This program, which includes JS Bach’s Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor, JCF Bach’s Sonata for Cello in A major, and JS Bach’s Gamba Sonata in G minor, allows threads of continuity to be seen between father and son, despite dramatic differences in ethos. Margaret Harper will accompany Zhu on the Harpsichord.

In 2012, Zhu won the First Prize and the Audience Award at the 18th International Bach Competition and became the first person to receive this honor while playing a baroque instrument.The New Yorker writes, “Zhu added telling nuances to the repeating bass.....elegant and sensual, stylishly wild.” Zhu earned her Masters of Music in Historical Performance from the Julliard School and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Musical Arts in Violoncello and a Master of Arts in Ethnomusicology at the Eastman School of Music.

“Concerts on the Hill is thrilled to be hosting Beiliang Zhu, who won the Leipzig International Bach Competition in 2012,” noted Margaret Harper, Director of Music and Liturgy, St. John’s Episcopal Church. “In this not-to-be missed event, audience members will have the opportunity to hear this virtuoso performer play works of the Bach family for cello and the less common viola da gamba.”

Prior to this performance, Zhu will offer a master class to local area youth who have prepared cello pieces to play for her. The class will be offered on Saturday, September 12 from 4:00-5:30 P.M. at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 100 Chapel Street, Portsmouth, NH. Interested young musicians should send an email to music@stjohnsnh.org. The master class is free and open to the public.

The final concert in the series will take place on October 4 and will feature Dr. Robert Stibler on Trumpet. Dr. Stibler will also be offering a master class for trumpet players on Friday, October 2 from 4:00-5:30 P.M. For the complete 2015 Concerts on the Hill schedule, please visit stjohnnh.org/COTH.

St. John’s Episcopal Church is located at 100 Chapel Street in Portsmouth, NH. For more information about Concerts on the Hill or St. John’s Episcopal Church, please visit www.stjohnsnh.org/COTH.