Friends of Music Concerts’ spring season highlights diverse artists

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Susan R. Harris, President

February 5, 2024 (914) 329-7318

Email: susanrharris1@icloud.com

Friends of Music Concerts’ spring season

highlights new and established soloists and quartet

Chamber music series’ 70th anniversary

looks to the diverse future of classical music

SLEEPY HOLLOW, NY – Friends of Music Concerts, which is celebrating its 70th season in 2023-24, is presenting an exciting, diverse lineup of solo and ensemble artists for Westchester County audiences in spring 2024.

“In the second half of our 70th anniversary season, we will be welcoming dynamic, award-winning artists. Some are just starting their careers and we are eagerly looking forward to hearing these fresh musical voices. Others are established artists who are highly praised for their adventurous programming and virtuosic interpretations,” said FOMC President Susan Harris.

In addition, Harris said, “Our affordable, family-friendly, Sunday afternoon concerts are accessible for young and older audience members, right here in Westchester County. You would have to travel into Manhattan or abroad to see these top-level players.” Performances are scheduled to take place at Sleepy Hollow High School auditorium, 210 North Broadway, Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., with ample free parking and handicapped access.

The spring season begins on Sunday, March 10, 3 p.m., with pianist and soprano Chelsea Guo and bass-baritone Joseph Parrish. Both are winners of the 2022 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions in New York City and recipients of FOMC’s Performance Award. Their charming program will range from German art songs to Broadway -- Rachmaninoff to Rodgers and Hammerstein. Guo and Parrish appear by arrangement with Young Concert Artists. This concert is generously sponsored, in part, by the Raymond Han and Paul Kellogg Foundation.

Pianist Michelle Cann, described as “a compelling, sparkling virtuoso” by Boston Music Intelligencer, arrives on Sunday, April 14, 3 p.m. [Note that this is a change from the previously-announced date.] Her program includes works by African-American composers William Grant Still and Joel Thompson and ballades by Chopin and American composer Nathan Gulla. Her recording of Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement with the New York Youth Symphony won a 2023 Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance. Cann appears by arrangement with the Curtis Institute of Music.

The future of chamber music is in good hands with the Isidore String Quartet, formed in 2019 and featuring a diverse lineup of musicians. They perform on Sunday, April 28, 3 p.m. “The gloriously vital tradition of the string quartet is our playground to impact the world we live in and inspire

others,” is their mission statement. Recipients of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, they won the 14th Banff International String Competition in 2022. Their program will include works by Bach, Wijeratne and Mendelssohn. The Isidore String Quartet appears by arrangement with David Rowe Artists. This concert is generously sponsored, in part, by White and Williams, LLP.

Friends of Music Concerts’ fall 2023 season featured the Manhattan Chamber Players, Trio Zimbalist, the Escher String Quartet with guitarist Jason Vieux, and Le Consort.

Friends of Music history

Founded in 1954, Friends of Music’s first concert featured the young Juilliard String Quartet. Since then, FOMC has brought to Westchester nearly every chamber music group of world renown, soloists and developing artists. FOMC’s mission has always maintained a special focus on keeping musical experiences affordable and supporting the future of chamber music.

Its Partnership In Education Program – which will take place throughout the spring season -- sponsors one-day residencies of young professional musicians at several Westchester County schools throughout the concert season.

Its new Scholarship Program, begun in 2021, currently works with two of Westchester County’s top music schools – Hoff-Barthelson and Music Conservatory of Westchester -- to provide scholarships to students from underserved communities.

Subscriptions and tickets

For the spring season, Friends of Music Concerts patrons may buy a mini-subscription of three tickets for $90 (a $15 savings over the single-ticket price) and use them in any combination at any concert. Single tickets are $35 for adults, $15 for college students with ID and free for those aged 18 and under. Go to www.friendsofmusicconcerts.org.

Friends of Music Concerts, Inc. | P.O. Box 675 | Millwood, NY 10546

Tel (914) 861-5080 | www.friendsofmusicconcerts.org