Sherman Chamber Ensemble Summertime Sounds
Kicks Off July 9 and 10
Since 1982, the Sherman Chamber Ensemble, under the artistic direction of Eliot Bailen, has inspired audiences with creative programming and brilliant performances.
On Friday, July 9 and Saturday, July 10 its Signature Summer Concert Series kicks off as the Ensemble and friends celebrate with From Chamber to Mini-Orchestra.
The 6 p.m. Friday evening concert will take place at the Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens, 1 Green Hill Rd, Washington Depot. On Saturday the Ensemble will perform at 6 p.m. at the Sherman Town Center (IGA Plaza) Routes 37 and 39, Sherman. Both are outdoor venues.
The performance begins with Samuel Barber’s Summer Music for Wind Quintet – a small woodwind ensemble – and grows to a nonet for Louis Spohr’s Nonet in F Major, Op. 31 for strings and winds, where each instrument is highlighted for its individual character.
Musicians include Artistic Director Eliot Bailen (cello), Susan Rotholz (flute), Jo-Ann Sternberg (clarinet), Keisuke Ikuma (oboe), Patrick Milando (horn), Alex Davis (bassoon), Jill Levy (violin), Sarah Adams (viola), and Peter Weitzner (bass).
Keisuke Ikuma is a highly sought-after oboe and English horn player in the New York metropolitan area. He performs regularly with the New York Philharmonic, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and numerous Broadway shows such as The King and I, Wicked, and Phantom of the Opera. He is currently a member of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and the Stamford Symphony.
Mr. Ikuma made his Broadway conducting debut in the 2015 Tony Award-winning production The King and I at Lincoln Center Theater. He is on the Woodwind Faculty at Bard College Conservatory of Music
Jill Levy is now in her 25th season as Artistic Director and violinist of the Saratoga Chamber Players, bringing together musicians from Europe, Canada, and the U.S. since 1994. She has been a member of the Sherman Chamber Ensemble since 1993.
Ms. Levy currently serves as concertmaster of the Albany Symphony Orchestra, having also joined them in 1993. The New York Times review of the ASO Carnegie Hall appearance in May 2011 praised the “graceful solo from the concertmaster, Jill Levy.”
Ms. Levy is also featured on the Saratoga Chamber Players CDs of Live Performances. She has performed at the Blossom, Sebago-Long Lake Festivals, with the Pittsburgh Chamber Soloists, the Williams Chamber Players (Williams College), and North Country Chamber Players. She is a former member of the Pittsburgh Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy.
Strings will shine at “Czech It Out” as the Ensemble dives into one of Dvorak’s most beloved string quartets. In addition to this Czech masterpiece, violinist Doori Na will perform the ultra virtuosic Valor by Paul Frucht, artistic director of the Charles Ives Music Festival (CIMF) at the Western Connecticut Youth Orchestra.
Concerts are Friday, August 13, 6 pm at the Kent Barns, under the tree, Rts. 341 and 7, Kent, CT, and Saturday, August 14, 6 pm at the Sherman Town Center (IGA Plaza), Rts. 37 and 39, Sherman, CT. Susan Rotholz (flute), Jill Levy (violin), Doori Na (violin), Monica David (viola) and Eliot Bailen (cello) will perform. Rain Date is Sunday, August 15, 3 pm.
The season draws to a close in dramatic style, showcasing both old school and contemporary gems, as the Ensemble holds its first indoor concerts. Friday, September 3, 7 p.m. at St. Andrews Church, 1 No. Main Street, Kent, CT and Saturday, September 4, 7 p.m. at Christ Church on Quaker Hill, 17 Church Road, Pawling, NY. The program includes Carlos Simon’s Piano Trio,
Andrew Norman’s Light Screen Flute Quartet, and Johannes Brahms’s Piano Quintet in F Minor.
The performances feature Margaret Kampmeier (piano) along with Susan Rotholz (flute), Paul Woodiel (violin), Michael Roth (violin), Sarah Adams (viola), and Eliot Bailen (cello).
General Admission to the concerts is $25. Bring your own chairs for concerts at outdoor venues. (Chairs will be provided on July 9 at the Judy Black Memorial Park and Gardens.) Feel free to picnic. Local restaurants and purveyors will be glad to provide you with take-out. We ask that those who are not yet vaccinated wear masks. Children 15 and under receive free admission when accompanied by an adult purchasing a regular admission ticket.
Serfies Subscriptions and tickets may be purchased at www.SCEmusic.org or by calling 860-355-5930. Tickets may also be purchased at the door subject to availability.
Locations and programs are subject to change in accordance with Covid guidelines. Please check www.SCEmusic.org prior to concert dates.
The Sherman Chamber Ensemble was founded in 1982 to bring world-class live classical music performance to Western Connecticut and nearby New York State. Its summer chamber music series has been described in The New York Times as “about as close as it gets to the Platonic ideal of a chamber music concert.” Additional events coming later this year include Labor Day weekend bluegrass jamborees; the annual “Live at the Lake” coffeehouse; and Thanksgiving weekend classical-jazz matinee performances.
