Essex Winter Series (EWS) will present five unusually diverse and exciting concerts in 2014, ranging from Bach to red-hot jazz, and from solo guitar to full orchestra. Programmed by EWS artistic director Mihae Lee and newly-appointed Jazz Impresario Jeff Barnhart, these concerts offer world-class performing artists and a dazzling array of styles and genres.
The 36th season of Essex Winter Series is dedicated to Fenton Brown, co-founder, former artistic director, and trustee emeritus, who passed away in September. “Fenton changed our community through the joy of music,” says Ms. Lee. “We will never forget his incredible contribution to the cultural life of our community, and we will celebrate his legacy with five really wonderful concerts.”
All of the concerts are on Sunday afternoons at 3 p.m. in Deep River. Concerts take place at Valley Regional High School, with the exception of the March 2 jazz concert, which will be presented at John Winthrop Middle School.
Jan. 12: Mihae Lee/Randall Hodgkinson Duo. The piano four-hands duo of Mihae Lee and her renowned colleague Randall Hodgkinson will perform Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring on the 100th anniversary of this revolutionary work, along with two other ground-breaking masterpieces: Debussy’s La Mer and Gershwin’s most popular large-scale piece, Rhapsody in Blue. Sponsored by Essex Meadows
Feb. 9: Jason Vieaux, guitar. Hailed by Gramophone magazine as “among the elite of today’s classical guitarists,” the renowned American virtuoso will perform works from Bach to Pat Metheny, including music by 19th century masters such as Mauro Giuliani and Isaac Albéniz and modern classical and popular composers such as José Luis Merlín and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Sponsored by Essex Savings Bank
March 2: Stu Ingersoll Jazz Concert. “Celebrating Fats Waller: The Songs and Story of America’s Greatest Musical Entertainer” will feature many of the greatest songs by the legendary and influential pianist, whose best-known compositions include, “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” and “Honeysuckle Rose,” performed by the charismatic Jeff Barnhart and his Hot Rhythm. Co-Sponsored by The Clark Group and Tower Laboratories
March 30: Fenton Brown Emerging Artists Concert. 2014 Emerging Artist, hornist Leelanee Sterrett, will perform the Strauss Horn Concerto No. 2 with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, which returns to EWS under the direction of William Boughton. Also on the program are Richard Wagner’s moving Siegfried Idyll and Beethoven’s delightful Symphony No. 6 “Pastorale.” Co-sponsored by Guilford Savings Bank and Nancy Newcomb & John Hargraves
April 13: Palm Sunday All-Bach Concert. The program features some of Bach’s most beautiful soprano arias, The Musical Offering, and the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5. The distinguished performers include soprano Lisa Saffer, flutist Tara Helen O’Connor, violinist Ani Kavafian, and harpsichordist Linda Skernick. Sponsored by the Edgard and Geraldine Feder Foundation
All tickets to Essex Winter Series concerts are general admission. Individual tickets are $30; five-concert subscriptions are $125, which represents a $25 saving over the single-ticket price for five concerts. Tickets may be purchased on the EWS website or by calling 860-272-4572.
More program information, artist biographies and photos, and much more is available on the Essex Winter Series web site, www.essexwinterseries.com.