DEEP RIVER – Essex Winter Series’ (EWS) 43rd season marks a milestone for Artistic Director and pianist, Mihae Lee, who celebrates her 10th year of programming for EWS.
The 2020 season opens with a concert by Lee joined by esteemed violinist Ani Kavafian and 11 performers who have all been a part of EWS’ Emerging Artists program. The concert takes place Sunday, Jan. 12 at 3 p.m. at Valley Regional High School in Deep River and will feature Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Schubert’s Trout Quintet.
The Emerging Artists – young, up-and-coming musicians – have all performed at past concerts and most have participated in EWS’ community outreach program. Many attained degrees from Yale School of Music and The Juilliard School.
Performing on Jan. 12 are Yoobin Son, flute; Romie de Guise-Langlois, clarinet; Adrian Morejon, bassoon; Katie Hyun, violin; Edson Scheid, violin; Keiko Tokunaga, violin; Andy Lin, viola; Joann Whang, cello; Luke Fleming, viola; Mihai Marica, cello; and Joe Magar, double bass.
The EWS season continues on Feb. 16 with the Stu Ingersoll Jazz Concert at Valley Regional High School in Deep River featuring the Jeff Barnhart/Jim Fryer International All-Star Jazz Band performing music of the 1920’s and 1930’s. The band of seven seasoned players includes Grammy-winning, New York jazz icon Vince Giordano.
On March 8, the classical guitar duo LINÜ performs at John Winthrop Middle School in Deep River. Gulli Bjornsson and JIJI are two aspiring young artists searching for new ways to promote classical music. Both virtuosic and versatile, Gulli and Jiyeon have received multiple accolades for their guitar playing and have backgrounds in composition, film, electronic music, visual arts and theater.
The final concert of the season is BeethovenFest, a celebration of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary on March 29 at Valley Regional High School with seven world-renowned artists. Performing Serenade for String Trio in D Major and Septet in E-Flat Major are David Shiffrin, clarinet; William Purvis, horn; Marc Goldberg, bassoon; Ida Kavafian, violin; Steven Tenenbom, viola; Peter Wiley, cello; and Timothy Cobb, double bass.
All concerts begin at 3 p.m. and are general admission. For tickets, call 860-272-4572 or visit www.essexwinterseries.com.
The 2020 season is generously sponsored by Masonicare at Chester Village with co-sponsors The Clark Group, Essex Meadows, Essex Savings Bank, Jeffrey N. Mehler CFP LLC, Tower Laboratories, and hospitality sponsors Guilford Savings Bank, and BrandTech Scientific.