Essex Winter Series Sets Stage for New Season of Classical and Jazz Performances

ESSEX, CT – The 49th season of Essex Winter Series (EWS) begins with its first concert on Jan. 25 at Valley Regional High School in Deep River.

The group said in a news release that the season will blend stellar performances with a celebration of the 250th anniversary of America’s independence.

It opens with Timeless Bonds & New Horizons, a program led by new artistic director and flutist Tara Helen O’Connor, joined by violinist Ani Kavafian, cellist Peter Wiley, and pianist Shai Wosner. The inaugural Mihae Lee Legacy Concert will feature the four leading chamber musicians as they perform works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Mel Bonis, and Valerie Coleman, culminating in Franz Schubert’s Trio in B-flat Major, D. 898.

For the second concert on Feb. 22 at Valley Regional High School, jazz advisor Jeff Barnhart brings back EWS favorite Vince Giordano, who will lead The Nighthawks jazz orchestra for an afternoon of music from the 1920s and 30s. EWS describes the group as the most requested jazz ensemble in the series’ history.

Valley Regional High School is located at 256 Kelsey Hill Road in Deep River.

On Mar. 22, award-winning Trio Animoso will grace the stage for French Impressions, American Echoes at Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek, 55 E. Kings Highway, Chester. The group of young artists, composed of flutist Sophia Jean, viola player Julian Seney and harpist Subin Lee, formed at Yale and won first prize at the Angel Padilla Crespo International Harp Competition. The performance includes selections from Claude Debussy’s Sonata for Flute, Viola, and Harp, as well as pieces by Jean-Philippe Rameau,  Maurice Ravel, Bonis and others.

The series concludes April 12 at Valley Regional High School in a performance of Without a Song from Chanticleer, a Grammy Award-winning choral ensemble of 12 male voices.

Concerts are on Sundays at 3 p.m. and are general admission. Tickets are $45 for adults and $5 for students. Discounted subscriptions are available. For information or to purchase tickets, visit www.essexwinterseries.com or call 860-272-4572.