Music inspired by Italian travel kicks off Kindred Spirits season
Milford. Tesla String Quartet, a classical ensemble, will be streamed on May 21. The rest of the Kindred Spirits season will be performed at outdoor venues.
| 05 May 2021 | 01:59
Tesla String Quartet (Photo provided)
Guruganesha Band (Photo provided)
Empire Wild (Photo provided)
Al Chez & The Brothers of Funk (Photo provided)
The pandemic has not made things easy for the arts. But Kindred Spirits Arts Programs, known for its live concerts in Northeast Pennsylvania, will still celebrate its 20th season this year, in ways that are both safe and meet its high standard of musicianship.
All performances are free, with donations appreciated. The first concert will be streamed at kindredspiritsarts.org as well as at Kindred Spirits’ Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Other concerts will take place outdoors. Events for October through December will be announced at a later time.
“Viaggio In Italia,” a concert by the Tesla String Quartet, will be streamed at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 21. This classical ensemble will perform music created by composers while they were traveling through Italy. That includes a string quartet composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who visited Italy three times as a teenager, and Hugo Wolf’’s “Italian Serenade.” Stepping back into the late 16th century, the quartet will perform four madrigals by Carlo Gesualdo. Opera giant Giacomo Puccini’s only work for string quartet, an elegy for a dear friend titled “I Crisantemi (The Chrysanthemums),” is on the program, as is living composer Giovanni Sollima’s “Federico II,” which conjures up old and new images of his homeland.
The musicians will give a daytime workshop for members of the Delaware Valley High School orchestra. This event is open only to students.
About Kindred Spirits
Kindred Spirits Arts Programs, a not-for-profit organization of volunteers led by cellist Yosif Feigelson. KSAP also arranges educational enrichment workshops for high school students. Visit kindredspiritsarts.org to learn more about supporting this organization. For more information email kindredspir@yahoo.com, visit kindredspiritsarts.org, or call 570-409-1269.
Gillespie/Morton Duo
Saturday, June 19, at 7 p.m.
“Disordering the Attic” by the Gillespie/Morton Duo will be performed at the Milford Park Gazebo, West Catharine and 5th Streets, Milford. Singer Fiona Gillespie and multi-instrumentalist Paul Holmes Morton perform songs that explore human desire. With a program grounded in the Baroque era, the two musicians also showcase their love for folk and modern music. The public is invited to bring folding chairs and enjoy this free concert.
Guruganesha Band
Saturday, July 17, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, July 18, at 4 p.m.
“Of Love, Hope & Healing” with the Guruganesha Band will give two performances: at the Atlantic Health Parking Lot, 111 East Catharine St., in Milford, on July 17, and at Harmony in the Woods, 475 Woodland Avenue, Hawley, on July 18.
This “adventurous ensemble” hailed for its “conscious rock ‘n’ roll for the soul” seamlessly weaves mantras in the Sikh tradition with musical inspirations that range from the Grateful Dead to the Allman Brothers to the Dave Matthews Band. This special program is aimed at lifting all modern day anxieties.
Annual Classical Music Celebration
Saturday, Aug. 7, from 3 to 7 p.m.
This annual celebration will be held in the Atlantic Health parking lot, Milford Park Gazebo, and other outside locations throughout the historic district of Milford. The artists and schedule will be announced closer to the date.
Empire Wild
Saturday, Aug. 21, at 5:30 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 22, at 3 p.m.
“American in Paris” with Empire Wild will have two performances, at the Milford Park Gazebo, West Catharine and 5th Streets, Milford, on Aug. 21, and at at Harmony in the Woods, 475 Woodland Avenue, Hawley, on Aug. 22.
This exploratory young trio featuring two cellists and a guitarist brings to life original arrangements and a passion for finding common threads among disparate genres. For example, Empire Wild juxtaposes treasures from the American Songbook tradition with French music of the early 20th century. From singing along to Cole Porter to Debussy’s charming Suite Bergamasque, this trio leads listeners on a trip to musical magic.
Al Chez & The Brothers of Funk
Sunday, Sept. 12, at 4 p.m.
“Rhythm & Blues Reinvented: will be performed by Al Chez & The Brothers of Funk in the Atlantic Health Parking Lot, 111 East Catharine St., Milford.
Trumpet player and composer Al Chez, a 25-year favorite on the David Letterman Show, brings his own group of musician friends to perform some surprising arrangements of R & B classics and his original music.