Concerts at the Point returned with its 10th anniversary season of chamber music

Concerts at the Point returned with its 10th anniversary season of chamber music

By Jon Alden

Community Events of Westport Back to Community Events Archive Page

Concerts at the Point was proud to celebrate its tenth anniversary during the 2006-2007 concert season. From its beginnings as a three-concert series, it has grown into a popular program with a full roster of outstanding chamber music concerts performed before sell-out audiences from fall to spring. To commemorate its ten-year milestone, Concerts at the Point presented a Gala Concert and Gourmet Reception in October and a Grand Finale Concert in April, as well as five concerts in its Tenth Anniversary Concert Series.

All concerts took place in the Westport Point United Methodist Church, 1912 Main Road. Individual tickets were $18. Tickets for the two gala concerts were $35. Tickets for the gala reception on October 8th were $65.

Visit Concerts at the Point web site

This year Concerts at the Point sponsored 4 young interns. The students, all interested in classical music, are Fairhaven High School sophomores who meet with Eleanor Carlson, retired chair of the Music Dept at UMD, on the Friday afternoons before the concerts and play CD's of the music they will be hearing at the concert. They receive free tickets to the concert and help with stuffing programs, ushering, general set-up, serve cider, and help with the general clean-up.

Sunday, Apr 22, 2007 3 p.m. - Concerts at the Point presented an exciting encore event - Claremont Trio! In the 2006-07 season, the Claremont Trio, hailed as "deft, exhilarating, and imaginative" by Strings Magazine, embarks on a concert tour throughout every region of the U.S. First recipients of the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson International Trio Award, the Claremonts (Emily Bruskin, violin; Julia Bruskin, 'cello; Donna Kwong, piano) generate enthusiastic acclaim wherever they perform. The Naples Daily News calls them "the freshest breath of air in the world of chamber music today". Please join them for a tenth anniversary celebration of Concerts at the Point. Please join them for this Grand Finale Concert and subsequent celebration party!

Sunday, Mar 18, 2007 3:00 p.m. - Boston University Opera Institute Quartet - Featuring the glorious voices of rising stars of the opera world, the Opera Institute's annual visit has become a spring tradition for Concerts at the Point. William Lumpkin, Music Director/Conductor of the Opera Institute and conductor at Boston Lyric Opera as well as Opera Theater of St. Louis, accompanies the singers. Under the guidance of Sharon Daniels, Director of Opera Programs, and Phyllis Curtin, Artistic Advisor, along with a professional faculty which includes many guest artists, the Boston University Opera Institute sponsors and trains outstanding young professional singers in the crucial years between university and career.

Travis Raposa, violinist, was the guest pre-concert artist. He is a Fairhaven High School sophomore and one of the CATP interns. A student of Robert Brink, Travis played Polonaise by Wieniawski and other selections, and was accompanied by a guest pianist.

Sarah Beckham - soprano, Kirsten Hoiseth - soprano, Matthew Moore - baritone, and Edgar Ramirez - tenor sang selections from Puccini, Verdi, Thomas, Agustin Lara, Tchaikovsky, Lerner & Lowe, and Moore. William Lumpkin, accompanied by an impressive resume, is Music Director of the Boston University Opera Institute. He led the performance and accompanied the singers on piano. www.bu.edu/cfa/music

Sunday, Sept 24, 3 p.m. - Muir String Quartet – Peter Zazofsky & Lucia Lin, violins; Steve Ansell, viola; Michael Reynolds, cello; with Alexander Fiterstein, clarinet. Winner of the 1981 Naumburg Chamber Music Award and the Evian International String Quartet Competition, the Muir first appeared on the scene in 1980 and was greeted with rave reviews. Since then, the Muir has distinguished itself as one of the world's most powerful and insightful ensembles with its "unbridled musicality" (American Record Guide). First Prize winner in the 2001 Young Artists International Auditions, Alexander Fiterstein has also won seven other international awards and performed as chamber musician, concerto soloist, and recitalist throughout the United States and Europe. www.muirstringquartet.com

Sunday, Oct. 8, 3 p.m. - Gala Anniversary Concert with the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Piano Trio followed by a gala reception at the Back Eddy restaurant. Since making their debut at the White House for President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration in 1977, pianist Joseph Kalichstein, violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson have set the standard for performance of the piano trio literature for 28 consecutive seasons.

Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Piano Trio

Sunday, Oct. 22, 3 p.m. - Gramercy Trio - Sharon Leventhal, violin; Jonathan Miller, cello;
Randall Hodgkinson, piano. Nationally acclaimed, the Gramercy Trio has toured the United States performing concerts and residencies, and has commissioned and premiered works by numerous composers. Supported by the Copland Foundation, they recently recorded a CD of chamber music by Scott Wheeler. This will be their third appearance at Concerts at the Point. These critically acclaimed artists view chamber music as an ongoing heritage. They bring a sense of adventure to music of the past and a sense of history to the music of our time.
www.gramercytrio.com

Sunday, Nov 12, 2006 3:00 p.m. - Strata - James Stern, violin; Nathan Williams, clarinet; Audrey Andrist, piano. All Juilliard graduates, holding Doctor of Musical Arts degrees and international prizes and credits of their own, Strata revels in the clarity of counterpoint and surprising blends afforded by their contrasting instruments. "Superb technical skills...the musicianship was exhilarating." (Independent Coast Observer) www.stratamusic.org

Sunday, Jan 14, 2007 3:00 p.m. - The Jupiter String Quartet - Nelson Lee & Meg Freivogel, violins; Liz Freivogel, viola; Daniel McDonough, cello. First Prize winner in the Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2004, and Grand Prize winner at the 2004 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Jupiter toured Canada in the 2005-06 season and the United States and Italy in 2006-07. Currently Graduate String Quartet-in-Residence at New England Conservatory, they list eight other prizes on their résumé. "One of the strongest young string quartets in the country." (Adam Baer, New York Sun) www.jupiterquartet.com

- - - - - - End - - - - - -