The String Academy faculty presented a chamber music concert on Wednesday, June 17, at 7:30 PM in the Fine Arts Recital Hall. The program began with Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in B-Flat Major by J.S. Bach, featuring David Becker and James Pryzgocki, solo violists, and Trischa Seaman on cello. The viola da gamba parts were performed by James Olsen and Amy Pedersen on viola. The Brandenburg ensemble also included John Babbitt (a frequent assistant on String Academy concerts) on bass, and Julie Cucanato (one of our summer accompanists) on harpsichord. Paul Gmeinder, a member of the SAW High School Seminar faculty, and pianist Ellen Swan Dixon performed Le Grande Tango by 20th century composer Astor Piazzolla. The program concluded with a performance of Franz Schubert’s Quintet in A Major, Opus 114. This work is often referred to as the “Trout” Quintet, because its fourth movement is a theme and variations based on the melody of a song Schubert wrote about trout! “Trout” performers included Sherry Sinift (violin), James Pryzgodd (viola), Paul Gmeinder (cello), John Babbitt (bass) and Ellen Dixon (piano).
In other faculty news . . .
- Katie Brooks will perform in the Green Lakes Festival in Oshkosh during July.
- Darcy Drexler is performing chamber music and teaching at the Killington Music Festival in Vermont.
- Sherry Sinift and James Pryzgocki performed with the Sinfonia Virtuosi in Brookfield.
- Trischa Seaman directed the Festive Week of String Music.
- James Pryzgocki directed the Seminar for High School Students.
- Mimi Zweig is directing the Indiana University String Academy in Bloomington, IN.
Leave a Reply