Wrap up of a musical 2016 for Shelter Island Friends of Music
Sometimes, in the bleak midwinter, a reminder of the joys of this Island help lead us to the sunlight of the spring. The recent Shelter Island Reporter review of the major events of 2016 emphasized the lively, committed nature of our people toward making this such a unique place.
The Island has always been fortunate with its focus on nature, and on the arts. One of our enduring gifts is the music played here by so many talented performers. One organization, the Shelter Island Friends of Music, is entering its 40th anniversary season with a program sure to fill the concert hall (sanctuary) of the Presbyterian Church this spring and summer, just as the recently ended 2016 season did.
The year 2016 began with the gifted Russian duo of Kousov and Fedoseva, on cello and piano with music for those instruments, and transcriptions of other classical works. In the Spring, Thomas Pandolfi generously performed for the students of the Shelter Island School and then wowed the Friends of Music with a thrilling program including Chopin and Gershwin. As an added treat the pianist noted that since the low F on our venerable Baldwin Grand wasn’t functioning he would be unable to perform Gershwin’s Concerto in F, but instantly pivoted into an electrifying performance of the beloved Rhapsody in Blue.
The Summer of 2016 brought us the inimitable Paul Galbraith, with Baroque solos on his 12-string guitar. And the pianist, Dalia Lazar, was invited to return for a third performance in her traversal of all 32 sonatas of Beethoven. The Prima Trio played familiar works of Schumann and Mozart and ended with a glittering and wild performance of “The Klezmer Wedding.” Finally, the Perlman alumna, Tessa Lark, playing a remarkable Stradivarius violin, concluded her classical program with an original and striking work which she created from the melodies of her childhood in Appalachia.
The Friends of Music are extremely grateful for the support of the Island community, and will announce our special 40th anniversary season in the coming weeks.
