Noted violinist to open Shelter Island Friends of Music season

In the more than 40 years that the Shelter Island Friends of Music has programmed concerts on this Island we have always tried to present extraordinary musicians who bring their special talent and their unique personalities to our audience. In the first concert of the 2020 Friends of Music season on Sunday Feb. 16, at 3 p.m., we have achieved that goal once again with the return of the remarkable violin virtuoso Eric Silberger, prizewinner at the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition.

He will be making his third appearance here, playing works by great opera composers Mozart, Strauss, Gershwin and Tchaikovsky, and showcasing their way of creating comparable drama for violin and piano.

In the few years since Mr. Silberger has performed here he has displayed his unwavering energy and personal charisma playing with many of the world’s leading orchestras (in San Francisco, London, and Munich) and legendary conductors like Michael Tilson Thomas and Lorin Maazel. And lovers of great stringed instruments will be especially interested in the violin that Mr. Silberger plays on, a rare 1757 Guadagnini. The pianist on the program will be Bradley Moore, who has had a vastly successful career both as conductor and accompanist.

Please join us for a wine and cookies reception following the performance in the Fellowship Hall of the Presbyterian Church.