Lately, I've been making my way to Mountain Top Music on Friday mornings to rehearse with my friend and colleague Chris Nourse. We are preparing a program of music for violin and piano. I've lost track of how many such concerts we've prepared together, but I am enormously grateful to get another chance to undertake this work, or is it play? After all, we don't call it "working" the violin or piano. 

     Our program includes a brand new sonatina of mine that I finished this past summer. It's a set of four movements in different moods that all seem to relate to an idea I've been playing with for a very long time: that we are all in the same situation in this very temporary and changeable life. The title of the sonatina is "We are all in one Pond." The title came from some art-therapy I engaged with a few years back. The photo below might give you a hint about the themes that were running through my mind when I made that piece of art. Then somehow, similar themes emerged when I began writing this sonatina last spring. I crafted them into a piece that includes these movements "We are all in one pond,"  "Heaven is a resting place," "There is always time for adagio," and "We might as well dance." 

After this new sonatina, we'll play two excerpts from a Keith Jarrett sonata for violin and piano. You did read that correctly, even though you may be thinking "isn't Keith Jarrett a jazz pianist?" That is certainly true, but Jarrett wrote some interesting chamber music as well and played with other classical musicians of his day. We've had fun making sense of two movements from his sonata: "Song" and "Dance." The first movement reminds me somehow, of Hindemith's Trauermusik; it has depth and a certain inexorableness in it. Both the violin and the piano get to explore the edges of their instrument's sound range. The dance movement is quite fun and might be taken in as a form of contemplative movement in the interpretation we've developed for it. 

We'll end the program with an old favorite of ours: Antonin Dvorăk's sonatina for violin and piano. Dvorak wrote this for his own children to play. Chris and I have worked on this music many times with various students over the years. It's been a great joy to play it together. 

We'll be performing this program on Friday, December 5 at 1 PM at The Majestic Theater in Conway. This is part of Mountain Top Music Center's First Friday series: a brainchild of Chris's which began in 2016 or so. Admission is free and donations support Mountain Top Music Center. 

Music for Earthlings 

All of us here live surrounded by another living being—the forest around us. Mary Edes and I are weaving together the sounds of the earth and forest with those of local musicians for a concert titled “Music for Earthlings.” On Thursday, June 12 at 7 PM many community musicians convene at The Brick Church for the Performing Arts in Lovell, Maine, to share celebratory music about living in our forest.

“This Forest is Alive,” a classical work I composed for narrator, forest sounds, string trio, and woodwind trio makes up most of this concert. My good friend Mary Edes narrates this work while a string trio (Tim Arnold, myself, and Chris Nourse) and a woodwind trio (Julia Edwards, Mike Sakash, and Nancy Goldenhar) play miniatures depicting the life of the forest around us. Recorded bird song, including a Robin who summered on Davis Hill in 2020, complete the mix. Later in the program, the chorus will join the instrumentalists for hymns to the beauty of the earth. Serena DiNucci, marimba, and Jenny Huang-Dale, cello, also join the instrumental ensemble.

Tickets to the concert are $15 and are available at the door. The Brick Church for The Performing Arts is at 502 Christian Hill Road in Lovell, ME. The building is air conditioned. 

 Musical Renewal

On Sunday February 2nd at 3:00 PM, I get to play chamber music with friends and students at Fryeburg New Church. Playing music I love with others is a great path to renewal for me. 

Music lovers should expect Vivaldi's Concerto in a minor for violin and, in this case, viola. This piece is usually played with a string orchestra but Ellen and one of her students will perform the work with two stringed instruments. Also on the program is a piano solo by the composer Margaret Bonds; an African American composer who gained recognition in the 1930s and continued composing through the 1960s. The title of the solo to be played is The Valley of the Dry Bones. It relates to the biblical text in the book of Ezekial that describes dry bones coming to life and dancing. It is a jubilant work merging idioms from classical piano and jazz and capturing the spirit of renewal. When I play it, I try to think the words of the spiritual on which it is based: “These old bones of mine shall rise together in the morning.”

Ethan Chalmers, violinist, joins me to present Eugene Ysaye's piece Reve d'Enfant. This very late romantic work includes extended harmonies and haunting melodies. Jane O'Brien, flutist, will join me to perform Nino Rota's Five Pieces for Flute and Piano. Several of my teen students will present pieces they have been polishing over the last few months.

Fryeburg New Church houses a beautiful piano and offers concerts open to everyone. Donations are welcome but not required. Donations support the work of Fryeburg New Church in the community.

 Forest Scenes

Forest Scenes is the final concert of my summer season at The Little White Church in Eaton. The concert is on Sunday, September 15th at 4 PM. Admission to this concert is $20, with an invitation for students and seniors to pay what feels comfortable to them. Tickets are available here and at the door. 

What a summer of music it's been this year. I've had the privilege of playing with old friends and new friends, with grown students, and now, at the turn of seasons, with a whole string quartet plus a singer. More than a year ago, now, I wrote a set of miniature pieces called Forest Scenes. It is scored for string quartet, mezzo soprano, and piano. The piece of music came about during a late winter and early spring of walking through the woods behind my home--noticing the path of melting water and the lay of the land and the early beginnings of the growing season. Although I was trying to write a piano quintet, words kept coming to my mind embedded in melodies. Finally I gave in to my intuition and scored those words for a singer. 

Now, as we prepare to head into another winter in these woods, I get to announce the premier of this work. The Lakes Region String Quartet is premiering the work along with vocalist Julia Edwards. Quartet members are all principal players in The Lakes Region Symphony. 

Julia is a fine musician and educator. She spends her school year as a choral director in Maine. She says that her musical education began "in the womb" as she was born into a musical family and listened to Bach and other serious music from a young age. She is a sensitive singer and I look forward to hearing the words in my mind come to life in the resounding space of The Little White Church.

Other works on the program will be quartet repertoire and Mozart's Kegelstatt trio, featuring Margaret Hopkins on violin and Sally Wituszynski on viola. Margaret and Sally have both played pieces of mine in the past and I'm excited to work with them both again. 

As if that wasn't enough joy, my friend Dana Cunningham contributes her piece "Homecoming" from her album of the same name. I had the fun of arranging that piece for piano and string quartet and I will enjoy listening to the quartet and Dana bring it to life at the concert. I hope you can join me.

Summer Music

   Two friends who love classical music as much as I do are joining me for a concert. Julia Howell, violist from Wonalancet, Chris Nourse, violinist from Tamworth, and I are rehearsing music that reminds us of summer including Vivaldi's iconic piece by that name. The concert will take place at The Little White Church in Eaton on Sunday, August 25 at 4:00 PM. (Please note, in case of temperatures in the 90s, the concert will begin at 7 PM). Admission is free and donations support The Little White Church and the musicians.

Duos and trios make up the program. Chris and I will play two pieces by Henry Cowell. Both have the feel of church music, full of deep harmony and counterpoint. Julia and I get to play Rebecca Clark's “Morpheus.” Rebecca Clark was a composer in the 1920s and was also a violist. Her composition teacher told her to take up the viola so that she would be in the middle of the sound. Clark crafted music rich with the sounds of the early 20th century and formed with romantic grace.

Two much older trios round out the program. Scholarship has it that George Frederick Handel didn't actually write the Church Sonata published as Opus 2, number 8. It is beautiful music, nonetheless, and has made its way into the canon of chamber music for violins and piano. The pièce de résistance is Vivaldi's “Summer” arranged for piano viola and solo violin. Chris will play the solo violin part while Julia and I fill in the music usually played by the rest of the orchestra. For more information about this and other classical music programs please get in touch with me at ellen.m.schwindt@gmail.com.

An Off-To-College/Album Release Concert

I have been teaching music in Conway for more than 20 years. Maisie Brown has been my student for 13 years and Kaitlyn Sakash for 10 years. I often tell my students that I want them to become independent musicians. These two young ladies have achieved that in spades. On July 21, we will celebrate with an off-to-college/album release concert featuring classical solo piano music. Kaitlyn is headed for UNH's honors program in the fall. Her path there will include music, as well as dance and a wide array of academic interests. Maisie is headed for Brown University, where she will begin an open curriculum liberal arts program that includes music and academics. I will stay here and keep writing and teaching. 

Kaitlyn and Maisie achieved a high level of musical acumen and artistry while studying in my studio. Both young women tackled canon piano pieces and play them with expression and individuality. At the concert, to be played on the Steinway at The Little White Church in Eaton, Kaitlyn will showcase her penchant for Chopin with her interpretation of the Raindrop Prelude and the Nocturne in E flat major. Maisie's set will include a piece from the baroque era by Domenico Scarlatti and a movement of a Mozart Sonata. 

I often write piano pieces for fun. The original piano pieces I will play reflect those that Maisie and Kaitlyn will play; alements from pieces I play or teach often make their way into my music. I am in the process of publishing an album--that is, a book of notated piano pieces--dedicated to students I have had the privilege of teaching over the years.

The Little White Church in Eaton, New Hampshire is a perfect place for this celebratory concert. With its rebuilt Steinway and its visually beautiful space, the church offers a peaceful opportunity to listen to music. The concert begins at 4:00 P.M. on Sunday, July 21st. The concert is free to attend; donations are welcome and will benefit The Little White Church and its upkeep of the beautiful Steinway. Hand fans and ice cold water will be available. For more information e-mail ellen.m.schwindt@gmail.com. 

 

Classical Chamber Music Concert at The Little White Church July 11

On Thursday, July 11th at 7 PM, friends who play classical chamber music will gather at The Little White Church in Eaton. At this beautiful venue, using a fabulous Steinway piano, we will share music we really want to play. The program of mostly duos includes famous names like Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and Schubert spiced with accessible pieces by lesser known but inspired composers Alan Hovhaness and Nino Rota.

The players wear many hats in our community. Though I am acting in the role of concert organizer for this event, I spend most of my time these summer days farming at The Earle Family farm and on my own Davis Hill farm, and teaching piano and violin. During the school year, Phil Marshall and Charlotte Gill work with me to lead Valley Strings. Anne Munstedt helps organize programs for The Denmark Arts Center, Jane O'Brien plays flute in the Mountain Top Music community orchestra and may be heard singing from time to time at the Wildcat Tavern. Mike Sakash leads the Arts Department at Fryburg Academy, plays regularly on the Cold River Radio Show, The Portland Jazz Orchestra and with other outstanding jazz musicians far and wide. Ethan Chalmers teaches English at Kennett High School where Theo Gray is a student.

This concert is free to attend. Donations are welcome and benefit The Little White Church of Eaton. For more information, or to find out about playing chamber music with this group, please contact me: ellen.m.schwindt@gmail.com .