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.