About me

I am an active composer, music teacher, and organizer of music events. I share an occasional Music as Meditation concert with listeners and fellow musicians and I organize several concerts of new music each year. I use this blog to tell people about my musical endeavors and as a home for my virtual busking basket. If you want to support my musical efforts financially, please look for the donate button on the right-hand side of this page. You can find pages about The Davis Hill Studio on this blog. Look for the orange links on the right-hand side of the page.

Friday, August 9, 2024

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.