In 1953, a group of chamber music aficionados and friends in Croton, tired of going down to New York City to hear live the music they loved, began putting plans in place to change that. They pooled their resources and invited the then-young Juilliard St ring Quartet to perform in the gymnasium of the Croton Elementary School in early 1954. From the success of that first effort, Friends of Music Concerts, Inc. evolved, an all-volunteer organization that has been bringing the best in chamber music to Westchester County audiences for sixty years.
In celebration of its 60th season in 2013-14, Friends of Music will present an outstanding roster of chamber groups and soloists in the beautiful and acoustically-excellent Kusel Auditorium at Sleepy Hollow High School.
Pianist Jeremy Denk, returning to Friends of Music Concerts by popular demand, will launch the season on Saturday, October 5, 2013. His star performances on the New York and national stages, often with violinist Joshua Bell, have become legendary. Denk made his official Carnegie Hall debut in March to "thunderous applause," according to the New York Times review. www.jeremydenk.net.
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On Saturday, October 19, 2013, the internationally-renowned Emerson String Quartet, joined by its new cellist Paul Watkins, will make its 13th appearance on the Friends of Music stage, performing Mendelssohn, Shostakovich and Beethoven. The Emerson's past achievements have included more than 30 recordings, nine Grammys, the Avery Fisher Prize, and many other honors. www.emersonquartet.com
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will contribute to the 60th anniversary celebration on Saturday, November 2, 2013, by performing works of Dvorak, Schumann, and Brahms. One of 11 components of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Chamber Music Society provides listeners with a comprehensive view of the art of chamber music. Its musicians all are renowned artists individually; together they are formidable. www.chambermusicsociety.org
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Violinist Paul Huang, the 22-year-old recipient of Friends of Music's fourth Performance Award made to a winner of Young Concert Artists' International Auditions, will p erform Saturday, April 12, 2014, with piano collaborator Jessica Osborne. Huang made his recital debuts last season at Merkin Concert Hall in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and will play works by Vivaldi, Respighi, Stravinsky, Glazunov, Shostakovich, and Szymanowski.
Schubertiade, an evening-long celebration of the varied works of Franz Schubert on Saturday, April 26, 2014, will include the composer's immortal Trout Piano Quintet, as well as works for solo piano, violin and piano, and songs. Artists will include the Amphion String Quartet, pianists Michael Brown and Daria Rabotkina, and baritone Mischa Bonvier.
The St. Lawrence String Quartet, one of the most renowned chamber groups of its generation and Canada's premier string quartet, will close this 60th season on Saturday, May 10, 2014, with a program of Haydn, Bartok and Beethoven. Ensemble-in-residence at Stanford University, the group continues to build its r eputation for imaginative and spontaneous music-making.
Subscriptions for all six concerts in the 60th anniversary season are $120. Tickets for individual concerts are $30 for adults and $15 for students. Order forms may be downloaded from www.friendsofmusicconcerts.org and then mailed with a check to Friends of Music Concerts, P.O. Box 675, Millwood, NY 10546. Sleepy Hollow High School is located at 210 North Broadway (Route 9), in Sleepy Hollow. Parking is free.
Friends of Music Concerts, Inc. is a non-profit organization that showcases a wide range of musicians who demonstrate the diversity and fine quality of chamber music today. Concerts are made possible, in part, by a Basic Program Support Grant of ArtsWestchester (with funds from Westchester County), by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and by generous support from private individuals and businesses.
More inf ormation about Friends of Music Concerts can be found at www.friendsofmusicconcerts.org. Information about ticket availability may be obtained by calling 914-861-5080.
