WORCESTER – The Worcester Chamber Music Society takes another step forward with “Summer Festival Concerts: From Stream to Stage”, a three-concert series on July 10, 15 and 17 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 73 Lancaster St.
“People are really excited. We get calls, emails. Everyone is so excited to come back on stage,” said Tracy Kraus, flautist and executive director of WCMS.
The WCMS 2020-21 season was broadcast live and virtual due to the pandemic. However, the members performed live in person in front of a small group for their annual concert for seniors which was available online from May 15. A “Gratitude Concert” was given in person for the employees of UMass Memorial Hospital on June 10th.
These two performances were reminiscent of what it is like to perform live in front of an audience and not a camera. “It’s a one of a kind experience playing in front of people again,” said Kraus.
Now the stage is set for the “Summer Festival Concerts”. The series will feature WCMS core members Mark Berger (viola), Peter Sulski (viola), Randall Hodgkinson (piano), Ariana Falk (cello), Krista Buckland Reisner (violin), Rohan Gregory (violin) and David Russell (cello) . Mark Mummert, organist and cantor of Trinity Lutheran Church, will be the guest artist on July 10 and 17. Mummert, who is also deputy director and accompanist of the Worcester Chorus, has become an active presence on the music scene since arriving here in 2016, and has increasingly made the Trinity Lutheran Church an important venue for concerts.
The performances will take place at 8 p.m. with pre-concert talks at 7:30 p.m.
“Viola Power” on July 10 will focus on performances of “Spectacular Music” written expressly for viola by Rebecca Clarke, Johannes Brahms and Georg Philipp Telemann.
“Of Purple Mountains’ Majesty” on July 15 has music by American composers including Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, Jessie Montgomery and George Walker.
“Dissidents and Dissonance” on July 17 will present Mozart’s String Quartet in C major, K. 465 (“Dissonance”) alongside Bach’s Harpsichord Concerto in F minor BWV 1056 (with Mummert as soloist). Music by Martinu, Sanford and Bartok is also on the program.
For the summer festival, WCMS wanted to offer a combination of music from its 2020-21 virtual season as well as new repertoire, Kraus said. “We looked at the musicians who were going to be able to play, put all the parts and the pieces together, and that was the result,” Kraus said.
The concerts will take place at Jepson Hall in Trinity Lutheran with socially remote headquarters, Kraus said. Masks are mandatory.
Tickets for each concert are $ 30; $ 10 for students; free for those 17 and under. A pass for all three concerts is $ 72; $ 24 students.
For the first time, WCMS ChamberFest will also be held at Trinity Lutheran Church from July 12-16. ChamberFest is an intensive chamber music experience that offers ensemble coaching, private lessons, daily practice support, and large-scale musical workshops.
WCMS is already showing a preview of its 2021-22 season online, and concert venues include the BrickBox Theater at the Jean McDonough Arts Center, the Worcester Historical Museum, the Fitchburg Art Museum, Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church, and Princeton Congregational Church.
The season is slated to open with a program called “American Voices” on September 24 at Harvard Unitarian Church and September 26 at the BrickBox Theater. Tickets go on sale August 1.
When asked if people would feel comfortable attending concerts in person at this time and also in July, Kraus said: “In general, the people who attend our concerts will be the best people. people who have been vaccinated, things, but we are keeping an eye on the situation in july and fall.
For more information, visit www.worcesterchambermusic.org.
