provided to The Santiva Chronicle
The highly acclaimed Emerson String Quartet will perform Saturday, March 26 at the Sanibel Music Festival for the last time. After a remarkable 47-year career, the Emerson plans to disband in October of 2023. “They have played for our music festival many times over the past decades, and we are fortunate to be part of one of their final tours. They will be very much missed,” said Sue Pick, Chair of the Sanibel Music Festival Music Committee.
“The Emerson String Quartet’s unparalleled list of achievements spanning four decades includes more than thirty renowned recordings, nine Grammys (including two for the Best Classical Album), three Gramophone Awards, the Avery Fisher Prize, and Musical America’s Ensemble of the Year,” continued Pick. They were inducted into the Classical Music Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2015, the Emerson received The Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award, the highest award in classical chamber music.
Tickets are on sale now at the Sanibel Music Festival website; in-person on Sanibel at Bank of the Islands, 1699 Periwinkle Way (check and cash only); by mail to Sanibel Music Festival, PO Box 1623, Sanibel, FL 33957; or by phone at 239-344-7025. The concert is March 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Sanibel Congregational U.C.C., 2050 Periwinkle Way on Sanibel Island.
The program begins with the Beethoven Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op.131.The seven movements will be played without a break with Philip Setzer as first violin. Following an intermission, Eugene Drucker will serve as first violin for the Schubert Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810. The concert is sponsored by longtime Festival supporters, Sue and Tom Pick
Sanibel Music Festival concludes the 2022 season with two Emerging Artists Series Concerts featuring the talented musicians of the Bower School of Music at Florida Gulf Coast University.
On March 29, the Bower School of Music String Ensembles perform, featuring violin soloist Glenn Basham, concertmaster of the Naples Philharmonic, on Vaughn Williams popular and evocative Lark Ascending, arranged for string quintet and solo violin. Violin soloist Dr. Kyle Szabo, who received a standing ovation for his performance on Sanibel in 2021, will play the Schubert String Trio in B-flat with a student ensemble. Dr Szabo is head of strings studies and Orchestra Director at FGCU. The concert will include string quartet selections from Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, and Ravel.
On April 5, the entire Bower School of Music Symphony Orchestra performs. The W.A. Mozart Symphony No. 38, “Prague” and the Stravinsky Pulcinella Suite will be presented as complete works. “We anticipate inspiring performances again this year and can promise amazing musicianship,” said Festival board member Gloria Garrett. The concerts are sponsored by local residents Lee and Gene Seidler.
Both concerts will take place at 11 a.m. at Sanibel Congregational U.C.C., 2050 Periwinkle Way. Emerging Artist Series concerts are performed for free will donations supporting the Bower School of Music on the Sanibel Music Festival website or at the concert. Pre-register on the website to assure seating.
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