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Festival Home   Nov. 19, 2006   July 29, 2006   Feb. 26, 2006   July 30, 2005   May 22, 2005   Feb. 13, 2005

John Sikora
Cortland, NY

Musicians for the February 26th event include Lois Pfister (violin) and Marina Gorelaya (piano), who will be playing works of Dvorak, Bach, Rachmaninoff and others. Pfister and Gorelaya have delighted audiences with music at numerous local events, including a recent concert at the Center for the Arts in Homer. Some of Gorelaya's piano students will also be participating in the festival.

Hispanic classical music will be presented by Gina Sikora (soprano) and Stephen Wilson (piano) who recently gave a concert "Anthologia del Tango" at LeMoyne College. They will perform songs of Granados, Piazzola and Rodrigo. There will also be three Broadway songs presented by Skye Wilson, a freshman at Cortland High School. Classical guitarist Dave Richman, will include works of Ponce and Bach. Richman studied under Dennis Turchek at SUNY Oneonta and is an active member of the Classical Guitar Society of Upstate New York.

Emmanuel Sikora, who appears regularly on Sundays at the Blue Frog, will be playing more of his original piano compositions. He will present some of the pieces composed recently, including: Waltz in G#minor (2005), Nocturne in C#minor, Piano Sonata in Gminor and Fantasia in F#minor (all 2006).

Ben Wells, a tenor from the Cortland area will join forces with Brian Dobreski at the piano to present music by the British Impressionistic composer Frederick Delius, as well as America art songs by Virgil Thomson , Samuel Barber and Richard Hundley. Both Wells and Dobreski are working on master's degrees at Syracuse University

Maria Mucaria, who recently moved to the area from Long Island, will treat us to a collection of works for unaccompanied flute and piccolo. Works will include two unaccompanied pieces from The Pied Piper, music of C.P.E. Bach, Teleman and Muczynski. Ms. Mucaria holds a BM in music education from Crane School of Music and a MA in music history and literature from Long Island University - C.W. Post.

The Crown City Brass ensemble made its debut this past summer as part of the Arts in the Park Festival. This group features the talents of Mark Baxendell and Jeff Dovi (trumpets), Terry Martens (French Horn), Mike Poole (Trombone) and Bob Smith (Tuba, Euphonium). Their music at the summer concert ranged from Bach and Handle to Joplin. The program for this event will be equally varied, with music from Palestrina to Sousa. The Cultural Council of Cortland County (CCCC) has approved a plan for up to four festivals of this kind during 2006. The festivals combine the talents of professional and semi-professional musicians, along with those of advanced students and amateurs, to produce an afternoon of fine music. The events are provided free of charge (except for the price of a cup of coffee or tea), but the success of the festival series depends upon community support. Some members of the CCCC board of directors will be asking local businesses for their financial support. This money is used to pay the professional and semi-professional musicians who participate in the festivals. Your support would also be most welcome. If you would like to make a financial contribution to this effort, send a check made out to the Cultural Council of Cortland County, with the words "festival music" on the memo line or in a cover letter.

Whether or not you are able to give financial support to the series, come to the Blue Frog (64 Main St.) on February 26th. Have a cup of coffee/tea and enjoy some great music in a relaxed atmosphere. Check the website CortlandMusic.Org for more details or contact John Sikora at mail@cortlandmusic.org

Festival musicians: clockwise from top right, Mark Baxendell, Ben Wells, Emmanuel Sikora, Bob Smith, Jeff Dovi, Terry Martens, Lois Pfister, Marina Gorelaya (inset), Dave Richman and Maria Mucaria (center).