Blue Frog to Host Classical Music Festival in Cortland
The Blue Frog Coffeehouse will host a Classical Music Festival on Sunday November 19, 2006 from 1-5PM. The Blue Frog is located on the corner of Court and Main Streets in Cortland. This will be the last of three festivals in this year's series, with the 2007 series beginning in late January. Music will be presented by local professional, amateur and student musicians in an informal coffeehouse atmosphere. There is no admission fee, although it is hoped that listeners will buy a cup of coffee/tea or other beverage. Music will include a Vivaldi concerto for flute, oboe and bassoon, original compositions, music of Broadway, Spanish folk music, a brass ensemble, and Choros of Brazil.
Festival musicians Maria Mucaria (flute) and Marina Gorelaya (piano), have participated in past festivals and most recently gave a concert at the Homer Center for the Arts on October 22nd. Their selection of music will range from a concerto by Mozart to a sonata by P.D.Q. Bach. Another returning musician is Emmanuel Sikora (piano), a composer and student at Cortland High School who will be playing some of his recent compositions. Skye Wilson (soprano) of Cortland High School and Stephen Wilson (piano) will also be returning, along Skye's mother Teresa Spitzer (soprano) who will be a newcomer to the festival stage. Their music will include duets from the musicals Little Women and Wicked. Gina (soprano) and Emmanuel (baritone) Sikora will join Skye in presenting music with an international flavor. This will include folk songs arranged by Garcial Lorca, the Spanish poet and playwright who was executed at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. Dr. Wilson will also accompany tenor Dominick Fantacone in popular selections from Broadway. The Crown City Brass will be returning to the festival, and listeners can expect to hear music that ranges from the classical period through ragtime.
Mecke Nagel (flute), Karrie Frey
(oboe) and Stasia Weinstein (bassoon) will present a concerto by
Antonio Vivaldi. Other newcomers include a group from Ithaca College
playing Brazilian Choros utilizing flute, guitar and percussion. The
Choro was popular music of Brazil near the end of the 19th
century and was the forerunner of the Samba and other popular styles.
The group "Chorio" is made up of Melissa Wertheimer
(flute), Matt Donello (percussion), and Nicola Cappellini (guitar).
The group will play Brazilian choro classics by composers such as
Pixinguinha, Waldir Azevedo, Ernesto Nazareth, and Zequinha de Abreu.
This will include "Tico-Tico No Fubá", a song that
was made popular in the U.S. by Carmen Miranda during the 1940s.
The relaxed, informal atmosphere of the coffeehouse provides a
different perspective of classical music both for the audience and
for the musicians. It is also an opportunity for children to get a
taste of live classical music without the formality of a concert
hall. As has been true in past festivals, the music is not all
classical. In fact, some thought has been given to calling it the
"Other" Music Festival, since the organizers work to
include music that is generally less popular or less well known. This
includes not only classical music, but several other styles as well
as music from other cultures.
Details of the program can be found
by following the "festivals" link at CortlandMusic.Org. On
the same website, you can find some recordings of past festivals, a
history of the series, and biographical sketches of festival
musicians. If you have questions about the festival series or would
like to participate in a future event, contact John Sikora at
mail@cortlandmusic.org.
Below is the present schedule of
musicians.
1:00pm Crown City Brass:
Mark Baxendell & Brian Shelley (trumpets),
Terry Martens (French horn), Phillip Rumsey & Mike Poole (trombones),
Cheri White (euphonium)
1:30pm Emmanuel Sikora[CHS]: Original piano compositions
2:00pm Skye Wilson[CHS], Teresa Spitzer, Gina Sikora (sopranos), Dominick Fantacone (tenor), Emmanuel Sikora (baritone), Stephen B. Wilson (piano)
3:00pm Mecke Nagel (flute), Karrie Frey (oboe), Stasia Weinstein (bassoon)
3:30pm Maria Mucaria (flute/piccolo), Marina Gorelaya (piano)
4:30pm Chorio:
Melissa Wertheimer (flute), Matt Donello (percussion),
Nicola Cappellini (guitar)