Greetings from the ninth floor of the Professional Arts Building in Scranton, PA, and the three small rooms that serve as my composing and work studio for the months of the year when I’m not on Lake George.Like last season, my winter-time travel this year was minimal, due to the ongoing pandemic. But an unexpected opportunity arrived with the mid-March Canadian premiere of my opera THE MUSIC SHOP, a virtual production presented by Vancouver Opera, available online until the end of June.

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Along with some typical requests by the company for a production such as this---participation in an online podcast and the invitation to write a “welcome” letter for the digital program---I was also asked to prepare a Spotify playlist of favorite works to share with the Vancouver audience. Not only was I not familiar with Spotify but some questions immediately rose to mind. Who would want to listen to MY playlist of selections? And if they do, will they have preconceived notions of what a composer and Artistic Director such as myself SHOULD be listening to rather than what I actually CHOOSE to select to play?

Once I got over my initial hesitation, I compiled a sampling of selections from American opera, world music and Broadway concluding with the epic finale of Blitzstein’s “Airborne” Symphony, an eclectic mix not all that dissimilar from the annual “playlists” (the repertoire for our summer festivals) that I plan each season for The Sembrich.

As I pack a newly-purchased 2016 Honda Civic coupe and prepare for my return trip north to Lake George for the summer, I wanted to share another “playlist” of sorts---an introduction to some of the featured players that will take to the stage in our upcoming all-outdoor NATURE & MUSIC festival.

*Some added greenery, just in time for the NATURE & MUSIC festival.*

But first, a quick word of recognition to a performer and Sembrich friend who will join us only virtually this season. The first program planned, as soon as the NATURE & MUSIC theme was arrived upon, was a performance of Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 28 in D Major, “Pastorale” with Christopher Johnson, pianist. When it became apparent this past winter that pandemic restrictions would most likely render an indoor performance on the grand piano in the Sembrich studio unlikely, Christopher rose to the occasion and volunteered to present a virtual introduction and performance of the work from his studio in New York, in a similar format as the Beethoven Birthday tribute that he prepared so brilliantly for our online series last summer.

Here’s Christopher Johnson in performance, in an excerpt from the fourth movement of Beethoven’s “Pastorale” Sonata.

Watch for Christopher’s full virtual program, due to go online shortly, a signature introduction to our NATURE & MUSIC festival and an ideal bookend to Beethoven’s Serenade for flute, violin and viola, the final musical work of our season, set for performance on August 28 by a trio of musicians from the Lake George Music Festival, Michael Avitabile, Barbora Kolarova and Yumo Oshima.

Another performer who “rose to the occasion” last summer was violinist Kinga Augustyn, who presented a live-streamed performance and interview for us as well as a full online program for our 20/20: Virtual Visionaries series.

On Saturday, July 10, Kinga will present a program entitled “The Lark Ascending: Violin and Nature” featuring the Vaughan-Williams work of the title and other nature-themed pieces, including Beethoven’s “Spring” Sonata, Bartok’s Romanian Dances and Gershwin’s Summertime, to name just a few.

Kinga is a Polish-born, New York-based artist. Her career has taken her across the globe, to Europe, America and Asia. Here’s Kinga, along with Alla Milchtein, the pianist with whom she’ll be appearing at The Sembrich, in a performance of Caprice Viennois by Fritz Kreisler.

One of the summertime experiences that we’re looking to replicate in our NATURE & MUSIC festival at The Sembrich is the pleasure of outdoor concerts in the park by community bands or symphonies, programs of classics and pops, often ending with a performance of Tchaikovsky’s stirring 1812 Overture. Our search for such a program took us to Toronto, Canada and virtuoso accordion player Michael Bridge.

Michael’s program on Saturday, August 7 is called “Music for the Great Outdoors” and features Michael’s own arrangement for digital accordion of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. Here’s a sneak peek.

Like accordion, another instrument ideal for outdoor performance is the French horn, an instrument that can trace its roots back to the hunting horn. We’re excited to welcome Jennifer Montone and Jeffrey Lang, Principal and Associate Principal horns of The Philadelphia Orchestra, along with violinist Philip Kates and pianist Michael Clement for a concert featuring Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 1, Kalliwoda’s “Divertimento on a theme” from Rossini’s La Cenerentola, Legende, a work by Philip Kates for horn, violin and piano and Haydn’s Concerto for two horns---a program set for Sunday, August 15 entitled “Call of the Wild: Horns of the Philadelphia Orchestra.”

Here’s a short profile of Jennifer.

The Sembrich participates in The Kosciuszko Foundation’s Marcella Sembrich International Voice Competition, held every three years in New York City. Among the prizes is a performance opportunity at The Sembrich for the first-place winner.

*Soprano Alexandra Nowakowski in 2018 at the Marcella Sembrich International Voice Competition in New York.*

On Saturday, August 21, soprano Alexandra Nowakowski, the winner of the 2018 competition, along with flutist Edward Wargo and pianist Michael Clement, will be featured in a concert entitled “Songs to the Moon: Mad Scenes, Love Songs and Other Lunar Events.” Included on the program: the Mad Scene from Lucia di Lammermoor, Dvorak’s Song to the Moon and Nanetta’s call to the fairies from Verdi’s Falstaff.

Here’s a brief video from last summer’s virtual series featuring Alexandra in her astonishing performance of the final segment of the Mad Scene from Lucia with Adria Foster, flute and Robert Ainsley, piano.

Alas, a playlist, by definition, represents a mere sampling and leaves out so many worthy artists that deserve mention. I encourage folks to check out our website www.TheSembrich.org/festival, for a full listing of all our summertime performers and events, including our exciting Touba Family Foundation World Music Wednesdays and our six-part film series, with each title exploring a different genre of music, from opera, symphonic, world music, Broadway and film music to rock.

But, in the spirit of our NATURE & MUSIC theme, I wanted to close with the final scene from our July 19 film series offering, “The Cunning Little Vixen,” Janáček’s enchanting rumination on life and the cycle of nature presented here in Geoff Dunbar’s brilliantly animated version.

On behalf of The Sembrich Board of Directors and Staff, we extend our heartfelt good wishes to our extended Sembrich family and friends. We look forward to meeting soon and sharing once again in the joy of live music on the lake!

Until then,

Notes from the 9th Floor - June 2021

Notes from the 9th Floor - January 2022

Notes From the 9th Floor - January 2021