Centrum’s Artistic Director for Chamber Music and pianist Lucinda Carver, and two world class artists will perform a free concert on Sunday, June 12 at 2 PM at the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater in Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend. Joining Carver will be the acclaimed soprano Camille King and violinist Henry Gronnier, a member of the Rossetti String Quartet, for works of Schumann, Brahms, Schubert and Mozart.
Carver will also give a musical preview of the Port Townsend Chamber Music Festival’s Wheeler Celebration Series, a new three concert series which begins this October at Wheeler Theater and honors Centrum Founding Director, the late Joseph Wheeler. These concerts carry on the tradition of “shoulder season” chamber music concerts established by the Chamber Music Society of Port Townsend under the leadership of Wheeler and Centrum board member Leah Hammer.
- The concert is free of charge, but reservations are recommended. To make a reservation, please call (360) 385-3102 ext. 117, or email chambermusic@centrum.org. Please indicate your name and the numer of people attending. Space is limited.
Attendees will also get a chance to purchase subscriptions to the new Wheeler Series; subscriptions go on sale to the general public on June 15. The Sunday afternoon series will feature Carver and members of the Rossetti String Quartet (October 23, 2011), The Cypress Quartet (February 19, 2012), and an ensemble of Baroque musicians, with Carver on harpsichord (April 22, 2012). Programming and more details will be announced at a later date.
The free concert on June 12 will feature the very popular songs of Robert Schumann, sung by King and accompanied by Carver, including: Der Nussbaum (The Nut Tree), Kennst du das Land? (Where Does the Lemon Tree Blossom?), Widmung (Dedication) and Mondnacht (Moonlit Night) which has been recorded by many vocal artists including Barbra Streisand. Violinist Henry Gronnier joins Carver for the Sonata in G Major for Violin and Piano by Johannes Brahms.
After intermission, King rejoins Carver for a Schubert song cycle including: Nähe des Geliebten (Nearness of the Beloved One), Auf dem Wasser zu Singen (To Be Sung on the Water), Ganymed (based on the mythical character created by Goethe), and Schubert’s version of Kennst du das Land? The concert concludes with all three musicians performing Mozart’s L’amerò, sarò costante, from the opera Il Re Pastore (The Shepherd King) and the popular Exsultate, jubilate, originally written for the famous Italian castrato Venanzio Rauzzini.
JUNE 12 PROGRAM INFORMATION
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
- Der Nussbaum, Op. 25 No. 3
- Mondnacht, Op. 39 No. 5
- Kennst du das Land, Op. 98a
- Widmung, Op. 25 No. 1
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
- Sonata in G major for Violin and Piano, Op. 78
Vivace ma non troppo
Adagio
Allegretto molto moderato
Intermission
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
- Ganymed, D. 544
- Kennst du das Land?, D. 321
- Nähe des Geliebten, D. 162
- Auf dem Wasser zu Singen, D. 774
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
- L’amerò, sarò costante, KV 208
- Exsultate, jubilate, KV 165
Lucinda Carver, Centrum’s Artistic Director for Chamber Music was appointed in late 2009. Called “a first rate conductor” by the New York Times, she is active as a conductor and pianist, and her orchestral appearances have included the National Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, and Los Angeles Philharmonic. Opera conducting credits include the Minnesota Opera, New York City Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Carver received her doctorate in musical arts from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California where she currently teaches piano, harpsichord and conducting. She served as music director of the Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra from 1991 to 2002.
Violinist Henry Gronnier is a founding member of the Rossetti String Quartet. As a soloist, he has performed worldwide in recital, including at Carnegie’s Weill Hall and at Wigmore Hall in London. He has performed at many of the leading international music festivals as an orchestral soloist and as a collaborator in chamber music ensembles, including Spoleto (Italy and Charleston), at Festival Mediterraneen and Zino Francescatti Festival in France, and in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. He collaborates with talents including Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Lukas Foss, Chantal Juillet, Ann Queffelec, Pierre Barbizet, Carter Brey, and Emmanuel Strosser.
Camille King enjoys a varied career that encompasses opera, oratorio and orchestral work, chamber music and recital performances. As a coloratura soprano her operatic career included leading roles in productions with Rome Opera, Innsbruck Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera, Minnesota Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Central City Opera and Colorado Opera Festival. King has been a featured soloist with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Pacific Chorale, the Los Angeles Mozart Opera, the Santa Barbara and Virginia Symphonies, the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Musica Angelica and the Tulsa Oratorio Society.