Concert series starts out with 'Tunes from the Crypt'
Celebrating the eighth season of Music Around the County, the Planning Team announces the events scheduled for the 2016-2017 musical season. Upcoming concerts will include some favorites from past series and some new offerings.
The season will open with our perennial favorite, "Tunes from the Crypt", at St. John's Episcopal Church in Salem, with organist Joanne Owen at the console. The concert is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. Following the concert, attendees are invited to join the Ghost Tour -- meet at Royal Port Antiques. Come get your Halloween season off to a scary start!
"Pictures & Pipes" with renowned theater organist Wayne Zimmerman, returns on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. This year, Zimmerman will play the recently installed theater organ at the Woodstown Presbyterian Church. Zimmerman's previous appearances at Alloway Baptist Church and Elmer Methodist Church have attracted large audiences of all ages. This year, Zimmerman has chosen to share the original 1925 silent movie, "Phantom of the Opera." Step back into the 1920s and experience the Phantom in the same way the original audiences did.
The musical season continues in 2017 with the Delaware Women's Chorus on Sunday, March 19, 2017 at 3 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church at 88 Market St. in Salem. The chorus is an ensemble based at the Music School of Delaware and includes members from ages 20-78. The Delaware Women's Chorus is directed by Joanne Ward and includes some women from Salem County as members. The concert will highlight women composers and the program will be a preview of the repertoire being prepared for their upcoming trip to Austria and the Czech Republic.
Next will be the Philadelphia Young Performers Orchestra on Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 3 p.m. in the Davidow Auditorium at Salem Community College. The orchestra is conducted by George Atanasiu of Rowan University who also serves as the orchestra's artistic director. Atanasiu is a Romanian-born cellist who has performed internationally and also conducts the Rowan String Ensemble.
Wrapping up the season will be Dueling Organs featuring organists Michael Stairs, of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Gordon Turk, music director at Ocean Grove, at the Pittsgrove Presbyterian Church in Daretown on Sunday, May 7, 2017 at 3 p.m. This historic church, which dates to the 1860s, has two pipe organs which Stairs and Turk will play antiphonally and together. The organ in the rear gallery balcony was built in 1855 by Jardine, an American organ building company, and the organ in the front of the church was built by the Moeller company in 1955. The program will present "colorful" music from the past and the present.
The Music Around the County series is a program of the Salem County Arts Alliance and is supported through donations from individuals, grants from Arts organizations and the Salem County Cultural and Heritage Commission. Attendance at the concerts is free although donations are appreciated.
For more information about Music Around the County programs, contact Joanne Owen at 856-769-3212.
This item submitted by Barbara Dawson for Music Around the County.