Our Spring concert was on Mothers Day, Sunday, May 11, 2008 at 3pm. The concert was at the Wood End School.
The theme was "We've No Business in Show Business" and featured an exciting array of show tunes. Mom got a real treat, and the audience got to sing along with some of their favorite music!
Our Winter concert was on Saturday, March 8, 2008 at 8pm at the new Reading Memorial High School. .
This was a very special concert, even for our usual Winter Gala. Our theme was "The Greatness of Gershwin and Grofe" -- two composers who were collaborators, friends and contemporaries. We explored their relationship and the juxtaposition of compositions that have no apparent connection, as well as performed the piece that both men are most famous for: Rhapsody in Blue.
We were very fortunate to be able to perform Rhapsody in Blue with concert pianist Virginia Eskin. Click here for Ms Eskin's website.
Virginia Eskin's concert appearances include the Annapolis, Buffalo, Louisville, New Hampshire, Rochester, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Utah Symphony Orchestras, the Boston Classical, the Israel Sinfonietta, and the Boston Pops. She has also performed as a soloist with the New York City and Boston Ballet Companies, and at New York 's Morgan Library in New York.
Her concerto repertoire includes Rachmaninoff, Second Piano Concerto, Shostakovitch Concerto No. 1, Amy Beach Piano Concerto, and Mozart, Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466, all of which she has performed recently. During 2005-06 she performed MacDowell's Concerto in D minor in Athens with the National Orchestra of Greece, Beethoven's 3rd Concerto with Symphony by the Sea (MA), and Clara Schumann's piano concerto with the Atlanta (GA) Chamber Symphony. She continues to give recitals throughout the United States, including the Athenaeum in La Jolla and Sonoma (CA), Monadnock Music (NH), Mohonk Music (NY), and the Atherton Theatre in Honolulu.
Ms. Eskin recently created and hosted "First Ladies of Music", a 13-program radio series sponsored by Northeastern University and produced by WFMT, Chicago, carried by over 100 radio stations in the United States and abroad. She holds the appointment of Visiting Artist, Northeastern University Department of Music, and received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Keene State College (NH) to recognize her contributions to women's music.
Music we played was...
In New England, not only were the leaves on fire with color, but so was our concert!. The theme for our Fall concert was "fire". The performance was on Sunday, November 18, at 3 p.m. at Parker Middle School in Reading. The flaming centerpiece was Stravinsky's "Firebird", but music ranged from that to popular pieces such as "There'll Be A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight".
Music we played was...
Our summer concert was on Sunday, August 12, at 6 p.m. at Memorial Park just off the center of Reading. The concert had an "all American" theme with music ranging from show tunes to Stars and Stripes Forever. People came, sat on the grass, enjoyed a warm summer evening, and heard some great music!
click here to download an mp3 file of Benson's The Leaves Are Falling
Our Mother's Day Concert was on Sunday, May 18, at 3 p.m. at the Wood End School in Reading. The theme of the concert was a musical variation on "Where's Waldo?" The audience enjoyed some great music, and tested their powers of musical observation!
click here to download an mp3 file of Benson's The Leaves Are Falling
On Saturday, February 17, the Reading Civic Concert Band shared the stage with a 40-person Gospel choir, the Boston Choral Society. We celebrated the rich and varied contributions that black performers and composers have given to American music. The program spanned Jazz, Ragtime, Spirituals, a tribute to Duke Ellington, and selections from The American Scene by William Grant Still. The concert began at 8:00pm in the new Reading Memorial High School auditorium. Tickets at the door were $15, $10 for seniors and students, 5 yrs and under were admitted free. Watch for a recording of the performance on RCTV and other neighboring public access television stations!
Click here for more about this recent concert.