In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Berks Sinfonietta has taken steps to prioritize the health and safety of our musicians and audience. For that reason, our Board has elected to adopt a digital concert season for the remainder of 2020. In lieu of traditional live performances, we will bring to you five digital performances of chamber music. Each of these concerts will be rehearsed, performed, and recorded “live” - and rebroadcast at the dates and times that follow.
Chamber music, defined as “instrumental music performed by a small ensemble,” is a vast genre. Our digital season contains a diverse selection of unfamiliar and exciting masterpieces we are certain you will enjoy. In a smaller ensemble, you will witness the skill, collaboration, and intimacy needed to bring this music to life.
As we transition from two live concerts into five pre-recorded ones, we have been careful to preserve the number of performance opportunities for local professional and student musicians. To the best of our ability, we have ensured that any player hired for a “traditional” performance does not lose performance income due to our revised schedule.
Lastly, we recognize and must confront the pressing struggles of race and gender inequality in Berks County and across the country. Our art is classical music, long the bastion of “dead white men.” The way we change that paradigm is through that same music-making, by giving equal programming to equal pens and voices. Our digital season introduces you to the music of several black, Latin American, female, and contemporary composers, including Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Jessie Montgomery, Arthur Piazzolla, and more.
Music unites. It transcends and it heals. We thank you for your continued trust in and support of our programming. And, we wish you and yours our very best during these challenging times.
Saturday, August 22nd, 2020
7:30 p.m. (Immanuel UCC)
Streamed via Facebook and YouTube
Digital Concert #1
Samuel Coleridge
Taylor Four Novelletten
John Tavener
Mother of God, Here I Stand
Maurice Ravel, arr. Jones
Le Tombeau de Couperin
W.A. Mozart
Fantasia in F minor (K. 608) (trans. Frans Vester)
Saturday, September 26th, 2020
7:30 p.m. (Immanuel UCC)
Streamed via Facebook and YouTube
Digital Concert #2
Florence Price
Five Folksongs in Counterpoint (for String Quartet)
Ludwig van Beethoven, arr. Weingartner
Grosse Fuge, Op. 133 for Strings
Ruth Crawford Seeger
Suite for Wind Quintet
Astor Piazzolla
Libertango
Saturday, October 24th, 2020
7:30 p.m. (Immanuel UCC)
Streamed via Facebook and YouTube
Digital Concert #3
Amy Cheney Beach
Pastorale for Wind Quintet
Charles Gounod
Petite Symphonie
Gerald Finzi
Romance
(Christopher Jackson, conductor)
Manuel Ponce
Estampas Nocturnas
Saturday, November 21st, 2020
7:30 p.m. (Immanuel UCC)
Streamed via Facebook and YouTube
Digital Concert #4
Joachim Raff
Sinfonietta
(James Gilmer, conductor)
Jessie Montgomery
Strum for String Quartet/Quintet
Emma Lou Deimer Brook
Lament for Oboe and String Orchestra
Gustav Holst
Green Suite
Sunday, December 20th, 2020
4:00 p.m. (Immanuel UCC)
Streamed via Facebook and YouTube
Digital Concert #5
Works celebrating the Christmas season by Antonio Vivaldi, John Rutter, Kim André Arnesen and a performance of Christmas Day by Gustav Holst. A collaboration with Vox Philia.