Friday, November 2, 2012

What a week!!

Union City Chamber Players Provide Calm After the Storm
November has just begun and haven't we all had enough? I think  this will be the most memorable week in the Northeast since 9/11.  My heart goes out to all of you readers who endured this storm. If you get this blog post, you probably have electricity, so please pass this on to all your friends who are in the dark.

My friends, there is light at the end of the tunnel in the form of a neighborhood concert.  Bring us your hungry, tired and powerless to Arts at St. John's this Sunday, November 11th at 3 p.m.  Arts at St. John's is proud to once again to present the Union City Chamber Players, the brainchild of  Union City resident and violinist Peter Borten, along with his opera singer wife Bernadette LaFond a mezzo soprano who has performed with the New York City Opera and the Dallas Lyric Opera, to name a few. Peter Borten has performed extensively in Europe and was a silver medalist in the International Chamber Music Competition held in Stresa, Italy.

Once again, inspired by the beauty of the space at Arts at St. John's and its flawless acoustics, both these artists came out of the woodwork (or rather the "hood" work) to share their world-renowned gifts with us all. I had the pleasure of seeing their inaugural performance last September, a "Schubertiade," featuring the music of Franz Shubert. It was a homage to the chamber music afternoons Schubert hosted himself.  This ensemble of players (violinist and violist Peter Borten, cellist Annette Espada,  violist Jack Rosenberg, pianist Marina Korsakova-Kreyn, and mezzo soprano Bernadette LaFond) gave a Carnegie-worthy performance, in my opinion.


If you missed that concert, you will have another chance to hear them  Sunday, November 11th at 3 p.m. This time, the Union City Chamber Players will be performing Bach, Brahms, and Barber with Bernadette LaFond singing, Peter Borten on viola and violin, along with pianists Marina Korsakova-Kreyn and Leslie Frost.

 Peter Borten's reflection on these pieces to be performed: "My own response to the music has to do with the almost unbearable intensity Bach manages to sustain for about seven minutes, and the pleasure-in-pain aspect of that, a fascinating contradiction. Why does listening to music that speaks of suffering give us a kind of rarefied nourishment we then begin to crave? It's a kind of mystery."

An afternoon of much needed beauty will only cost: $8 for adults (and kids are free). A reception will be held afterward with a little something to eat and a much needed glass of wine.



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