The Northern Neck Orchestra (NNO) will present “Spring Strings” at 2 p.m. April 10 at Good Luck Cellars, 1025 Goodluck Road, Kilmarnock.
Tickets are $30 and may be purchased at www.northernneckorchestra.org, or at the check-in desk. Students will be admitted at no charge.
The concert will feature NNO concertmaster and principal violinist Moises Cunha, violist Alexander Smith and cellist Jake Fowler, reported NNO board member Cary M. Schneider.. All three musicians are based in New Orleans.
The performance will include Schubert’s String Trio in B-Flat Major D. 471 and Mozart’s Divertimento in E-Flat Major.
Schubert’s light-hearted String Trio is another of the composer’s unfinished works, comprised of only an energetic first movement and a few bars of the second which are rarely performed, said Schneider.
The piece reflects the classical sonata form of Haydn and Mozart and is highly regarded for its ingenious mastery of form and melody. The trio was composed in 1816 when Schubert was 19. During that year, he created more than 200 works, including dances, songs and chamber music.
Mozart’s Divertimento in E Flat Major is his first and only music for string trio, said Schneider. It is also the longest of his chamber works. Composed in 1788 during a period of financial stress, Mozart dedicated the piece to fellow Freemason Michael Puchberg who provided a much-needed loan.
The sequence of movements is typical for a “diverting” work with two delightful minuets sandwiched between fast and slow movements of great depth and intensity. Mozart varies his music, writing a slow movement in sonata form, another as a theme and variations and utilizing differing structures for the minuets.
The musicians
Brazilian-born violinist, music educator and recording artist Cunha, NNO artist-in-residence, performs regularly with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans. He has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician with the Bahia Symphony Orchestra, Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra and Theatro Sao Pedro Chamber Orchestra.
At the invitation of renowned pianist Arnaldo Cohen, Cunha performed a solo recital at the prestigious Sala São Paulo. He also was featured alongside Grammy-Award winner conductor and composer Craig Hella Johnson as the solo violinist in Johnson’s latest work, Considering Matthew Shepard. Passionate about musical outreach, Cunha is director of the Crescent City String Academy. He also is founding artistic director of the newly established Crescent City String Camp & Festival in New Orleans.
Fowler is the founding director of the Surf and Sounds Chamber Music Series in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. He frequently performs with the Houston and San Antonio Symphonies. He also is a festival artist at the Crescent City Chamber Music Festival in New Orleans, where he has performed with members of the Manhattan Chamber Players, Dover and Escher Quartets and the Lysander Trio.
Fowler is a former tenured member of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and former principal cellist of the Shen Yun Performing Arts Orchestra. He also was a regular performer with the Norfolk Chamber Consort and the Hampton Roads Chamber Players.
Smith has appeared on four continents as an orchestral musician, recitalist and chamber musician. He is a member of the Austin Symphony Orchestra and has previously worked with the Kansas City Symphony and the Chicago Chamber Orchestra.
As a soloist, Smith has been featured in performances of works by Rolla, Walton, Hindemith, Dale and Krieger. Recent chamber performances include the Mozart C Major Quintet with Sandy Yamamoto and John Largess. He also has appeared in chamber music ensembles with Shmuel Ashkenasi, Glenn Dicterow, Martin Chalifour and David Radzynski.
