Newtown Friends Of Music Gearing Up To Celebrate

30th Birthday

It is not unusual, when one gets ready to celebrate a birthday with a five or a zero as the last digit, to look back at “the way we were” and a) marvel at how fast the time has passed, b) be astonished to find how far one has come, and c) reflect on all the changes – hopefully for the better – that have happened over that span of time.

Some of the founders who started Newtown Friends of Music in the fall of 1977 are still with us, others have unfortunately moved on. The beginnings of the organization were filled with hopes and dreams and visions that an energetic young crew worked hard to realize. The first couple of seasons, when NFoM presented just four concerts, were financially wobbly but on firm ground artistically.

The availability of the beautiful auditorium in Edmond Town Hall was a major contributing factor to the success of the organization. The acoustics proved to be great, especially in the balcony, where the tone floats up ethereally, and the venue was dubbed “Little Carnegie Hall.”

The most important work, early on, was to find extraordinarily gifted musicians who would come to Newtown to perform at Edmond Town Hall at a fee that was affordable. And, amazingly, the program committee under the leadership of Philip E Lapat did just that. 

Among the artists who appeared in the first few seasons were the likes of cellist David Finckel (who is today chair of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center); violinist Dmitry Sitkovetsky, violinist Ani Kavafian and violist Walter Trampler, clarinetist David Schifrin, the American String Quartet and pianist Richard Goode. The list goes on.

Reception of the newly founded organization was enthusiastic, the performers were superb musicians and as word spread, the audience increased and donors, sponsors and other generous folk made certain that NFoM was on a sound financial footing. NFoM had gained a reputation for finding and engaging rising stars.

Many of the artists who graced the stage of Edmond Town Hall early on have become not only household names in the classical music world, but actually stars high in the firmament of the beautiful arts. NFoM, in fact, became known for finding and showcasing young artists just starting their careers. The Ying and Shanghai Quartets come to mind. 

In its fifth year Newtown Friends of Music added a fifth concert to its fall-spring season and continued to do so up until recently. A few years ago two school outreach programs were added to each season bringing the same world renowned artists from the stage into the Newtown schools. These outreach programs, according to Ms Michelle Hiscavich, head of the music for Newtown Schools, are of particular importance and appreciated by students, faculty and parents as an added resource for Newtown’s students.

So, it was with some deliberation that NFoM sought to bring back some favorite groups of artists in celebration of their its birthday this years.

A return visit by pianist Richard Goode, who was heard in Newtown first in 1982 and again in 1984, will open the 2007-08 season on Sunday, September 16, giving an inkling of what this year promises.

Richard Goode has emerged as one of the truly great pianists of our time. Eloquent, deeply thoughtful, full of joy and passion, Mr Goode’s performances give a vivid sense of the composer at work, creating the music at that moment.  His interpretations span the centuries, reaching, in the most immediate way, from the composer’s heart and soul to the listener’s.

On October 14 Newtown Friends of Music will welcome three stellar performers from Lincoln Center: violinist Ani Kavafian, pianist Michel-Andre Schub, and clarinetist David Shifrin – a trio of star soloists and well-known performers who enjoy their quarter century of friendship by playing together as a trio.

Each one has a long list of credits, having performed with distinction in the United States and abroad and both Ms Kavafian and Mr Shifrin were in Newtown in the early eighties. It will be Mr Schub’s first visit to Edmond Town Hall.

Another raison d’etre for Newtown Friends of Music is the support and showcasing of soon-to-be musicians, giving them a ready-made sophisticated audience where they can hone their performing skills. At the invitation of Dr and Mrs Philip Kotch, NFoM will present a 17-year old prodigy and 12th grade honors student in one of their occasional Præludium (before the start of an actual career in music) recitals. Born in China and resettled in Danbury, the pianist Remy Yuhou Zhang will show his off talent on November 4 at Edmond Town Hall.

Young Master Zhang has already appeared in local competitions and has been invited to play with orchestras both in Danbury and Waterbury.

Newtown Friends of Music do not usually plan any concerts during December and January. The Concert Society Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Richard E Serbagi, will present its 7th Annual Holiday Concert on Friday, December 28, however, and The Newtown Friends of Music’s School Outreach Program stands to benefit from the ticket sales to this concert.

In February 2008 Daedalus Quartet will perform the music of Haydn, Janacek and Brahms on Sunday, February 10, 3 pm. The musicians will spend Sunday night in town and give a mini residency at the high school on Monday morning.

During the week before the concert and school outreach program Joan Popovic will visit the students and teach them about the musicians, the composers, and the music to be heard at the concert.

On March 9, a return visit by the venerable Los Angeles Piano Quartet is planned. This group of superior musicians has been so popular with Newtown audiences that a return engagement was inevitable.

The combination of strings and piano is particularly attractive and the repertoire a pleasure for all. This time, the LA Piano Quartet will be performing the music of the Czech Antonin Dvorak, the British Frank Bridge and the German Johannes Brahms.

The final performance in the 2007-08 season will feature the Miami String Quartet in its first visit to Newtown.  On Sunday, April 6, the ensemble praised by The New York Times as having “everything one wants in a quartet: a rich, precisely balanced sound, a broad coloristic palette, real unity of interpretive purpose and seemingly unflagging energy” will bring the thirtieth NFOM season to a close. Full details concerning each of these concerts will be published closer to each concert date.

Newtown Friends of Music spent the Newtown Tercentennial Year raising funds and purchased an entire row of the newly installed seats at Edmond Town Hall.  The September concert will be an inauguration, of sorts, for these new seats.

The auditorium at Edmond Town Hall now holds 376 new seats in the orchestra, which will be officially inaugurated before the September 16 concert, and there are still about 150 original brown leather seats in the balcony. Edmond Town Hall is air conditioned, and handicap accessible with a brand new elevator serving all floors in the building.

For more information or to obtain a free brochure for the coming season, call 426-6470 or write to Newtown Friends of Music, PO Box 295, Newtown CT 06470-0295.

A visit to NewtownFriendsOfMusic.org will also give further details.