Newtown Friends of Music is offering A Memorial Concert For Ellen Parrella on Sunday, October 23. The 3 pm performance will take place at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street.

Mrs Parrella died in her sleep in February. She was surrounded by her children and the sounds of her favorite symphony, Beethoven's , at the time of her death.Seventh

Mrs Parrella joined the board of directors of Newtown Friends of Music in 1975, and served as president for the last 28 years.

She did not, according to her daughter Kaia Fahrenholz, believe in life after death, "but rather that we live on in the memories of our loved ones, the knowledge and inspiration that we pass along, and the examples we set in life in order to make the world a more beautiful place."

Pianist Will Duchon, cellist Mary Costanza, harpist Wendy Kerner, and violinist Deborah Wong will perform the concert to honor Mrs Parrella's memory.

According to program notes at newtownfriendsofmusic.org (which are subject to change, the group also advises on its website), Ms Costanza and Mr Duchon will open the afternoon with a performance of Sonata for Cello & Piano in G minor, Op 19 by Rachmaninoff.

Following intermission, Ms Kerner and Ms Wong will then perform works of Glinka, Mozart, Saint-Saens, Cerha and Strauss.

Will Duchon earned has a master's degree in music performance and a bachelor's degree in fine arts from SUNY. Mr Duchon was a 1990 winner in the Artists International Young Musicians Auditions, and was awarded a debut at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, where he has given numerous recitals.

Known for his passionate performances, critics write: "Will Duchon's performance of Rachmaninoff is infused with passion, sensitivity, and an excellent sense of the long romantic line. He also has the technical equipment to make it all come together" (Performers of Westchester); "Duchon enchanted the audience, demonstrating a great sensitivity.… He performed magnificently and came through brilliantly" (Novadades de Yucatan); and "Will Duchon brought the house down in a commanding presentation … traversing through dark passages, brightness ultimately prevailed" (Jan Stribula, The Connecticut Post).

In addition to his recital performances and teaching piano, Mr Duchon is a longtime church musician and a weekly classical broadcaster at WMNR. He has released four CDs of solo works, featuring music of Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Busoni, Poulenc, Chopin and Brahms.

Mary Costanza won the prestigious Albright Award, sponsored by the Rochester Philharmonic and The Eastman Theatre, at age 17. As a result, she was invited to perform Eduardo Lalo's Cello Concerto in D Minor as a soloist with Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

During high school she performed as principal cellist for the New York State Summer School of the Arts in Saratoga, and for the New York State Legislature Senate and Assembly in Albany.

Ms Costanza earned her bachelor's degree in music from the Cleveland Institute of Music under the tutelage of Stephen Geber. As a student she performed regularly as a member of Canton Symphony under the direction of Gerhardt Zimmerman.

She earned fellowships to both the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, Calif., and the Blossom Festival School of the Cleveland Orchestra and Kent State University in Ohio. After earning her undergraduate degree Ms Costanza received a fellowship to perform with The National Orchestra of New York (an institute for orchestral studies) under the direction of Alvaro Cassuto. They performed in Carnegie Hall for a full season of concerts sponsored by the New York Philharmonic and Columbia University in New York City.

Ms Costanza also was a member of Rochester Philharmonic during their summer season at The Canandaigua Performing Arts Center in Canandaigua, N.Y. After successfully completing her fellowship with NOA she was accepted to The Juilliard School where she studied with Zara Nelsova. Ms Costanza was awarded fellowships to both the Music Academy of the West Summer Festival and the Aspen (Colo.) Music Festival to continue her studies with Ms Nelsova.

Ms Costanza earned a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School. She lives in Connecticut with her husband Wayne Hileman (of Borealis Wind Quintet) and their daughter Katherine.

She recently released four CDs with composer Sharon Ruchman, who writes original chamber music.

Harpist Wendy Kerner has been described by The New York Times as "first rate" and other critics have hailed her playing as "effortless," "seductive" and "a delight to listen to."

Ms Kerner is the principal harpist with the Bridgeport, Norwalk, and Ridgefield Symphonies. She has appeared in concert throughout the United States, including performances at Lincoln Center, The Ravinnia Festival, Bennington College, The JFK Memorial Library in Boston, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and for the World Harp Congress in Paris.

She is a winner of the American Harp Society's Concert Artist Program, National Flute Association's Chamber Music Competition, and she was presented in her New York debut in Carnegie Recital Hall as a winner of the Artists International Chamber Music Competition. Her CD Sounds of the Seine with flutist Donna Milanovich is on the Delos International label.

Ms Kerner earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Harp Performance at The Juilliard School. She is an adjunct professor of harp at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, founded and directs Elyrica Summer Music Program, and she maintains an active private teaching studio for harp students of all ages in Wilton.

Violinist Deborah Wong is in great demand as a guest concertmaster. She has performed in that position with Oklahoma Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, American Composers Orchestra, Westchester Philharmonic, and Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. In 2002 she was appointed concertmaster of Bridgeport Symphony.

As a soloist she has performed with Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Brattleboro Bach Festival Orchestra, Stony Brook Symphony, North Country Chamber Players and Greater Bridgeport Symphony.

As a chamber musician she is a member of the Atlantic String Quartet and Hawthorne Piano Trio. She has recorded Martinu, Kodaly, and Ravel duos on the Reflex Editions label. She has also recorded for Deutsche Gramophone, Elysium, CRI, and New World Records. She joined New York City Opera Orchestra in 2003.

A champion of new music, Ms Wong also performs with Washington Square Contemporary Music Ensemble, Speculum, ISCM, and New York New Music Ensemble.

A registered Suzuki violin teacher, she was invited as a master teacher-performer to work with the students at Orquestra Juvenil de Nata in Panama and was a guest artist-teacher at Sarajevo Chamber Music Institute in Bosnia-Herzegovina. A student of the renowned Dorothy Delay, Ms Wong graduated from The Juilliard School with both a bachelor's and a master's degree.

An informal reception will follow the performance in order for patrons to meet the musicians and have CDs autographed.

Tickets for the October 23 performance are $25, cash or check only. They will be available at the box office beginning at 2 pm the afternoon of the concert. They can also be reserved by calling 203-426-6470.

Students will be admitted for free.

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