Tag: Cape Ann Symphony

Holiday Pops Concert Tickets available now! Cape Ann Symphony

Posted on by Catherine

Ho Ho Ho! Holiday Pops 2025 info from Cape Ann Symphony:

The Cape Ann Symphony’s Annual Holiday Pops Concert kicks off the holiday season on Saturday, November 29 at 2 pm at the Dolan Performing Arts Center at Ipswich High School on 134 High Street, Ipswich, MA; Saturday, November 29 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, November 30 at 2 pm at Manchester-Essex High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. For tickets and information about this popular Cape Ann Holiday tradition, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org

This musical celebration of the holiday season led by CAS Conductor and Music Director Yoichi Udagawa features a program of holiday favorites for orchestra and chorus. 

“The Holiday Pops Concerts are full of the sounds, joy and magic of the season. The orchestra and I will be joined by the incredible singers of the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus, and that is always such a treat. Brittany Betts directs the chorus, and she and the singers are not to be missed. Last year all 3 concerts sold out. I hope everyone reserves their tickets early!  The musicians, singers, Brittany and I look forward to sharing this festive music with our incredible audiences!”

The 32-singers of the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus led by conductor Brittany Betts, and accompanied by Georgetown resident pianist Priscilla Walter, have been working hard to prepare for the Holiday Pops since the end of September. They will perform six pieces at the annual Holiday Pops Concert. Each of the 32 singers had to audition to make the roster of the CAS Chorus. The singers hail from all over the North Shore – Rockport, Gloucester, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Beverly, Essex, West Newbury, and Ipswich. 

“It really is a blast to work with singers who genuinely enjoy one another and the pursuit of making beautiful, fun and meaningful music to help bring light, hope, peace and joy to our community,” says Ms. Betts, ” I hope to see you there – with your voices and warm hearts ready to share in the community spirit of the season to last a whole year long.”

The Holiday Pops 2025 concert program includes Anderson’s Christmas Festival; Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Selections from Tchaikovsky’s  Nutcracker and Festive Sounds of Hannukah arranged by Holcomb. The Cape Ann Symphony Chorus joins the orchestra to perform Christmas on Broadway, arranged by John Higgins; Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!, arranged by Mark Hayes; Kim Andre Arnesen’s I Will Light Candles This Christmas; Bashana Haba’ ah, arranged by John Leavitt; and two songs written by John Williams and Leslie Bricusse from the hit holiday movie Home Alone. 

CAS Choral Director Brittany Betts offers insight on the Chorus selections in the program,”We will begin with 2 upbeat pieces: the hit opener from last season, Christmas on Broadway, and a fun jazz arrangement of the classic Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!. We will slow it down for us all to consider the current situation in our world’s landscape and our responses of bringing light and hope into it all with two beautiful pieces from the Christian and Jewish traditions: I Will Light Candles This Christmas and  Bashana Haba’ ah. Finally, we will close our set with two pieces from Home Alone by John Williams and Leslie Bricusse – the contemplative Somewhere in My Memory and the rousing Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas. The concert ends with the CAS Annual Holiday Sing-Along. “Of course,’ adds Betts, “the singers will also be helping to lead the beloved sing-along! Don’t forget to join in the fun and turn on your blinking tie or necklace, put on your colorful scarf and fun Christmas hat or go all out and show off your favorite ugly sweater or your snow man suit.”  

The Cape Ann Symphony launched The Cape Ann Symphony Chorus under the directions of Wendy Bettsat the 2005 Holiday Pops Concert. . The group has performed with the Cape Ann Symphony at Holiday Pops Concertsin 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016. 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. In August 2024 Brittany Betts took over leadership of the CAS Chorus when her mother Wendy Betts retired as the longtime Choral Director for the CAS Chorus and made her debut in the 2024 Holiday Pops Concert. 

Brittany Betts brings with her a different approach to the choral world having primarily worked as a trumpeter,  djembefola (someone who skillfully plays the djembe, a West African drum) collaborator, worship leader, jazz singer and composer. She performs with the David Whitney Orchestra, Riverside Renaissance Swing Band, Cantemus Chamber Chorus and the vocal trio, ONE. In 2023-2024, she served as Artist-in-Residence at First Church Congregational in Swampscott, composing sung liturgies and songs for their Advent and Lenten services. Ms. Betts traveled the country and abroad as a Glocal (local and global combined) Musician Educator and Worship Coordinator with the Global Mission Unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for 10 years. During that time she also served on the music staff of Visible Music College in Memphis, TN where she taught voice, music theory, rock bands, the World Music Ensemble and a guided improvisation class.

Founded in Gloucester in 1951, the Cape Ann Symphony is a professional orchestra of over 70 players from throughout the New England area. They perform a subscription season of four concerts per year plus several Pops and youth concerts. The Symphony Board of Directors named Yoichi Udagawa the Music Director and Conductor of the Cape Ann Symphony in the summer of 2000 after a yearlong search. In addition to his leadership of Cape Ann Symphony, he is Music Director and Conductor of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, and the Quincy Symphony Orchestra and a cover conductor at the Boston Pops Orchestra.  Frequently invited to guest conduct, Maestro Udagawa has worked with many different orchestras including the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Nobeoka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Indian Hill Symphony, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Brown University Orchestra, the Syracuse Society for New Music, the Boston Conservatory Orchestra, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, the Newton Symphony, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Mid-Texas Symphony. Maestro Udagawa is at home in popular and contemporary music as well as the standard symphonic repertoire. He is known for his relaxed manner and ability to speak from the podium which has helped new audiences as well as enthusiasts gain a greater appreciation for symphonic music. His programs often include premieres of new works – some specially commissioned for the orchestra — as well as great orchestral works across the symphonic repertoire and lively Pops programs. He is also an integral part of the Cape Ann Symphony Youth Initiative.

Yoichi Udagawa, the son of a nuclear physicist father and singer/artist mother, was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. His family immigrated to the United States soon thereafter. He began playing the violin at age four and made his conducting debut at age fifteen. After receiving a music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, he continued advanced studies in conducting with Gunther Schuller, Seiji Ozawa, Morihiro Okabe, and Henry Charles Smith. A fan of many different styles of music, Mr. Udagawa also enjoys performing gospel music in addition to his conducting activities. He is also an accomplished violinist and an avid fan of exercise and yoga.

The Cape Ann Symphony Holiday Pops Concerts are Saturday, November 29 at 2 pm at the Dolan Performing Arts Center at Ipswich High School on 134 High Street, Ipswich, MA; Saturday, November 29  at 7:30 pm and Sunday, November 30 at 2 pm at Manchester-Essex High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA . Single ticket prices are $55 for adults, $50 for senior citizens age 65 and above, $20 for Students of any age with a valid student id; $5 for youth 12 years old and under. For tickets and information, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org.

Don’t miss the dazzling opening concert for Cape Ann Symphony on Sunday!

Posted on by Catherine

REMINDER from Heidi Dallin!

Tickets are still available for Sunday’s concert opening CAS’s 74th season, The Virtuoso Concert! Sunday’s program looks incredible and don’t forget the chorus, too! Read all about it:

“The program for Cape Ann Symphony’s  The Virtuoso Orchestra Concert! highlights the power and majesty of the orchestra led by Music Director and Conductor Maestro Yoichi Udagawa.   The concert opens with  Gustav Holst’s awe-inspiring The Planets, Op. 32. The Treble Chorus under the direction of Brittany Betts and  featuring members of the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus and singers from the community join the orchestra for Holst’s piece. The concert closes with Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, orchestrated by French composer, pianist and conductor Maurice Ravel.

“The opening concert in September will be an incredible demonstration of the virtuosity of the musicians of the Cape Ann Symphony”, says Maestro Udagawa, “The program will be two of the most monumental and brilliant works ever written for orchestra and definitely audience favorites. Holst’s Planets requires huge forces that Holst uses brilliantly to create musical portraits of 7 planets – Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The composer Modest Mussorgsky’s musical interpretations written for solo piano combined with Maurice Ravel’s brilliant arrangement for orchestra of that music continues to be a favorite of audiences the world over. We are all very excited about this concert!” 


Gustav Holst had hoped to become a pianist, but was prevented by neuritis in his right arm so he pursued a career as a composer. Unable to support himself and his family by his compositions, he became a teacher at Morley College, where he served as musical director from 1907 until 1924, and at St. Paul’s Girls’ School pioneering music education for young women, where he taught from 1905 until his death in 1934. Holst’s orchestral suite The Planets was written between 1914 and 1916. Holst was inspired by astrology, with each movement intended to convey the personality and astrological character of a different planet.   Holst described The Planets as “a series of mood pictures” acting as “foils to one another” with “very little contrast in any one of them.” Although astrology was Holst’s starting point, he arranged the planets to suit his composition. He ignored some astrological factors, attributed certain non-astrological qualities to each planet and did not arrange the order of movements in the same order as that of the planets’ orbits around the sun. The suite was first performed privately in 1918 and given its first complete public performance in 1920. After its debut Gustav Holst  became an international phenomenon achieving rock star status worldwide. The suite is widely considered one of Britain’s most famous classical compositions.

Rockport’s Brittany Betts, Director of the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus, along with accompanist Priscilla Walter  is leading the 20 member Treble Chorus to perform in Holst’s The Planets. The Treble Chorus features voices from throughout the North Shore: Gloucester: Shelly Moran, Marit von Tetzchner, and Deirdre Weed; Rockport: Wendy Betts, Barbara Cornell, Betsy Eck, Barbara Ellis, Carolyn Howard, and Gail Zeman: Essex: Kate Bilsbury and Katzi Rueda; Manchester-by-the-Sea: Janet Boynton, Maureen Gedney, and Marion Hall; Beverly: Jacqueline Gravell, Karen Kepler, Sue Lupo, and Jeanie Murray; South Hamilton: Elena Lazaridu and Middleton: Stacy Smith.

Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, wrote Pictures at an Exhibition  in 1874  as a piano suite in ten movements. A tribute to Mussorgsky’s close friend  the painter Viktor Hartmann  the work  musically depicts a tour of an exhibition of ten works at the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg in honor of Hartmann after his sudden death the previous year. There are ten movements in Pictures in addition to  the Promenade which is heard between the movements. Each movement of the suite is based on an individual painting.

Mussorgsky’s piano suite was orchestrated by Maurice Ravel in 1922. The collaboration was commissioned by conductor Serge Koussevitzky, who led the American premiere of Ravel’s arrangement in 1924 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. French composer, pianist and conductor Maurice Ravel was intrigued by the piano suite’s unique style.  His arrangement re-imagined the work for a full orchestra adding French colors and textures as well as  elements of his own post-Impressionist style.

Founded in Gloucester in 1952, the Cape Ann Symphony is a professional orchestra of over 70 players from throughout the New England area. They perform a subscription season of four concerts per year plus several Pops and youth concerts. The Symphony Board of Directors named Yoichi Udagawa the Music Director and Conductor of the Cape Ann Symphony in the summer of 2000 after a yearlong search. In addition to his leadership of Cape Ann Symphony, he is Music Director and Conductor of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, and the Quincy Symphony Orchestra and a cover conductor at the Boston Pops Orchestra.  Frequently invited to guest conduct, Maestro Udagawa has worked with many different orchestras including the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Nobeoka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Indian Hill Symphony, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Brown University Orchestra, the Syracuse Society for New Music, the Boston Conservatory Orchestra, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, the Newton Symphony, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Mid-Texas Symphony. Maestro Udagawa is at home in popular and contemporary music as well as the standard symphonic repertoire. He is known for his relaxed manner and ability to speak from the podium which has helped new audiences as well as enthusiasts gain a greater appreciation for symphonic music. His programs often include premieres of new works – some specially commissioned for the orchestra — as well as great orchestral works across the symphonic repertoire and lively Pops programs. He is also an integral part of the Cape Ann Symphony Youth Initiative.

Yoichi Udagawa, the son of a nuclear physicist father and singer/artist mother, was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. His family immigrated to the United States soon thereafter. He began playing the violin at age four and made his conducting debut at age fifteen. After receiving a music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, he continued advanced studies in conducting with Gunther Schuller, Seiji Ozawa, Morihiro Okabe, and Henry Charles Smith. A fan of many different styles of music, Mr. Udagawa also enjoys performing gospel music in addition to his conducting activities. He is also an accomplished violinist and an avid fan of exercise and yoga.

-Cape Ann Symphony news

The Cape Ann Symphony Season 74 Opening Concert, The Virtuoso Orchestra! is Sunday, September 28, 2025 at 2:00 pm at the Manchester-Essex Regional High School Auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium is handicapped accessible. Ticket prices are $55 for adults, $50 for senior citizens, $20 for Students of any age with a valid student ID, $5 for Youth (12 years old and under). For information, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org

Announcing Cape Ann Symphony’s exciting Season 74 2025/26

Posted on by Catherine

Heidi Dallin shares the release:

CAPE ANN SYMPHONY 2025/2026

Cape Ann Symphony proudly announces the launch of the orchestra’s Season 74 concert season on Sunday, September 28 at 2:00 PM with The Virtuoso Orchestra Concert at Manchester-Essex Regional High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. Tickets are on sale now for Season 74. Season subscriptions offering discounted tickets are available to purchase in 3 and 4 concert packages. Single ticket prices are $55 for adults, $50 for senior citizens, $20 for students of any age with valid Student ID; $5 for youth 12 years old and under. For information and to purchase subscriptions and single tickets, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org

“Season 74 consists of 4 powerful and inspiring concerts ranging from the Majestic to the Serene!” says Cape Ann Symphony Board President John Todd.  “Each concert highlights the talent, passion and versatility of this cherished regional professional orchestra – Your Cape Ann Symphony! Our leader, the unparalleled Maestro Yoichi Udagawa, will take audiences on 4 unique musical journeys featuring beloved masterworks, brilliant guest artists and the ever-growing excellence of our CAS musicians. Many concerts sold out in Season 73. I highly recommend getting your season subscription NOW so you will not miss a note of Season 74!”  

Cape Ann Symphony Music Director and Conductor Yoichi Udagawa looks forward to opening Season 74 in September, “We are so excited about the 2025-26 season of the Cape Ann Symphony. In September, we’re highlighting the virtuoso musicians of the orchestra in two monumental works for orchestra – Holst’s Planets and Mussorgky/Ravel’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Our Holiday Pops will feature the wonderful Cape Ann Symphony Chorus led by the extraordinary Brittany Betts. The March concert will spotlight the amazing guitar soloist Grisha Goryachev in a performance of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez. We will finish the season in May with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 and the Grieg Piano Concerto with the incredible pianist Frederick Moyer. We can’t wait to get started!”

FROM MAJESTIC TO SERENE THE VIRTUOSO ORCHESTRA CONCERT

Performance:

  • Sunday, September 28, 2025: 2:00 PM | Manchester-Essex Regional High School, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA

Cape Ann Symphony kicks off Season 74 with THE VIRTUOSO ORCHESTRA CONCERT!, a celebration of our talented CAS musicians. The concert program featuring two awe-inspiring pieces: Gustav Holst’s majestic The Planets, Op. 32 and Modest Mussorgsky’s vibrant Pictures at an Exhibition, orchestrated by Maurice Ravel, spotlight the full power and beauty of the orchestra.  The Cape Ann Symphony Chorus led by Brittany Betts joins the orchestra for the final movement of Gustav Holst’s The Planets. 

THE HOLIDAY POPS CONCERT

Performances:

  • Saturday, November 29 2025: 2:00 PM | Dolan Performing Arts Center, Ipswich High School. Ipswich, MA
  • Saturday, November 29, 2025: 7:30 PM | Manchester-Essex Regional High School, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA
  • Sunday, November 30, 2025: 2:00 PM | Manchester-Essex Regional High School, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA

The Holiday Pops Concert, Cape Ann Symphony’s joyful holiday tradition, features a program of holiday favorites, the return of Cape Ann Symphony Chorus led by Rockport’s Brittany Betts, now in her second season as the Director of the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus. The program for Holiday Pops 2025  includes selections from The NutCracker, Christmas on Broadway arranged by John Higgins and many more holiday favorites. The concert will conclude with the CAS beloved tradition of an audience sing along.

MOZART, MENDELSSOHN, AND RODRIGO

Featuring Guitarist GRISHA GORYACHEV

Performance:

Sunday, March 15, 2026: 2:00 PM | Manchester-Essex Regional High School, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA

Cape Ann Symphony welcomes back internationally celebrated flamenco guitar virtuoso Grisha Goryachev to perform Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez. Grisha Goryachev made his CAS debut in March 2016. The Mozart, Mendelssohn and Rodrigo Concert program also includes Mozart’s Don Giovanni Overture and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No.4 “Italian.”

ROSSINI, GRIEG, and TCHAIKOVSKY

Featuring Pianist FREDERICK MOYER

Performance:

Sunday, May 10, 2026: 2:00 PM | Manchester-Essex Regional High School, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA

Season 74 concludes with renowned pianist Frederick Moyer performing Edvard Grieg’s beloved Piano Concerto. Frederick Moyer made his CAS debut in September 2001. The program for the CAS powerful season finale concert also features Gioachino Rossini’s Barber of Seville and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.

SINGLE TICKET PRICES FOR CONCERTS

  • Adults/$55.00
  • Senior Citizens/$50.00
  • Students (of any age with valid Student ID)/$20.00
  • Youth (Age 12 and Under)/$5.00
  • Season Subscriptions are Available for 3 or 4 concert packages.
  • Season Subscriptions and Tickets for all concerts are ON SALE NOW!  
  • For Information or to Purchase Tickets, call 978-281-0543 or Visit www.capeannsymphony.org

Photo 1: Cape Ann Symphony Music Director and Conductor Yoichi Udagawa

Photo 2: March 2026 Guest Artist Flamenco Guitar Virtuoso Grisha Goryachev 

Photo 3: May 2026 Guest Artist Renowned Pianist Frederick Moyer

Call for Vocalists! Sopranos Altos/Countertenors/Boy Sopranos for one program and altos, tenors and basses for another! cape Ann Symphony Auditions for 2 concerts. News from Heidi Dallin.

Posted on by Catherine

Reminder! Don’t miss an opportunity to join a major tradition.

Cape Ann Symphony Chorus Director Brittany Betts is Conducting Auditions for Vocalists to Perform with Cape Ann Symphony in Two Heralded Programs (Concerts Sept. 28, Nov. 29, Nov. 30)

The Virtuoso Orchestra: September 28: 2 PM
&
The Holiday Pops:
November 29: 2 PM & 7:30 PM;
November 30: 2 PM

Audition details

“Cape Ann Symphony kicks off the 74th season on Sunday, September 28 at 2:00 pm with The Virtuoso Orchestra Concert featuring Gustav Holst’s majestic The Planets where a chorale is featured in the final movement, Neptune. Cape Ann Symphony’s annual Holiday Pops Concert on November 29 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm and November 30 at 2:00 pm features The Cape Ann Symphony Chorus. 

 Ms. Betts, entering her second season as CAS Chorus Director, is looking for Sopranos & Altos/Countertenors/Boy Sopranos who are able to read and render music quickly to perform with the chorus in Gustav Holst’s The Planets in The Virtuoso Orchestra Concert on September 28. To audition, please send a video to Brittany Betts at brittanybetts@gmail.com by August 1, 2025. The video should contain the following vocal material:  Sing a short piece you can sing well that showcases your range, especially your upper register; Sing a 9-Note Scale up and down at the top of your range on an “ah”; and Sing through 4 Octave Arpeggios (1, 3,5, 8, 5, 3, 1)on “ah” at the top of your range and holding the 8 for 4 long counts before returning to 1. If you are unable to create a recording, contact Ms. Betts at brittanybetts@gmail.com before the August 1 deadline to set up an audition.

 CAS Chorus Director Betts is looking for Altos, Tenors and Basses to sing in The Holiday Pops Concert in November. According to Betts, “We are not looking for Sopranos at this time.  The Soprano section is full for this year’s Holiday Pops Concert.” Altos, Tenors and Basses can contact Ms. Betts at brittanybetts@gmail.com to set up an audition appointment.  The audition deadline is August 10.”

About the upcoming season:

The Cape Ann Symphony’s 74th Season opens on Sunday, September 28, 2025 at 2:00 PM with The Virtuoso Orchestra Concert followed by the annual Holiday Pops Concert featuring The Cape Ann Symphony Chorus on Saturday, November 29 at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM; and Sunday, November 30 at 2:00 PM. The  74th Season  continues in 2026 with The Mozart, Mendelssohn and Rodrigo Concert featuring Guitarist Grisha Goryachev on Sunday, March 16 at 2:00 PM and the season wraps up with The Rossini, Grieg and Tchaikovsky Concert featuring pianist Frederick Moyer on Sunday, May 10 at 2:00 PM. All concerts are held at the Manchester-Essex High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA

Tickets are ON SALE NOW for the Cape Ann Symphony’s 74th Season. For season subscriptions, single tickets and further  information, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org

Save the date! Cape Ann Symphony Pride Event 2025

Posted on by Catherine

Cape Ann Symphony Pride Event June 1, 2025

Info and tickets HERE

THE SWIRLING ROMANTIC CONCERT this weekend! Featuring Great Pianist Myron Romanul | Cape Ann Symphony 𝄞 🎼

Posted on by Catherine

Heidi Dallin shares a reminder about the Cape Ann Symphony upcoming concert and a fun fact:

“The guest artist Myron Romanul made his Cape Ann Symphony debut performing the Mozart Concerto No. 27 in…1966! 

Cape Ann Cultural History moment from Myron Romanul:

“On August 25, 1966, I made my full-concerto debut with the Cape Ann Symphony Orchestra with the Mozart: Concerto No. 27 and Jerome D. Cohen was the conductor for that concert. I don´t remember too much about it except that I was very excited to perform with an orchestra and they were very kind to me. This was the beginning of more appearances with orchestras.”

Myron Romanul

Read the press release about the concert here

CAS Press Release 2025 May SWIRLING ROMANTICSDownload

Photo 1: Guest Artist Myron Romanul returns to perform with CAS almost 60 years after his CAS debut
Photo 2: CAS Music Director and Conductor Yoichi Udagawa

Gorgeous Concert Sunday! Cape Ann Symphony! cellist Owen Young! Musical Director Maestro Yoichi Udagawa!

Posted on by Catherine

Cape Ann Symphony presents selections from Mendelssohn, Saint-Saens, and Beethoven on Sunday March 16, 2025. Read more about the concert program below from the symphony’s printed matter.

Sunday Concerts in Spring: Scroll further to see printable flyers for two more delightful programs scheduled in April and May.

Press Release

The program for Mendelssohn, Saint-Saëns, and Beethoven includes Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 and Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto, featuring Owen Young, Cello. The March 16th Concert marks the first time CAS has performed the Beethoven Symphony No. 4 during Maestro Udagawa’s 25 year tenure as Music Director and Conductor of Cape Ann Symphony. Maestro Udagawa looks forward to bringing the exciting piece to CAS audiences, “We have never performed the Beethoven Symphony No. 4 in Cape Ann during my time as conductor of the orchestra. It’s a real masterpiece, and it was definitely time to do it. It sits between the very famous 3rd and 5th symphonies, so it’s definitely been overshadowed by those pieces, but I know that the audience will love this piece. It has everything that Beethoven is known for – power, energy, melodies of tremendous beauty – and in addition, it comes along with a huge dose of high spirits and humor. “

Written in 1830, Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture also known as Fingal’s Cave was inspired by a trip the composer took to Scotland. His travels took him to the Hebrides Islands and the island of Staffa – known for its puffins and its atmospheric cave. With its echoing acoustics, which magnified the sound of rumbling waves, Fingal’s Cave made a profound impression on Mendelssohn. Through the Hebrides Overture he sought to capture the swell and feel of the Atlantic, and the sound of waves crashing against rocks. “The Hebrides Overture of Mendelssohn is such evocative music and a perfect piece to perform on Cape Ann,” points out Maestro Udagawa, “The opening is Mendelssohn’s depiction of the ocean waves, and it gently rolls along. Eventually the music builds up to a stormy sequence, and towards the end when the music is again peaceful, one can imagine seagulls soaring over the ocean. The music has such color and sparkle, and it’s always wonderful to prepare this piece with the musicians of the orchestra and to perform it.” 

Owen Young last played with CAS in March 2022. He performed the Brahms’ Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra with his BSO colleague violinist Lucia Lin.MaestroUdagawa is eager to collaborate with Owen Young again, “Owen Young is an incredible cellist and musician. In addition, he is an incredibly warm and nice person, and that really comes across in everything he does. That’s definitely one of the reasons the orchestra, I and our audience love him so much.” On March 16th world renowned cellist Young will play Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto with CAS. Many composers, including Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Rachmaninoff, consider this concerto to be the greatest of all cello concertos. In this demanding concerto Saint-Saëns broke with convention. Instead of using the normal three-movement concerto form, he wrote the piece in one continuous movement which contains three sections sharing interrelated ideas. “The Saint-Saens is a gorgeous concerto which is wildly difficult and virtuosic for the soloist,” says Maestro Udagawa,” in spite of the fireworks, Saint-Saens has written a piece of great charm and beauty. The main melody of the second movement is so beautiful and touching. The first movement is fiery and the last movement is also full of difficult passages for the soloist. It’s always amazing to see Owen play it with such command and ease. He makes it look easy, but we all know it isn’t! I can’t wait for CAS audiences to see this thrilling performance!”  

About Owen Young

Cellist Owen Young joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra in August 1991. A frequent collaborator in chamber music concerts and festivals, he has been featured as concerto soloist with numerous orchestras. Mr. Young has appeared in the Tanglewood, Aspen, Banff, Davos, Sunflower, Gateway, Brevard, and St. Barth’s music festivals and is a founding member of the innovative chamber ensemble Innuendo. His performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio, WQED in Pittsburgh, WITF in Harrisburg, and WGBH in Boston. He has performed frequently with singer/songwriter James Taylor, including the nationally televised concert “James Taylor Live at the Beacon Theatre” in New York City.

Mr. Young was formerly on the faculties of Boston Conservatory, New England Conservatory School of Continuing Education, and Longy School of Music. He is currently on the faculty of Berklee College of Music and is active in Project STEP, a String Training Education Program which provides talented young musicians that identify with historically underrepresented groups in classical music with comprehensive music instruction, envisioning a world in which the classical music profession reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of our communities.

Owen Young holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University. He was a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow in 1986 and 1987. After winning an Orchestra Fellowship in 1987, he played with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 1988 and with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1988-89. He was a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra in 1986-87 and of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 1989 until he joined the BSO in 1991. From 1991 to 1996 Mr. Young was a Harvard-appointed resident tutor and director of concerts in Dunster House at Harvard University. His teachers included Elinor Osborn, Michael Grebanier, Anne Martindale Williams, and Aldo Parisot.

About Cape Ann Symphony and Yoichi Udagawa

Founded in Gloucester in 1951, the Cape Ann Symphony is a professional orchestra of over 70 players from throughout the New England area. They perform a subscription season of four concerts per year plus several Pops and youth concerts. The Symphony Board of Directors named Yoichi Udagawa the Music Director and Conductor of the Cape Ann Symphony in the summer of 2000 after a yearlong search. In addition to his leadership of Cape Ann Symphony, he is Music Director and Conductor of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, and the Quincy Symphony Orchestra and a cover conductor at the Boston Pops Orchestra. Frequently invited to guest conduct, Mr. Udagawa has worked with many different orchestras including the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Nobeoka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Indian Hill Symphony, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Brown University Orchestra, the Syracuse Society for New Music, the Boston Conservatory Orchestra, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, the Newton Symphony, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Mid-Texas Symphony. Mr. Udagawa is at home in popular and contemporary music as well as the standard symphonic repertoire. He is known for his relaxed manner and ability to speak from the podium which has helped new audiences as well as enthusiasts gain a greater appreciation for symphonic music. His programs often include premieres of new works – some specially commissioned for the orchestra — as well as great orchestral works across the symphonic repertoire and lively Pops programs. He is also an integral part of the Cape Ann Symphony Youth Outreach programs to area schools.

tickets

Cape Ann Symphony Mendelssohn, Saint–Saëns, and Beethoven Concert is Sunday, March 16 at 2 pm at Manchester-Essex High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. Single ticket prices are $50 for adults, $45 for senior citizens age 65 and above, $20 for Students of any age with a valid student id; $5 for youth 12 years old and under. For tickets and information, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org.

Coming April 25, 2025

Coming May 11, 2025

Scenes from Cape Ann Symphony Annual Meeting. Special Event and Dinner at Minglewood.

Posted on by Catherine

photos: The Cape Ann Symphony Annual Meeting was held in Minglewood Harborside (the Tavern) full service special event space on January 29, 2025.

What an impressive and humble assembly of dedicated supporters! Many board members have helped the symphony for years. Board President, John Todd, reviewed the prior season and made certain to introduce the contributions and efforts of CAS officers and members, like Martha and Roy Mayne from Manchester. Martha has been hanging CAS posters for 15 years on Cape Ann and beyond. Her husband, Roy, now assists her. Todd extended regrets from Maestro Yoichi Udagawa who was attending to his father. Robert Ellis, Chair of the Program Committee explained that planning for the 2025/2026 season is well underway and the program reveal will be announced soon. Shhh! Don’t forget that a major milestone anniversary is on the horizon for Cape Ann Symphony, a cultural anchor on Cape Ann then and now. There is so much fun history to tap into. Lynn Khambaty mentioned that the Cape Ann Symphony Musicians Unleashed Sunday Broadway event was sold out, and detailed how these small delights evolved from antecedents decades past when donations were dropped in a bowl at the back.

In the meantime, the Cape Ann Symphony big spring concert for the current season is coming up Sunday March 16th at 2pm: Mendelssohn, Saint-Sëans, & Beethoven featuring guest artist, a returning and CAS audience favorite, cellist Owen Young! Buy tickets here. Check out the poster designed by board member Monty Lewis below the photo block for more info. Cape Ann Symphony is a professional regional symphony that is well and widely regarded and a treasure to experience its impact so close to home.

The service was excellent and the food was terrific for this congenial Annual Meeting and celebration. Minglewood’s event space has a dedicated full bar along its Rogers Street wall and customizable table layout and menu design. The original Chris Williams Octopus sculpture was re-sited from the old Latitude’s waterfront entrance to out front here and looks fantastic.

ON BROADWAY! Cape Ann Symphony Musicians Unleashed sing your favorites Feb 9th at 3pm

Posted on by Catherine

Enjoy a terrific Broadway show tunes concert for a good cause and even join in for the sing along bits–and all before the Superbowl kickoff! Heidi Dallin shares the info and program below.

Courtesy image:  The Company of Musicians Unleashed ON BROADWAY! Photo Credit: Henry Betts. Front Row L-R: Byron Winn, Gordon Baird, Priscilla Walter, Carolyn Howard. Back Row L-R: Wendy Betts, Brittany Betts. Missing from Photo: Guest Artist: Lydia Betts; Bass Player: Justin McLean

Cape Ann Symphony Musicians Unleashed Concert Series goes ON BROADWAY! for their upcoming concert on Sunday, February 9, 2025 at 3:00 PM at The St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1123 Washington Street, Gloucester. 

 ON BROADWAY! features a group of singers from the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus, local musicians and special guests led by CAS Chorus Director Brittany Betts. The multi-talented Betts will lead the company as well as contributing Vocals, Trumpet, Flugelhorn, and Percussion for the concert.

The ON BROADWAY! Company includes CAS Chorus members:

  • Gordon Baird: Vocals and Percussion
  • Carolyn Howard: Vocals
  • Byron Winn: Vocals and Cello
  • CAS Chorus Accompanist Priscilla Walter: Piano
  • Justin McLean; Bass
  • plus Special Guest Soloist: Lydia Betts, Piano
  • and Former CAS Chorus Director Wendy Betts: Vocals and Piano

**The program includes songs from Hamilton, Something Rotten, The Sound of Music,  Camelot, Songs for a New World, Into The Woods, Dear Evan Hansen, a George Gershwin Medley and two audience Sing-Along Medleys of hit Broadway classic and contemporary songs.**

Brittany Betts is excited to bring the music of Broadway to the Musicians Unleashed Series,

“Mark your calendars for Sunday, February 9, 3pm @ St. Paul Lutheran Church in Lanesville (Gloucester), MA because you won’t want to miss this Cape Ann Symphony – Musicians Unleashed chamber concert of vocal and instrumental Broadway tunes performed by members of the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus (Brittany Betts, Carolyn Howard, Gordon Baird and Byron Winn) along with chorus accompanist, Priscilla Walter, and special guests Wendy Betts (vocals and piano) and Lydia Betts (piano).

We’ve got something for everyone: 4 Vocal Solos, 2 Duets and 2 Group Numbers; 1 Piano Solo; One Set of 4 Gershwin Piano Duets; 2 Sing-Along Medleys…and maybe even a game or two! Songs are spanning the decades – from the 1930s to the 2010s. Grab your ticket early. Don’t wait. It’s not a large space and we want to make sure you get to see it. And, hey, why not come dressed as a Broadway character to add to the fun?”

Brittany Betts

ON BROADWAY! is Sunday, February 9 at 3:00 PM at  St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1123 Washington Street, Gloucester.  The ticket price for ON BROADWAY! is$40 for Adults. Call Cape Ann Symphony at 978-281-0543 or go to www.capeannsymphony.org for tickets.

THANKSGIVING WEEKEND: Cape Ann Symphony Holiday Pops 2024

Posted on by Catherine

Musical treat can’t be beat. Fun plans for Thanksgiving weekend

CAPE ANN SYMPHONY
THE 73rd SEASON
Yoichi Udagawa, Music Director
HOLIDAY POPS
A Cape Ann Holiday Tradition
featuring
The Cape Ann Symphony Chorus
Led by Choral Director Brittany Betts

Performances:
Manchester & Ipswich
           Saturday, November 30, 2024: 2:00 PM in Ipswich
           Saturday, November 30, 2024: 7:30 PM in Manchester
          Sunday, December 1 2024: 2:00 PM in Manchester

Cape Ann Symphony news about the program:

This annual festive musical celebration led by CAS Conductor and Music Director Yoichi Udagawa features a program of holiday favorites for orchestra and chorus.

“The musicians of the orchestra and I love our Holiday Pops concert,” says CAS Conductor and Music Director Yoichi Udagawa, “We have selected a wide range of music that celebrates the season, and we love sharing it with our wonderful audiences. The Cape Ann Symphony Chorus, now under the direction of Brittany Betts, will be joining us, and it’s always such a joy to collaborate with them. Come join us! We can hardly wait to see you!!”

The Cape Ann Symphony launched The Cape Ann Symphony Chorus under the directions of Wendy Betts at the 2005 Holiday Pops Concert. . The group has performed with the Cape Ann Symphony at Holiday Pops Concerts in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 2013, 2014. 2015, 2016. 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. Holiday Pops 2024  marks the premiere of  new Cape Ann Symphony Choral Director Brittany Betts. Brittany Betts took over leadership of the CAS Chorus this fall  when her mother Wendy Betts retired as the longtime Choral Director for the CAS Chorus. “I am especially excited for everyone to hear the new iteration of the symphony chorus.” says Brittany Betts, “After a year off following the retirement of my mom, Wendy Betts, who led the chorus with great success for 16 years, it is a great joy and honor to be part of the rebuilding process. Each of the 32 singers had to audition to make the roster since we were creating a smaller chorus. So, voices had to be strong enough to hold their own and have the ability to blend well quickly. I believe we have achieved success. The singers hail from all over the North Shore –  Rockport, Gloucester, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Beverly, Peabody, Ipswich and Georgetown. I am also pleased to have the incomparable pianist, Priscilla Walter, who was the chorus accompanist for many years, back at the piano. She is a gift of a collaborator. We are 8 weeks in now and we are sounding great. There is a lot of joyful (and super focused) camaraderie at our rehearsals. Everyone has been committed from day one to bringing light, beauty, love, joy and hope to our community through music. And there is that in spades throughout the whole program! We hope that the audience will leave feeling great – as if they were seen and held, loved and brought together through the music. You know, energized by the spirit of community at its finest. As the final line in the last piece states – “How great our joy!” 

The Holiday Pops 2024 concert program includes Anderson’s Christmas Festival; Greensleeves, arranged by Reed; A Christmas Scherzo, arranged by Sebesky; Custer’s Chanukah Festival; and Selections from Tchaikovsky’s  Nutcracker. The Cape Ann Symphony Chorus joins the orchestra to perform Christmas on Broadway, arranged by Higgins; Pinkzebra’s Winter Lullaby; Holcomb’s Festive Sounds of Hannukah 2nd Edition; Rutter’s What Sweeter Music and Rejoice! How Great Our Joy, arranged by McElory. ” CAS Choral Director Brittany Betts offers insight on the Chorus selections in the program, “The chorus will be presenting five beautiful and fun pieces to reflect the holiday and winter season – filled with traditional favorites and new to us pieces. You can expect to tap your feet to a medley of broadway Christmas tunes, and to feel cozy and reflective as the choir sings a tender lullaby about winter and time passing by.  We will then honor our Jewish and Christian friends’ traditions with a medley of Hanukkah pieces, and a stunningly beautiful favorite of the classical choral realm – John Rutter’s What Sweeter Music.  Finally, we will top it all off with a rousing gospel piece, Rejoice! How Great Our Joy which reflects the jubilance of the Christian Christmas tradition. You will want to stand and clap for sure (and we want you to do so)! Now, don’t worry, we will be inviting the audience to join their voices as one big choir on the sing-a-long as has been a long favored tradition at the Holiday Pops Concerts. So grab your ticket, do your vocal warm-ups and let’s celebrate the season TOGETHER!”

Brittany Betts brings with her a different approach to the choral world having primarily worked as a trumpeter,  djembefola (someone who skillfully plays the djembe, a West African drum) collaborator, worship leader, jazz singer and composer. She performs with the David Whitney Orchestra, Riverside Renaissance Swing Band, Cantemus Chamber Chorus and the vocal trio, ONE. In 2023-2024, she served as Artist-in-Residence at First Church Congregational in Swampscott, composing sung liturgies and songs for their Advent and Lenten services. Ms. Betts traveled the country and abroad as a Glocal (local and global combined) Musician Educator and Worship Coordinator with the Global Mission Unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for 10 years. During that time she also served on the music staff of Visible Music College in Memphis, TN where she taught voice, music theory, rock bands, the World Music Ensemble and a guided improvisation class.

About Cape Ann Symphony

Founded in Gloucester in 1951, the Cape Ann Symphony is a professional orchestra of over 70 players from throughout the New England area. They perform a subscription season of four concerts per year plus several Pops and youth concerts. The Symphony Board of Directors named Yoichi Udagawa the Music Director and Conductor of the Cape Ann Symphony in the summer of 2000 after a yearlong search. In addition to his leadership of Cape Ann Symphony, he is Music Director and Conductor of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, and the Quincy Symphony Orchestra and a cover conductor at the Boston Pops Orchestra.  Frequently invited to guest conduct, Maestro Udagawa has worked with many different orchestras including the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Nobeoka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Indian Hill Symphony, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Brown University Orchestra, the Syracuse Society for New Music, the Boston Conservatory Orchestra, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, the Newton Symphony, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Mid-Texas Symphony. Maestro Udagawa is at home in popular and contemporary music as well as the standard symphonic repertoire. He is known for his relaxed manner and ability to speak from the podium which has helped new audiences as well as enthusiasts gain a greater appreciation for symphonic music. His programs often include premieres of new works – some specially commissioned for the orchestra — as well as great orchestral works across the symphonic repertoire and lively Pops programs. He is also an integral part of the Cape Ann Symphony Youth Initiative.

Yoichi Udagawa, the son of a nuclear physicist father and singer/artist mother, was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. His family immigrated to the United States soon thereafter. He began playing the violin at age four and made his conducting debut at age fifteen. After receiving a music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, he continued advanced studies in conducting with Gunther Schuller, Seiji Ozawa, Morihiro Okabe, and Henry Charles Smith. A fan of many different styles of music, Mr. Udagawa also enjoys performing gospel music in addition to his conducting activities. He is also an accomplished violinist and an avid fan of exercise and yoga.”/ End.

The Cape Ann Symphony’s Annual Holiday Pops Concert, returns to kick off the holiday season on Saturday, November 30 at 2 pm at the Dolan Performing Arts Center at Ipswich High School on 134 High Street, Ipswich, MA; Saturday, November 30 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, December 1 at 2 pm at Manchester-Essex High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. For tickets and information about this Cape Ann Holiday tradition, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org

Photo 1: The Cape Ann Symphony Photo by Jeph Ellis
Photo 2: Cape Ann Symphony Chorus Photo by Jeph Ellis
Photo 3: Cape Ann Symphony OnStage: A view from the Percussion Section. Conductor Yoichi Udagawa in back of photo Photo by Jeph Ellis
Photo 4: Cape Ann Symphony French Horn Section Photo by Jeph Ellis
Photo 5: Cape Ann Symphony Conductor and Music Director Yoichi Udagawa Courtesy Photo 6: Cape Ann Symphony Chorus Director Brittany Betts Courtesy Photo

Bluegrass And Beyond! LIVE October 26 at the UU Church

Posted on by Catherine

Sounds fantastic!

News from Cape Ann Symphony

Cape Ann Symphony proudly announces the opening of the 2024/25 Musicians Unleashed Concert Series with Bluegrass And Beyond, on Saturday, October 26, 2024 at 3:00 PM at The Unitarian Universalist Church, 10 Church Street, Gloucester. The ticket price for Bluegrass And Beyond is $40 for Adults.  Call CAS at 978-281-0543 or go to http://www.capeannsymphony.org to purchase tickets. Premiering in 2019, the Cape Ann Symphony’s Musicians Unleashed programs are small intimate chamber concerts performed by members of the Cape Ann Symphony at unique performance venues on Cape Ann. Musicians Unleashed concerts have become a wonderfully popular series with an overwhelmingly enthusiastic audience response.

“The Musicians Unleashed Series gives our musicians and our audience members an opportunity to connect in a more relaxed intimate setting, ” points out CAS Board President John Todd,  “ Bluegrass And Beyond is a terrific start to the concert series!  The lively afternoon features a wide range of music and showcases not only instrumental skills but vocals. The musicians will all be singing and playing fiddle, bass and guitar!”

Bluegrass And Beyond is an intriguing blend of American and international Bluegrass, country and folk music played and sung using violin, guitar and bass instruments. This afternoon of fiddle, guitar and bass as well as vocals features CAS Concert Master Scott Moore,  fiddle, vocals;  Erica Pisaturo, fiddle, vocals; George Clements, guitar, vocals; Charles Clements, bass, vocals playing a program of creative and varied compositions.

“Bluegrass And Beyond explores folk music, rooted here in America and across the Atlantic,” according to CAS violinist Erica Pisaturo, “Audiences experience our take on traditional American songs and instrumental music, then journey overseas with us to Hungary, Finland, Sweden, and the UK. Folk-inspired original tunes by members of the group round out the program. As performers and musicians, we love blurring the boundaries of genre and experimenting with different ingredients and flavors to make the old and timeless into something new and vibrant. This music is full of energy, simple and tenderhearted at times, but always ripe with passion. Audiences will be engaged and immersed, and leave feeling inspired and invigorated by this age-old music.”

program includes:  Long Time Traveler, Jack of Diamonds, Shady Grove, Chinquapin Hunting,  and  Fall on My Knees; Bartok’s 44 Duets for Two Violins; Vasen’s The Dragonship and Gudda; Ost’s Fantomen; plus Wayfaring Star of the Strawstack Medley; Return from Helsinki; Citi Na Gcumman; Calum Sgaire; Boatin’Up Sandy; Hartford’s On The Road, and two  pieces written by our performers : George Clements’ As The Crow Flies and Scott Moore’s Mando Jam.

About the Musicians

Scott Moore was born and came of age in rural Kentucky. He began his career as a violinist and composer as a four-year-old in New York. He’s been a soloist with a number of orchestras, played Mozart for the Archduke of Austria, and has given an impromptu recital in Carnegie Hall for an audience of ghosts. In 2018, he began performing, from memory, the complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by J. S. Bach.  A composer as well, he has composed six adventurous new scores for the Louisville Ballet, including As You Like It in August 2022. This native Kentuckian is now a resident of Gloucester. He and his wife violinist Erica Pisaturo, also a member of CAS and playing and singing in Bluegrass And Beyond, moved to New England in the fall of 2019.

Violinist Erica Pisaturo is a native of New England, where she began her violin studies at the age of four. After earning a BA in Music and Art History from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, she went on to earn an MFA at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. While in the South, Ms. Pisaturo played violin in a number of professional symphony orchestras, including the Hilton Head Symphony and Savannah Philharmonic, both of which she also served as Orchestra Librarian. She has toured and traveled the world extensively including studying architecture in Italy and making music on tour in China and Japan.  She and her husband, CAS violinist Scott Moore moved to Gloucester in 2019 and Ms. Pisaturo now plays with the Cape Ann Symphony and Symphony By The Sea.

Bassist, teacher and twin brother of fellow Bluegrass And Beyond performer George Clements, Charles Clements began playing music at an early age.  A 10 year voyage through piano, viola, trumpet and electric bass led Mr. Clements to the double bass in high school which he began to study privately with Nancy Kidd and play in jazz ensembles and youth orchestras.  He attended the New England Conservatory of Music, earning his Bachelor’s Degree studying with Boston Symphony bassist Todd Seeber.  Mr. Clements went on to receive his Master’s Degree at Manhattan School of Music in New York, studying with New York Philharmonic bassist and jazz talent David Grossman. He was a New World Symphony fellow from 2011-2014 and now is a substitute in the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Clements now resides in the Boston area playing with a variety of different ensembles and collaborating on a wide range of projects ranging from folk to baroque.

Musician, songwriter and teacher George Clements is a New England based guitarist and singer/songwriter steeped in American folk music traditions.   In the fall of 2019 Mr. Clements became involved with an off-Broadway show called, The Simon & Garfunkel Story, playing Paul Simon.

The Clements brothers played together in the modern acoustic group, The Lonely Heartstring Band, releasing two albums on Rounder Records, Deep Waters (2014) and Smoke & Ashes (2017).  The group traveled and performed all over the US and Canada as well as Scotland, New Zealand, Germany and Switzerland. They were the recipient of the 2014 IBMA momentum award and played the stages of Grey Fox Festival, Rockygrass, Red Wing Roots and many others. George and Charles Clements are currently working on a new project together called The Clements Brothers. Their debut album, Dandelion Breeze, will be released by the end of the year.

Bluegrass And Beyond is Saturday, October 26 at 3:00 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 10 Church Street, Gloucester. Ticket prices for Bluegrass And Beyond are $40 for Adults. Call Cape Ann Symphony at 978-281-0543 or go to http://www.capeannsymphony.org for tickets.

Happy News from Heidi Dallin: Cape Ann Symphony Announces new Choral Director and Auditions for chorus singers 🎼

Posted on by Catherine

Please join in and share the news!

The Cape Ann Symphony recently announced that Rockport’s Wendy Betts, longtime Director of the CAS Chorus will retire and her daughter multi-talented musician Brittany Betts will take over as Choral Director for the CAS Chorus.

‘’We are thrilled to have Brittany Betts join us as the new Director of the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus. She is a fabulous musician and will do an amazing job conducting the chorus. We will be collaborating with her and the wonderful singers of the chorus at the Holiday Pops concerts, and are really looking forward to it!” 

–Yoichi Udagawa, Cape Ann Symphony Music Dir & Conductor

Brittany Betts will make her debut with the CAS Chorus during the CAS annual Holiday Pops Concert on November 30 and December 1.

Message from Brittany Betts

“I am honored to be carrying on the tradition of choral excellence with the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus that my mom, Wendy Betts, so beautifully crafted for 16 years, ” says Brittany Betts, “I believe music has the ability to bring people together for good and, together with Maestro Udagawa and the symphony, the chorus and I will help bring our community together with beauty, skill and fun. The Symphony continues to grow and expand their skillfulness, and so it stands, at this new time for the chorus, we should do the same. In order to fulfill this growth, we will be changing things up a bit and holding auditions a week before rehearsals begin in order to build a smaller chorus of about 40 singers. We are hoping some of our local high school students might like to participate too! I also want to share that I am thrilled that Priscilla Walter, pianist extraordinaire, has agreed to be the chorus accompanist this year! She is an excellent musician who has been sharing her musical gifts on Cape Ann for years and we are blessed to have her with us once again.”

Brittany Betts

Cape Ann Symphony Chorus Auditions

Cape Ann Symphony Chorus Auditions will be held on Saturday September 7 from 10 am -Noon and Wednesday September 12 from 6 pm – 8 pm.  If you are interested in auditioning, please contact Brittany Betts at brittanybetts@gmail.com

CAS Chorus Rehearsals will be Wednesdays September 18-November 20 from 7 pm – 9 pm at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Lanesville along with 2 rehearsals with the orchestra during the week of the concerts. The Cape Ann Symphony 2024 Holiday Pops Concerts are:

  • Saturday, November 30, 2024: 2:00 PM Dolan Performing Arts Center, Ipswich High School. Ipswich, MA
  • Saturday, November 30, 2024: 7:30 PM Manchester-Essex High School, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA
  • Sunday, December 1, 2024: 2:00 PM Manchester-Essex High School, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA

The Cape Ann Symphony launched The Cape Ann Symphony Chorus under the directions of Wendy Betts at the 2005 Holiday Pops Concert. . The group has performed with the Cape Ann Symphony at Holiday Pops Concerts in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 2013, 2014. 2015, 2016. 2017, 2018, 2019,2021 and 2022. “I am excited to share that Maestro Udagawa and I have put together a fun Holiday POPS program for 2024, ” continues Betts, “The chorus will be presenting five beautiful and fun pieces to reflect the holiday and winter season – filled with traditional favorites and new to us pieces. You can expect to tap your feet to a medley of broadway Christmas tunes, and to feel cozy and reflective as the choir sings a tender lullaby about winter and time passing by.  We will then honor our Jewish and Christian friends’ traditions with a medley of Hanukkah pieces which you will end up wanting to sing along to, and a stunningly beautiful favorite of the classical choral realm, John Rutter’s “What Sweeter Music”.  And we will top it all off with a rousing gospel piece, “Rejoice! How Great Our Joy” which reflects the jubilance of the Christian Christmas tradition. You will want to stand and clap for sure (and we want you to do so)! Now, don’t worry, we will be inviting the audience to join their voices as one big choir on the sing-a-long as has been a long favored tradition at the Holiday Pops Concerts. So grab your ticket, do your vocal warm-ups and let’s celebrate the season TOGETHER this November!”

Brittany Betts brings with her a different approach to the choral world having primarily worked as a trumpeter,  djembefola (someone who skillfully plays the djembe, a West African drum) collaborator, worship leader, jazz singer and composer. She performs with the David Whitney Orchestra, Riverside Renaissance Swing Band, Cantemus Chamber Chorus and the vocal trio, ONE. In 2023-2024, she served as Artist-in-Residence at First Church Congregational in Swampscott, composing sung liturgies and songs for their Advent and Lenten services. Ms. Betts traveled the country and abroad as a Glocal (local and global combined) Musician Educator and Worship Coordinator with the Global Mission Unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for 10 years. During that time she also served on the music staff of Visible Music College in Memphis, TN where she taught voice, music theory, rock bands, the World Music Ensemble and a guided improvisation class.

Cape Ann Symphony Chorus Auditions will be held on Saturday September 7th, from 10 am – Noon and Wednesday September 12 from 6 pm – 8 pm.  If you are interested in auditioning, please contact Brittany Betts via email here: brittanybetts@gmail.com

The Cape Ann Symphony Holiday Pops Concerts are Saturday, November 30 at 2 pm at the Dolan Performing Arts Center at Ipswich High School on 134 High Street, Ipswich, MA; Saturday, November 30  at 7:30 pm and Sunday, December 1 at 2 pm at Manchester-Essex High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA . Single ticket prices are $50 for adults, $45 for senior citizens age 65 and above, $20 for Students of any age with a valid student id; $5 for youth 12 years old and under. For tickets and information, call 978-281-0543 or visit http://www.capeannsymphony.org.

A Perfect Mother’s Day Concert May 12, 2pm

Posted on by Catherine

Celebrate Mom! Save the date May 12, 2024 at 2pm

Read more about LUCIA LIN :

“Born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, Lucia Lin made her debut at age eleven, performing the Mendelssohn Concerto with the Chicago Symphony and went on to be a prize winner of numerous competitions, including the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Described as a soloist with “virtuosity and insight” who is “passionate and graceful” (Indianapolis Star), and whose playing has “a genuine fresh quality not often heard” (Cincinnati Enquirer), Ms. Lin has performed on the international stage, including appearances with orchestras in Europe as well as a solo recital at Carnegie Hall.

At the age of 22, she won a position in the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She then went on to become acting concertmaster with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, and subsequently spent two years as Concertmaster with the London Symphony Orchestra, where she was leader for numerous tours, including to Japan, Italy, Scotland, and Spain.

A return to the U.S. in 1995 brought her back to the Boston Symphony. She also founded the Boston Trio and then became a member of the Muir String Quartet in 1998.

Lucia teaches applied violin, chamber music, and orchestral studies as Professor of Music at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts. In the summers she participates in a mentorship program at the Tanglewood Music Center as well as an intensive quartet program at Boston University Tanglewood Institute.

As an accomplished dancer, she collaborated with the dance company Snappy Dance Theater in the world premiere of “String Beings”, an innovative piece integrating music with dance and technology. The work was performed at the Wimberley Theater in Boston where Ms. Lin “proved to be as fearless and fine a dancer as musician.”

Ms. Lin has recorded for many labels including a recent recording with the Muir String Quartet performing works of Kreisler, Berg and Schulhof. And most recently collaborated with harpist, Ann Hobson Pilot and bandoneon player, J.P. Jofre, featuring the works of Astor Piazzolla.”

CAPE ANN SYMPHONY

CHECK OUT special event AND BUY TICKETS HERE!

Print and share flyer below!

Katy and the Big Snow Free Family Concert! presented by Sawyer Free Library and Cape Ann Symphony at Trinity on Middle Street

Posted on by Catherine

Talk about a Read Aloud and then some!

Save the date: April 19, 2024

Location: Trinity 70 Middle St.

“Beloved story by Gloucester’s own Virginia Lee Burton read aloud by local actress Heidi Dallin, and set to music for this ensemble performance.”

News from Sawyer Free Library

Print and share the cheery flyer

This Sunday! Cape Ann Symphony THE GREAT (AND UNKNOWN) GREAT CONCERT!

Posted on by Catherine

Just four days away! Heidi Dallin shares a reminder about Cape Ann Symphony spring concert in this their 72nd season:

The Cape Ann Symphony’s 72nd Concert Season continues with The Known (and Unknown) Greats Concert featuring world renowned pianist Janice Weber on Sunday, March 17  at 2 pm at Manchester-Essex High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. For tickets and information about the concert, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org

The program for The Known (and Unknown Greats) Concert features Louise Farrenc’s  Overture No. 1; William Grant Still’s Woodnotes and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 performed by Janice Weber. Ms. Weber made her Cape Ann Symphony debut in 2008 playing Saint Saens’ Piano Concerto No. 2. in The  French Fantasy Concert. CAS Music Director and Conductor Yoichi Udagawa looks forward to the upcoming concert,

“Virtuoso pianist Janice Weber is an amazing artist! She has a long history of breathtaking performances with CAS. We can’t wait for our audience to hear her perform Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto. We begin the concert with a sparkling Overture by the French composer Louise Farrenc followed by a gorgeous suite for orchestra by American composer William Grant Still.”

Yoichi Udagawa

Read the press release and print and share the poster!

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IMAGES

Photo 1: CAS Music Director and Conductor Yoichi Udagawa
Photo 2: Guest Artist Pianist Janice Weber
Photo 3: Composer Louise Farrenc
Photo 4: Composer William Grant Still
Photo 5: CAS In Concert, Credit: Jeph Ellis, Image Maker
Photo 6: CAS Players, Credit: Jeph Ellis, Image Maker

Concert on Sunday! CAS Musicians Unleashed: BLAZING BRASS!

Posted on by Catherine

Cape Ann Symphony Musicians Unleashed Concert Series

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11 at 3:00PM

BLAZING BRASS!

at Gloucester’s St. Paul Lutheran Church

Featuring SAMUEL COSTA Trumpet; KURT CHARLES, Trumpet; EARL POWERS, Horn; JOHN MITCHELL, Trombone ROB NEEDS, Tuba

Cape Ann Symphony proudly announces the Musicians Unleashed Concert, Blazing Brass!, on Sunday, February 11, 2024 at 3:00 PM at The  St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1123 Washington Street, Gloucester. The ticket price for Blazing Brass! is $40 for Adults and $15 for Youth.  Call CAS at 978-281-0543 or go to www.capeannsymphony.org to purchase tickets. The Cape Ann Symphony’s Musicians Unleashed programs were launched in 2019 and have become a wonderfully popular series with an overwhelmingly enthusiastic audience response.

Blazing Brass! celebrates the brass section of the orchestra and features 5 accomplished brass players including Ipswich resident and CAS principal horn, Earl Powers; Samuel Costa, trumpet; Kurt Charles, trumpet; John Mitchell, trombone; and Rob Needs, tuba. These 5 musicians have planned an exciting journey of brass music through the decades featuring the music of George M. Cohan, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Leonard Bernstein and America’s March King John Philip Sousa. The program for Blazing Brass! includes the classics:  Just a Closer Walk With Thee, Amazing Grace; The Saints’ Hallelujah and America The Beautiful; Jaime Texidor Dalmau ‘s Amparito Roca; Fats Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’; John Philip Sousa’s Fairest of the Fair; Duke Ellington’s It Don’t Mean A Thing; and  Selections from  Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story: Maria, Tonight, I Feel Pretty and Somewhere.

THE PLAYERS:

Earl Powers is currently the principal horn of the Cape Ann Symphony and has been a

member of the 215th Army Band since 2012. Earl received his Bachelor of Music degree from Wichita State University and his Master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Prior to joining the 215th , he was principal horn for 10 years in the United States Navy Band in Washington, DC, and spent two years as 3rd horn in the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra. In 1989 Earl was selected as a Rotary Scholar from District 569 in Kansas and spent a year abroad studying horn at the Hochschule “Mozarteum” in Salzburg, Austria. Now a software engineer by day and a horn player by night, Earl lives in Ipswich with his amazing and talented wife, Susanne,along with their four equally talented and amazing children.

Samuel Costa is currently the Director of Bands at Ponaganset Middle School in North Scituate, Rhode Island. He has also held the position of Principal Trumpet for the 215th Army Band of the Massachusetts Army National Guard for the last 24 years. He has performed all over New England and is a founding member of the Nebula Brass Quintet.Samuel has performed frequently with the Cape Ann Symphony in addition to other orchestras, including the Rhode Island Philharmonic, Cape Cod Symphony, and Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra.

Kurt Charles was born and raised in Manchester, Connecticut, where he started playing the trumpet in grade school. He has worked as a local musician performing for church services, marching bands, dance bands, and musicals around Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. Kurt studied music education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 2011 to 2016. He joined the 215th Army National Guard Band of Massachusetts in 2012 and is a member of the Commonwealth Brass Quintet. Kurt currently resides in Stafford Springs, Connecticut and works full time in the field of Information technology while continuing to serve as an Army Bandsman in Massachusetts and a civilian musician in his local community.

John Mitchell, a trombonist of unwavering passion, embarked on his musical journey at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he cultivated his skills and developed a profound appreciation for the art. Currently, he proudly serves in the 215th Army Band,showcasing both his musical prowess and dedication to his country. Alongside his military commitments, John finds fulfillment in shaping the next generation of musicians through private lessons. With a rich blend of training, service, and a love for teaching,  John Mitchell continues to leave an indelible mark on the world of music.

Rob Needs started playing euphonium in 1972. He joined the 215th Army Band in 1980, started learning tuba in 1985, and in 1987 became the principal tuba player for the Army Band. Rob recently retired with 41 years of service! Rob has played on severa loccasions with the Cape Ann Symphony on tuba and is currently the principal French horn player in the Southeastern Philharmonic Orchestra and Our Lady of Light band. Additionally he is lead trombonist in the Swansea Community Musicians, euphonium player in the Saint Cecilia Philharmonic Band, tuba player in the Nebula Brass Quintet, French horn player in the North River Brass Quintet, and regularly switches instrumentsas needed in the Bridgewater Antiphonal Brass Society. He has performed vocally, on bass guitar, on keyboards, and has written brass quintet arrangements, several of which are being performed today.

Blazing Brass! is  Sunday, February 11 at 3:00 PM at The  St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1123 Washington Street, Gloucester. Ticket prices for Blazing Brass!  are $40 for Adults and $15 for Youth. Call Cape Ann Symphony at 978-281-0543 or go to www.capeannsymphony.org for tickets.

Photos  Attached:

  • Photo 1: Samuel Costa, Trumpet
  • Photo 2: Earl Powers. CAS Principal Horn and Ipswich resident
  • Photo 3: John Mitchell, Trombone
  • Photo 4: Kurt Charles, Trumpet
  • Photo 5: Rob Needs, 

Holiday Pops Thanksgiving Weekend

Posted on by Catherine

Cape Ann Symphony shares a reminder about its 2023 Holiday Pops concerts Thanksgiving weekend. Two shows Saturday. One show Sunday.

The Cape Ann Symphony’s Annual Holiday Pops Concert, returns to kick off the holiday season on Saturday, November 25 at 2 pm at the Dolan Performing Arts Center at Ipswich High School on 134 High Street, Ipswich, MA; Saturday, November 25 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, November 26 at 2 pm at Manchester-Essex High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. For tickets and information about this Cape Ann Holiday tradition, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org

The 2023 Holiday Pops Concert led by CAS Conductor and Music Director Yoichi Udagawa features a program of holiday favorites and welcomes back Boston’s preeminent gospel performer Renese King. King last performed with CAS in 2012. Ms. King’s array of musical talents have taken her from spiritual and gospel singing at the church podium to timpani playing on the Carnegie Hall stage. She has toured internationally as a percussionist, pianist, and vocalist with a number of Massachusetts based choral and orchestral ensembles. But, it is her soulful and unforgettably moving voice that has piqued her national reputation.

“Our Holiday Pops 2023 will feature a lot of great music to get into the spirit of the Holidays for the whole family,” says Maestro Udagawa, ” We are also thrilled to have Gospel sensation Renese King join us at these concerts. She is a remarkable musician who I love working with. Her musical gifts are phenomenal – don’t miss this opportunity to hear her! The orchestra and I love these Holiday concerts! They are always so joyful and fun – a highlight of our concert season! We can hardly wait to make music together and celebrate the holiday season with you!”

Maestro Udagawa has planned a program of holiday favorites for the 2023 Holiday Pops including Anderson’s Christmas Festival , Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel Overture, Tchaikovsky’s Selections from The Nutcracker, Christmas Favorites arranged by Chase, Festive Sounds of Hannukah arranged by Holcomb and a selection of holiday favorites performed by gospel sensation Renese King. A CAS Holiday Pops tradition, all the concerts end with the annual audience Holiday Singalong.  

Renese King’s array of musical talents has taken her from spiritual and gospel singing at the church podium to timpani playing on the Carnegie Hall stage. Her soulful, moving voice garnered her a Boston Music Award as Gospel/Inspirational Artist of the Year. Often singing her own arrangements, King has performed with many ensembles in the New England area and across the nation. Her voice is featured on the soundtracks of three award-winning PBS documentary films (Emmy, Peabody, and Sundance awards): Freedom Riders(2011), Freedom Summer(2014), and Tell Them We Are Rising(2018). She  appears regularly with the Boston Pops, having been a featured and guest soloist in concerts at Symphony Hall and on the Esplanade, in television broadcasts, and on the 2004 CD Sleigh Ride, alongside the Boston Pops Orchestra, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and Boston Pops Gospel Choir. Renese King is the Executive Assistant to the Vice -President of Berklee College of Music and serves as director of the New England Gospel Ensemble in Boston. She graduated from Berklee in 1990 and from Atlantic Union College in 1987. 

Founded in Gloucester in 1951, the Cape Ann Symphony is a professional orchestra of over 70 players from throughout the New England area. They perform a subscription season of four concerts per year plus several Pops and youth concerts. The Symphony Board of Directors named Yoichi Udagawa the Music Director and Conductor of the Cape Ann Symphony in the summer of 2000 after a yearlong search. In addition to his leadership of Cape Ann Symphony, he is Music Director and Conductor of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, and the Quincy Symphony Orchestra and a cover conductor at the Boston Pops Orchestra. Frequently invited to guest conduct, Mr. Udagawa has worked with many different orchestras including the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Nobeoka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Indian Hill Symphony, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Brown University Orchestra, the Syracuse Society for New Music, the Boston Conservatory Orchestra, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, the Newton Symphony, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Mid-Texas Symphony. Mr. Udagawa is at home in popular and contemporary music as well as the standard symphonic repertoire. He is known for his relaxed manner and ability to speak from the podium which has helped new audiences as well as enthusiasts gain a greater appreciation for symphonic music. His programs often include premieres of new works – some specially commissioned for the orchestra — as well as great orchestral works across the symphonic repertoire and lively Pops programs. He is also an integral part of the Cape Ann Symphony Youth Outreach programs to area schools.

Cape Ann Symphony’s Holiday Pops Concert is Saturday, November 25 at 2 pm at the Dolan Performing Arts Center at Ipswich High School on 134 High Street, Ipswich, MA; Saturday, November 25 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, November 26 at 2 pm at Manchester-Essex High School auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA, . Single ticket prices are $45 for adults, $40 for senior citizens age 65 and above, $20 for Students of any age with a valid student id; $5 for youth 12 years old and under. For tickets and information, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org.

  • Photo 1: Guest Artist Acclaimed Gospel Singer Renese King
  • Photo 2:  Cape Ann Symphony Music Director and Conductor Yoichi Udagawa

Cap off the season of gratitude and kick off the sounds of the season! Cape Ann Symphony Holiday Pops Thanksgiving weekend

Posted on by Catherine

Extend the family and friend celebrations with good music and great times Thanksgiving weekend! Three chances to experience Cape Ann Symphony Holiday Pops 2023 Gloucester 400+ special program. Gobble Gobble Gobble HO HO GO!

Saturday Eve! Halloween program by Musicians Unleashed Cape Ann Symphony at UU Church #GloucesterMA

Posted on by Catherine

Heidi Dallin shares a reminder for an original Halloween themed concert on Saturday. DANSE MACABRE at Gloucester’s Unitarian Universalist Church features the four principal string players from the Cape Ann Symphony.

🎻🦇🕸️What will they play? 🎻🦇🕸️

Cape Ann Symphony’s Musicians Unleashed Series celebrates Halloween with a spooky concert of ghostly music featuring a quartet of Cape Ann Symphony’s principal string players: Seth MacLeod, Cello; CAS Concert Master Scott Moore, violin;  Erica Pisaturo, violin;  and Brandon White, viola; playing a program of creative and varied compositions  ranging from Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14: Death and the Maiden to a pop medley of Stevie Wonder’s Superstition, Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy and Michael Jackson’s Thriller to Spooky Waltz, a piece written by CAS violinist & Concert Master Scott Moore.

“Our program for October 28 features an adventurous variety of music, which really showcases the talent and versatility of the Cape Ann Symphony’s principal string players,” explains Moore. “From cheeky, spooky fun, to the truly tragic; from Schubert and Shostakovich to Doc Watson and Gnarls Barkley…there’s something here for any music lover, and it’s all bound together by the theme and title piece, Danse Macabre.”

Scott Moore

The Danse Macabre concert program includes: Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8: Largo & Allegro Molto; Saint-Saens’ Danse Macabre; Penderecki’s Tanz; Scott Moore’s Spooky Waltz; A Pop Medley of Stevie Wonder’s Superstition, Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy and Michael Jackson’s Thriller; the classic traditional pieces: Jenny on the Railroad and Go Dig My Grave; Sibelius’ Valse Triste; Satie’s Gnossienne No.1; Purcell’s When I am Laid in Earth and Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14: Death and the Maiden.

ABOUT THE MUSICIANS

Scott Moore was born and came of age in rural Kentucky. He began his career as a violinist and composer as a four-year-old in New York. He’s been a soloist with a number of orchestras, played Mozart for the Archduke of Austria, and has given an impromptu recital in Carnegie Hall for an audience of ghosts. In 2018, he began performing, from memory, the complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by J. S. Bach.  A composer as well, he has composed six adventurous new scores for the Louisville Ballet, including As You Like It in August 2022. This native Kentuckian is now a resident of Gloucester. He and his wife violinist Erica Pisaturo, also a member of CAS, moved to New England in the fall of 2019.

Violinist Erica Pisaturo is a native of New England, where she began her violin studies at the age of four. After earning a BA in Music and Art History from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, she went on to earn an MFA at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia.  While in the South, Ms. Pisaturo played violin in a number of professional symphony orchestras, including the Hilton Head Symphony and Savannah Philharmonic, both of which she also served as Orchestra Librarian. She has toured and traveled the world extensively including studying architecture in Italy, making music on tour in China and Japan.  She and her husband, CAS violinist Scott Moore moved to Gloucester in 2019 and Ms. Pisaturo now plays with the Cape Ann Symphony and Symphony By The Sea.

Cellist Seth MacLeod earned his Bachelor of Music in cello performance from Boston University, where he studied with George Neikrug who dedicated to Seth a cadenza he composed for the Dvořák Cello Concerto. In September Mr. MacLeod joined the Cape Ann Symphony as Principal Cellist. He has performed as a soloist with the Wellesley Symphony, Lincoln-Sudbury Civic and the Metrowest Symphony Orchestras. Mr. MacLeod is also the principal cellist of the Wellesley Symphony Orchestra, and he is a member of Symphony By The Sea. He is a versatile chamber musician and string instructor at area schools.

 Violist Brandon White made his CAS debut in March 2022’s Musicians Unleashed Concert, the Virtual Clarinet Quintet Concert. Originally from New York and now residing in the Boston area, Brandon White has enjoyed a varied career as a violist. A classically trained violist, Mr. White has been recognized as an analytical, and forward-thinking musician with a love of all viola music and new compositions. He holds degrees from The Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam where he studied under Shelly Tramposh and earned his BM in Viola Performance, as well as The Boston Conservatory at Berklee where he studied under Lila Brown and earned his MM in String Performance. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Jordan Hall, and Sanders Theater and played with the Orchestra of Northern New York, Hamptons Festival Orchestra and the Choral Society of the Hamptons. Mr. White currently performs in the Rivers Symphony Orchestra and is also a member of the contemporary viola duo Waterhouse Row alongside Emilie Catlett.

Danse Macabre is Saturday, October 28 at 3:00 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 10 Church Street, Gloucester. Ticket prices for Danse Macabre are $40 for Adults and $15 for Youth. Call Cape Ann Symphony at 978-281-0543 or go to www.capeannsymphony.org for tickets.

The Cape Ann Symphony’s Musicians Unleashed programs were launched in 2019 and have become a wonderfully popular series with an overwhelmingly enthusiastic audience response.

Ooh-La-La-La: Lili Boulanger! Debussy! Ravel! New World Chorale! Cape Ann Symphony’s French Spectacular sounds Magnifique

Posted on by Catherine

Cape Ann Symphony’s 2023/2024 72nd season opens with an incredible program, FRENCH SPECTACULAR. Buy your tickets now! The Cape Ann Symphony performs at Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. For tickets or information, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org

From Cape Ann Symphony:

“Cape Ann Symphony kicks off the 72nd season at 2:00 PM on October 1, 2023 with a musical trip to France featuring CAS premieres of  Lili Boulanger’s D’un matin printemps;  Debussy’s Nocturnes with a special appearance from the New World Chorale;  and Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite. The concert finale is Ravel’s popular and thrilling Bolero. 

The orchestra opens the concert with the musical prodigy Lili Boulanger’s D’un matin printemps followed by Claude Debussy’s innovative Nocturnes featuring the New World Chorale in their CAS debut; Maurice Ravel’s colorful and playful Mother Goose Suite and to close the concert Ravel’s dramatic Bolero.

“”We are very excited about the French Spectacular concert which features the music of Lili Boulanger, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel,” says CAS Conductor and Music Director Maestro Yoichi Udagawa, “All the pieces are gorgeous, and full of color and emotion. The Debussy features a woman’s chorus from the New World Chorale. Their voices represent the mysterious song of the Sirens from within the midst of the sea with its innumerable rhythms. The concert will finish with Ravel’s ever popular and powerfully exciting Bolero. The musicians and I are honored to play the D’un matin printemps, Nocturnes and Mother Goose Suite for the first time in CAS history! We can’t wait for the concert!”

The Cape Ann Symphony has played works by French composer and teacher Nadia Boulanger,  but this is the first CAS performance of a work by Nadia’s younger sister, Lili. 

“Lili Boulanger was known for her lush harmonies and elegant instrumentations,” points out Maestro Udagawa,”  D’un matin printemps was first composed as a duet for violin and piano. The work was then adapted by Ms. Boulanger as a trio for violin, cello, and piano and then as a duet for flute and piano. In January 1918, she was very ill and dictated her orchestral version to her sister Nadia. Her D’un matin printemps was the last work composed by Lili Boulanger  before her untimely death in  March 1918 at the age of 24, caused by a case of bronchial pneumonia at the age of two which left her immune system weakened for the rest of her life. Lili Boulanger was born into a musical family on August 21, 1893. The influential French composer, organist, pianist and teacher  Gabriel Fauré – a friend of the family – discovered 2 year old Lili had perfect pitch. A musical prodigy, Ms. Boulanger was a vocalist, played piano, violin, cello, harp and organ. In 1913, at age 19, she became the first woman to win the Prix de Rome with her cantata Faust et Hélène which she wrote for a full orchestra in 4 weeks, conforming to the 4 weeks rule of the competition. 

Among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Claude Debussy  was born to a family of modest means. He showed such musical talent that at age 10, he was admitted to the Conservatoire de Paris. He originally studied piano, but he found his musical passion in innovative composition. Composition of the Nocturnes began in 1892 under the title Trois Scènes au Crépuscule (“Three Scenes at Twilight”). In 1894, he began a rewrite of the Trois Scenes, renaming the new version Nocturnes. Debussy scored the orchestral part of the first of the three nocturnes for strings alone; the second for three flutes, four horns, three trumpets, and two harps; and the third for the two groupings together. By 1897, he decided to rewrite all three movements for full orchestra. He worked for the next two years on the Nocturnes. A full score of the manuscript of the Nocturnes was signed with the completion date of December 15, 1899. The complete work, including a choir of Sirènes, premiered on October 27, 1901. The New World Chorale makes their Cape Ann Symphony debut as the Sirènes in Debussy’s Nocturnes. 

The New World Chorale was founded in 1999 by Holly MacEwen Krafka and John Zielinski with the mission of performing the best choral music and the goal of performing with many of the finest orchestras in New England. NWC’s membership comprises some of the Boston area’s most experienced choral singers and soloists who have performed both locally and internationally with the world’s major orchestras. The New World Chorale (NWC) is one of the most in-demand choruses for hire in the greater Boston area. NWC has performed major choral works with Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms Society,   Boston Ballet, Boston Conservatory Orchestra, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Symphony, Longwood Symphony Orchestra, Melrose Symphony Orchestra, Mercury Orchestra, MIT Symphony Orchestra, New England Brass Band, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Symphony New Hampshire, Symphony Pro Musica, and Wellesley Symphony Orchestra. During its 2017-18 season, the New World Chorale experienced a new type of performance when it provided the chorus for The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses, a touring multimedia production presenting over 30 years of music from The Legend of Zelda™ video game franchise by Nintendo®. The production was performed on October 21, 2017 at the Wang Theatre in Boston. 

French composer, pianist and conductor Maurice Ravel wrote and dedicated his piano duet, Mother Goose Suite, to Mimi and Jean Godebeski, ages 6 and 7, just as he had dedicated an earlier work, Sonatine, to their parents. The Mother Goose stories date back centuries and Ravel wrote pieces. based on the centuries old well known nursery rhymes said to have been authored by Mother Goose. Ravel’s work was originally written as a five-movement piano duet in 1910. The first public performance of the work was given at the Société Musicale Indépendante on April 20, 1910. In 1911, Ravel orchestrated the suite. The five nursery rhymes which Ravel choose to put to music are: Pavane de la Belle au bois dormant: (Pavane of Sleeping Beauty); Petit Poucet: (Little Tom Thumb); Laideronnette, Impératrice des Pagodes: (Little Ugly Girl, Empress of the Pagodas); Les Entretiens de la Belle et de la Bête: (Conversation of Beauty and the Beast) and Le Jardin Féerique: (The Fairy Garden).

In the 1920’s Ravel was commissioned to provide a score for Ida Rubinstein’s ballet company, and this resulted in what is now one of his most famous works – Boléro. Ravel declared the work was “one long, very gradual crescendo.”  In the 1920’s Ravel was commissioned to provide a score for Ida Rubinstein’s ballet company, and this resulted in what is now one of his most famous works – Boléro. Ravel declared the work was “one long, very gradual crescendo.”  

Founded in Gloucester in 1951, the Cape Ann Symphony is a professional orchestra of over 70 players from throughout the New England area. They perform a subscription season of four concerts per year plus several Pops and youth concerts. The Symphony Board of Directors named Yoichi Udagawa the Music Director and Conductor of the Cape Ann Symphony in the summer of 2000 after a yearlong search. In addition to his leadership of Cape Ann Symphony, he is Music Director and Conductor of the Melrose Symphony Orchestra, and the Quincy Symphony Orchestra and a cover conductor at the Boston Pops Orchestra.  Frequently invited to guest conduct, Maestro Udagawa has worked with many different orchestras including the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, Nobeoka Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra, the Indian Hill Symphony, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Brown University Orchestra, the Syracuse Society for New Music, the Boston Conservatory Orchestra, the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, the Newton Symphony, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Mid-Texas Symphony. Maestro Udagawa is at home in popular and contemporary music as well as the standard symphonic repertoire. He is known for his relaxed manner and ability to speak from the podium which has helped new audiences as well as enthusiasts gain a greater appreciation for symphonic music. His programs often include premieres of new works – some specially commissioned for the orchestra — as well as great orchestral works across the symphonic repertoire and lively Pops programs. He is also an integral part of the Cape Ann Symphony Youth Initiative.
Yoichi Udagawa, the son of a nuclear physicist father and singer/artist mother, was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. His family immigrated to the United States soon thereafter. He began playing the violin at age four and made his conducting debut at age fifteen. After receiving a music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, he continued advanced studies in conducting with Gunther Schuller, Seiji Ozawa, Morihiro Okabe, and Henry Charles Smith. A fan of many different styles of music, Mr. Udagawa also enjoys performing gospel music in addition to his conducting activities. He is also an accomplished violinist and an avid fan of exercise and yoga.

The Cape Ann Symphony’s 72nd Season Opening Concert, French Spectacular, is Sunday, October 1, 2023 at 2:00 pm at the Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street, Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium is handicapped accessible. Ticket prices are $45 for adults, $40 for senior citizens, $20 for Students of any age, $5 for Youth (12 years old and under). For information, call 978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org

Images Attached: 

Photo 1: Composer Lili Boulanger

Photo 2: Composer Claude DeBussy

Photo 3: Composer Maurice Ravel

Photo 4: Cape Ann Symphony Conductor and Music Director Yoichi Udagawa