Classical Christmas Music at CAC
North Carolina Baroque Orchestra to play Dec 6
By Mandy Catoe
In its third concert since reopening last month, the Cultural Arts Center is offering a little yuletide cheer. The North Carolina Baroque Orchestra Chamber Players will present a holiday concert Sunday, Dec 6 at 3:00 p.m. The ensemble will present works from music’s Baroque period.
Concert Organizer John Craig said he looks forward to the NCBO’s return to the Cultural Arts Center. Last February, they served as the orchestra for the Bachakademie choral performance.
“The program they have assembled for us is quintessential Classical Christmas, including the beautiful “Winter” movement from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Corelli’s “Christmas Concert,” and traditional Christmas Carols,” Craig said.
The NCBO was co-founded in 2011 by sisters Barbara Blaker Krumdiek and Frances Blaker. Krumdiek lives in Cornelius, NC, and is the director and organizer of events. She pays special attention in assembling just the right musicians for each project.
“We love bringing our joy of baroque music to audiences everywhere and especially to people in smaller communities,” said Krumdiek. “It is wonderful for them to hear this music without having to travel into the city!”
Krumdiek said she chose players for “their special ability to bring new life to this old music — something our audiences especially need during these darker times.”
Craig said the North Carolina Baroque Orchestra often serves as the orchestra for major choirs around the Carolinas, including the Charlotte Master Chorale,” he said. “The players come from all over and are tops in their field.”
The baroque classical music they favor is timeless, and rendered beautifully on period instruments, he said.
The Baroque musical period was from 1600 to 1750 and features include melody, rhythm and texture. Like architecture, music became more elaborate and layered. During this time, the modern orchestra began as composers assembled musicians and instruments to create the sounds in their score to tell a story. Violins were the dominant stringed instrument and the harpsichord the major keyboard. Other period instruments include the cello and viola.
The performance will include violinists: David Wilson, Janelle Davis, Alice Culin-Ellison; violist: Marta Howard; cellist: Barbara Krumdiek; harpsichordist: Barbara Weiss.
The musicians mostly reside in the southeast but many travel from as far away as New York, Boston, Indiana and California.
Krumdiek said the NCBO had a busy calendar of concerts this year.
“Before the end of March they all were canceled,” she said.
“This has been terribly difficult for our musicians who really need to play music.”
Krumdiek is looking forward to performing in the newly expanded Cultural Arts Center.
“What a gift John Craig has brought to the Lancaster community with his restoration of the Center,” she said.
The Cultural Arts Center is housed in the Olde Presbyterian Church on West Gay Street. The Church was built in 1862 and was the first brick Church building in Lancaster County. The French Gothic Revival style architecture features an arch in the pulpit, a three-sided balcony, and breathtaking stained glass windows, some reaching nearly 20 feet high.
“This concert will be a spirited musical kickoff to the Christmas season in Lancaster, and we hope to have a good turnout,” Craig said. “All ticket proceeds will go towards retiring the debt on the just completed additions to the Cultural Arts Center.”
Craig said he is pleased to work with the Lancaster County Council of the Arts in producing the concert.
The expanded CAC makes social distancing possible and comfortable. COVID restrictions will cut the 120 capacity in half. Only 60 seats are available. Craig encourages those interested to purchase their tickets early, $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Masks are required.
The 2020–21 concert series has more than a dozen scheduled through September 2021. One more will be held this year and will feature holiday music.
The concerts are co-sponsored by the Lancaster County Society for Historical Preservation, the Lancaster County Council of the Arts, and the Craig Farm Historic Preservation Foundation.
Tickets can be purchased by phone (803)285–7451 or online https://www.cognitoforms.com/LancasterCountyCouncilOfTheArts1/LancasterCulturalArtsCenterTicketing.
For more information, follow the North Carolina Baroque Orchestra on Facebook and visit their website: https://www.ncbaroqueorchestra.org
Originally published at http://spilledinkabovethefold.wordpress.com on November 30, 2020.
