The Organ Barn at Tree Frog Farm in Guilford is the backdrop for Friends of Music at Guilford’s Sunday orchestra concerts on Labor Day Weekend. This year’s program features music by Mendelssohn, Haydn, Bishop, and Bartók, with David Kidwell conducting. Photo by Kevin Bubriski
On Saturday evening, September 5, at 7:30, organist Justin Hartz plays a recital on the circa 1897 tracker-action organ in the barn, including two pieces in celebration of special anniversary years: “Sonata 1 in F major” by Mendelssohn, born in 1809, and the “Concerto No. 13” in the same key by Handel, the latter performed with Zeke Hecker, oboe; Linda Hecker and Deedee Jones, violins; and David Runnion, cello continuo. Also on the program are James Hewitt’s “The Battle of Trenton,” Mozart’s “Andante (K. 616),” and Bach’s “Pièce d’Orgue.”
Hartz, a native of Bucks County, studied at Westminster Choir College in Princeton and earned his M.M. degree at Juilliard. He has been an E. Power Biggs Fellow of the Organ Historical Society and performed the dedicatory recital of the newly restored E. M. Skinner organ at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. Since 1989 he has been an annual recitalist at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA, and can be heard (and sometimes seen) on several recordings featuring performances on historic instruments, including the 10,010-pipe 1929 Aeolian organ at Longwood. He currently serves as organist and choirmaster of Christ Church in Riverton, NJ.
On Sunday at 2 pm, David Kidwell conducts the Guilford Festival Orchestra on the lawn in a program entitled “Quick Bright Things,” a phrase from Lysander’s lament in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The afternoon’s repertoire features the “Intermezzo” and “Nocturne” from Mendelssohn’s interpretation of that masterful Shakespeare comedy, another weekend nod to the bicentennial of the composer’s birth. Coincidentally, 1809 is the year in which Haydn died, so that other 200-year milestone is acknowledged with a performance of his “Symphony No. 89 in F major.” Sprinkled among the orchestral works are two pieces for strings: Mendelssohn’s “Sinfonia II in D” and Jeffrey S. Bishop’s “Raven’s Flight,” as well as Bartók’s “Rumanian Folk Dances,” written for an ensemble of strings and winds.
Conductor Kidwell, returning for a 13th season, is director of the Holyoke Civic Symphony and Minister of Music at the Edwards Church of Northampton, MA. Friends of Music audiences will remember that he served as pianist and composer in a critically acclaimed program last April featuring works for tenor, piano, and horn by eight regional composers.
The Organ Barn grounds open for picnicking at noon on Sunday. Friends of Music also offers a hearty vegetarian lunch for $10 per person; refreshing lemonade and warm homemade chocolate chip cookies are also available before concert time and during intermission. The organization raises additional support at Festival concerts through sales of its recordings, T-shirts, sweatshirts, totes, notecards, and custom chocolate bars.
Children are welcome, with age-appropriate supervision, but pets are asked to stay at home. Blankets and lawn chairs are recommended for audience comfort.
The Organ Barn is located on Kopkind Drive, off Packer Corners Road. in Guilford. From Brattleboro follow signs along a nine-mile route from the Guilford Country Store and follow signs to the Organ Barn.
If the weather is seriously challenging on Sunday, the lunch, orchestra concert, and Friends of Music retail sales will still go on, but at the Guilford Central School.
As always, admission to these Labor Day weekend events is free of charge, with generous donations encouraged. Friends of Music’s 44th annual concert series is supported in part by a season-sponsorship grant from Entergy Vermont Yankee.
For information on becoming a supporting member, program book advertiser or event sponsor contact administrative director Joy Wallens-Penford at (802) 254-3600 or office@fomag.org. Visit online at www.fomag.org.
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