By Suzanne Moore, The Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Jun. 26–ESSEX — At one end of the continuum are performers such as word-class organists Frederick Hohman and Carol Williams.
At the other, said Essex Community Concerts board member Jim Van Hoven, “are local people who are good at what they do.”
All are met with enthusiasm in the small historic community of Essex, where the gift of a Dutch pipe organ supplied the downbeat for an 18-year musical tradition sustained by a hardworking committee and a strong local appreciation of the arts.
SERIOUS ENDEAVOR
The 2008 concerts begin with the Evening Concert Series on Saturday with pianists Rose Chancler and Jennifer Moore in a four-hand performance. The Thursday Midday Concerts series, also in Essex Community Church, kicks off with the area’s longest-established brass quintet, After Five Brass, on July 10 with a repertoire of classical, jazz, Broadway and pop numbers.
The daytime concerts are free, featuring local performers ranging from organist Pamela Durant, a seasonal resident who memorizes her pieces from Braille scores; to high-energy vocalists Ya Got Treble; to Songs of the Northway, a trio whose repertoire includes songs about the environment, women’s issues, and contemporary Jewish folk and liturgical music.
Returning this year on Aug. 14 are the Goff Boys, who Van Hoven said are probably the most popular performers in the daytime series. Ages 7 to 13, the brothers play classical music.
“It’s a serious endeavor by the family,” said board member Alison Hain. “But these boys also do everything boys of that age will do.”
QUALITY PERFORMANCES
Daytime performances are free, but donations are accepted.
“One of the goals … is to encourage local talented people to perform, give them an audience,” Hain said.
The admission for the evening shows rises from $5 to $10 this summer.
Essex Community Concerts pays those performers $700 per show, along with lodging and meals for those who come from farther away.
“We’re persuaded 10 bucks for a quality performance is not a bad deal,” Van Hoven said.
The Concert Series is supported in part by a Developing Community Arts Grant with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program. That money is administered by the Arts Council for the Northern Adirondacks.
Donations also help fund the programs.
The church seats 150, and the concerts draw crowds ranging from moderate to a full house.
Late last summer, some music lovers traveled from Charlotte, Vt., on the ferry that docks at Essex — board members want to encourage that participation.
“The ferry runs late enough,” Van Hoven said. “People can have a nice ferry ride and walk over and enjoy the concerts.”
MUSICAL VARIETY
A neatly kept scrapbook chronicles the history of the Essex concerts, beginning with the late Donald Beggs, an Essex man who so loved organ music that he bought the Dutch tracker instrument that made its home in Essex Community Church.
“He gave it to the community, but the church was the only building big enough for it,” Van Hoven said.
Accompanying the organ — which was built by a family in Holland who then traveled to Essex to install it in the church over the course of many weeks — was a $50,000 endowment to maintain the organ and bring organists to Essex to perform.
That endowment is carefully maintained; most recently, it was used to rebuild the organ’s wind chest at a cost of about $18,000.
Beggs died in 1991, not long after the first concert, but the Essex Organ Committee lived on.
At first, the evening concerts only featured organists. Eventually, the midday performances joined the schedule with a variety of genres. The endowment allowed purchase of a piano, and from that point, the evening program expanded to include vocalists, instrumental quartets and other kinds of performances.
Two years ago, the committee changed its name to Essex Community Concerts to better reflect that shift; this year, just two organists will perform, among them one of only two civic organists in the United States.
Carol Williams holds that position in San Diego; a native of England, she is an associate of the Royal Academy of Music.
“Carol Williams has been with us many, many times,” Van Hoven said. “She comes to Essex because, I think, she likes Essex.
“Carol will bring a full house.”
IF YOU GO
Essex Community Concerts presents its Evening Concert Series at Essex Community Church, all shows at 7:30 p.m. followed by meet-the-artist reception. $10 admission; children free. The summer schedule is:
E Saturday, June 28. Rose Chancler and Jennifer Moore, Four Hand Piano.
E Saturday, July 12. Frederick Hohman, organist.
E Tuesday, July 22. “Meadowmount String Quartets & Piano.”
E Friday, July 25. “An Evening of Opera and Art Songs.” Constance Fee, Kelley Kimball, Steven Tompkins, Julie Runion.
E Sunday, Aug. 17. Vocalists Atea Ring and Raymond Domenico, and pianist Russ Ames.
E Saturday, Aug. 29. Carol Williams, organist.
E Friday, Sept. 12. Key Winds Trio: Janice Kyle, Janine Scherline, David Carpenter.
Thursday Midday Concerts are at 11:30 a.m. at Essex Community Church. Donations accepted. The schedule is:
E July 10. After Five Brass: Jeanette Woodruff, Beth Barr, Frank Langr, Jim McCarthy, Steve Woodruff.
E July 17. Daniel Linder, pianist.
E July 24. Ya Got Treble: Vocalists Susan Forney Hughes, Gigi Carroll, Catherine Houseal; pianist Mary Lou Kirsty.
E July 31. Songs of the Northway: Ann Hope Ruzow Holland, Cathie Davenport, Jennifer Van Benschoten.
E Aug. 7. Pamela Durant, organist.
E Aug. 14. The Goff Boys: Mitchell, Matthew and Jonathan.
—–
To see more of The Press-Republican or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pressrepublican.com/.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Comments