Santa Barbara Music Club Free Concerts

On Saturday, April 21 at 3 PM, the SANTA BARBARA MUSIC CLUB will present an-other program in its popular series of concerts of beautiful Classical music. The concert will be held at the First United Methodist Church, 305 East Anapamu Street, Santa Bar-bara. Admission is free.

One of the highlights of Santa Barbara Music Club’s concerts is the opportunity for audi-ences to hear great music from a variety of historical periods, with a diversity of musical forms, performed by excellent artists. This concert features the Westmont Chamber Singers, directed by Grey Brothers, music for woodwinds by Paul de Wailly and Dag Wirén and two works by Leslie Hogan, Call, for oboe and piano, and the premiere of Moments, for solo piano.

Mary Jo Hartle, flute, Adelle Rodkey, oboe, and Per Elmfors, clarinet, will perform Paul de Wailly’s sparkling and lyrical Aubade for Flute, Oboe, and Clarinet (1906). They will be joined by cellist Nicoletta Browne for Swedish composer Dag Wirén’s Kvartett för flauto, oboe, klarinett och violoncell, op. 31. Dag Wirén (1905-1986) is a Swedish com-poser who received his musical training at the Stockholm Conservatory of Music. His compositions comprise stylistic genres from serious to popular, and include five sympho-nies as well as chamber music and film scores. True to Wirén’s stated desire “to entertain and please,” the Kvartett, Op. 31, composed in 1956, is characterized by expressive mel-odies and rhythmic piquancy.

Evan Losoya, oboe, and Leslie Hogan, piano, will perform Hogan’s Call. Composed in 1996, Call is a brief lyrical work, an elegy. Hogan will premiere Moments, for solo pi-ano. Moments is a series of brief movements unified by the intent to capture in each a single affect or image—in a word, a moment.

The Westmont Chamber Singers, directed by Grey Brothers, conclude the program with a set spanning several centuries. They will perform 16th century madrigals by Luca Ma-renzio and Giles Farnaby, recent setting of Shakespearean texts by Andrew Carter and Bob Chillcott, and the rousing classic tango Naranjo en flor, arranged by Aurelio Tello.

The mission of the Santa Barbara Music Club is to contribute to the musical life of our community through the following:

•Presentation of an annual series of concerts, free to the public, featuring outstanding solo and chamber music performances by Performing Members and invited guests;
•Presentation of community outreach activities, including bringing great music to residents of area retirement homes;
•Aiding and encouraging musical education by the disbursement of scholarships to talented local music students.

For more information on this or other Santa Barbara Music Club programs and performing artists, visit sbmusicclub.org.