Celebrating Musical 'Anniversaries' with the Greenwich Chamber Players

The Chamber Players of the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra will return for two concerts on Sunday, Nov. 8 at St. Barnabas Church, and Monday, Nov. 9 at the Bruce Museum.

The concert is titled “Anniversaries”, celebrating various milestones in the lives of Mozart, Sibelius, Dvořák and Cowell. The Chamber Players will perform string quintets and quartets by each of these composers, one of them being Dvořák’s beloved “American” String Quintet. No 3 in E-flat major, Op. 97

Violist Vincent Lionti will be the guest artist for these concerts. Lionti is always welcomed back when he joins the Chamber Players. He was the original Chamber Players violist while he was still in high school in Port Chester NY. Today he is a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, a position he has held since 1987. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the Julliard School where he was Principal violist of each of the school’s three orchestras. At one time he was a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and he has served as Guest Principal violist for the Indianapolis, New Jersey and American Orchestras as well as the Santa Fé Opera. He has appeared in many summer festivals. Close to home, Lionti is the conductor of The Westchester County Youth Orchestra.

Henry Cowell (1897-1965) will probably be the least familiar composer on the program. He was a Californian. He titled his 1936 String Quartet No.4 “United” because it drew upon elements from radically different cultures. Cowell explained, “Its simplicity is drawn from the whole world, instead of from the European tradition or any single tradition”. He hoped his music would appeal to listeners from many different backgrounds.

Sunday’s concert is at 4 p.m. at St. Barnabas Church, 954 Lake Ave., Greenwich . Monday’s concert will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Bruce Museum as usual. Meet the musicians at the wine and cheese receptions at either concert.

Tickets are $30, students $5, at the door, preferably by cash or check or by reservation at

www.greenwichsym.org/chamberplayers., or by calling 203-637-4725.