Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra Continues to 'Get Cozy'

From Canoe Harbor Consulting: Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra’s ‘Get Cozy’ chamber music series continues Sunday, April 30, 2017 with “Get Cozy with MyPSO: Student Chamber Music” at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, NH. The performance starts at 3:00pm. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door.

Musical Youth of the Portsmouth Symphony, known affectionately as MyPSO, started with a core group of young musicians who already perform with the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra. The group reflects PSO Music Director John Page’s vision to bring high quality classical music to the youth in our community and inspiring them through performances by musicians their own age. Working together in chamber groups and learning repertoire most often reserved for professional musicians, these young virtuoso players have already performed in several educational venues, and their youthful exuberance shows the bright future of our Seacoast classical community.

On April 30, the MyPSO string quartet--comprised of talented middle school students Amanda Medina and Julie Stevens on violin, Sarah Morrell on viola and Oscair Page on cello—will be performing the Beethoven Opus 18 No. 6 string quartet. This quartet, the last of his series of Opus 18 quartets published in 1801, has a wonderful rhythm to it reminiscent of the clocks ticking away in all corners of late-18th century Germany.

The high school-and beyond piano quintet features Emma Theberge on piano, Naomi Durand and Hannah Wirth on violin, Faith Wykle on viola and Griffin Seuter on cello. The quintet will perform part of Antonin Dvořák’s piano quintet Opus 81, along with a premier of UNH professor Chris Kies’ Taylor Fanfare for String Quartet and Piano (with assistance from Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky).

“The contemporary piece the piano quintet will perform was written between January and February 2017 specifically for the MyPSO musicians,” notes Virginia Macdonald, Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra Executive Director. “For these five student musicians, the collaboration with a composer and the subsequent debut of an original piece is the culmination of the dedicated work with coach Dorothy Braker, the principal cellist of the Portsmouth Symphony who also serves as our Outreach Coordinator.”

Get Cozy with the PSO chamber music concerts occur monthly and will continue May 14 with Seven Rivers Wind Quartet at the Kittery Dance Hall.

The Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra is supported in part by a grant from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

To view the complete schedule or to purchase tickets, please visit here.

Photos courtesy of Canoe Harbor Consulting: High School Quartet (L-R) Naomi Durand, Hannah Reitz (PSO mentor), Faith Wykle, Griffin Seuter; Middle School Quartet (L-R) Sarah Morrell, Oscair Page, Sava Thurber, Julie Stevens