By Susan Paynter
The reward for music lovers who braved the return of winter weather on Friday, March 26, was to be transported to sunnier climes by the lively guitar solos of Justin Craig. Craig, currently on faculty at the Renaissance Music Academy, was joined briefly by two young musicians in the third of four concerts forming the Chatham Concert Series. Each concert has been held in Emmanuel’s Carpenter Gothic Sanctuary.
Like others in the series, created and directed by Chatham Hall Music Director Kevin Zakresky, this concert was a realization of dual goals: to draw high quality classical musicians to Chatham, and to nurture the talent and performance skills of our community’s young musicians.
Mr. Craig first took the audience to Spain with the soulful music of Isaac Albéniz and Francisco Tárrega, evoking their sunny country’s mix of Latin and Moorish cultures. Italy was next with four caprices by Luigi Legnani and a Mauro Giuliani Grand Overture.
Audience members seated many rows back reported that, even without amplification, Craig’s softest notes were clearly audible: confirmation of the acoustic quality of the venue. The young musicians served as bookends to the intermission. Closing the first half of the evening was 12-year-old Julian Ayers, of Bassett, who showed remarkable mastery of violin with the Allegro of J.H. Fiocco’s Sonata in G major. Ayers is a student of Roanoke Symphony’s Brian Matheson who performed earlier in the concert series with the Saturn String Quartet. After intermission, Chatham Hall Senior Amy Hong, a Zakresky student, charmingly demonstrated her talent on the piano with J.S. Bach’s Invention in B-flat major.
The concert continued with Craig’s interpretation of three syncopated, driving Brazilian Choros (cousins to American Ragtime) by João Texiera Pernambuco, and four movements of Carlo Domeniconi’s modern, Turkish-inspired “Koynbaba”.
On Friday, April 30, Soprano Liz Frazer and Pianist Minjung Seo will be performing. Count on a bittersweet evening as these two wonderfully talented women close out the Spring 2010 Chatham Concert Series.