Summer Music Associates Celebrates its 50th Season!
Summer Music Associates Celebrates its 50th Season!
PRESS RELEASE JUNE 2023
BOSTON CIVIC SYMPHONY AND FRED MOYER JAZZ TRIO IN NEW LONDON, NH
Summer Music Associates opens its 50 th concert season at 7 PM on Saturday, June 10 at the
Sawyer Theater at Colby-Sawyer College with the renowned 75-piece Boston Civic Symphony.
Directed by the dynamic Francisco Noya, the orchestra will perform Beethoven’s Symphony
No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, also known as the Pastoral Symphony. Jean Sibelius’s Finlandia and
Ernest Chausson’s Poeme for Violin and Orchestra will also be offered featuring violinist, Keila
Wakao.
Ms. Wakao is the first prize winner of the 2021 Menuhin International Violin Competition and
the first prize winner of the 2021 Stulburg International String Competition.
Born in 2006, violinist Keila Wakao is from Boston, MA and began playing the violin at the age
of three. At age six, the late Mr. Joseph Silverstein accepted Keila as a student. Currently, she is
an eleventh grader at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts and studies with Donald Weilerstein
and Soovin Kim at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School. Keila has also been
receiving Kyoko Takezawa's private instruction in Japan.
On Thursday, June 29 at 7 PM at the First Baptist Church, the Fred Moyer Jazz Trio will present a
rich program of classical piano and classic jazz. The first half of the program will feature
classical piano pieces played by Mr. Moyer. Fred will be joined by flutist Nicole Densmore to
perform the Schubert Sonata in A minor: Arpeggione, Movement III, and Allegretto arranged for
flute and piano.
Nicole Densmore picked up a flute at the age of eight and played it without any instruction. She
performed her first solo at the age of eleven. She honed her skills performing with her parents
for Saturday night mass and at various events with her hometown flute teacher in Vermont.
Nicole went on to receive a talent scholarship to The College of St. Rose in Albany, NY, and her
Bachelor of Science in Music Education and achieved the Theodore Presser Scholar Award for
excellence in music academics. There she studied with Tor Shekerjian. Since then, Nicole has
earned her Master’s degree in Integrated Arts from Plymouth State University. She recently
studied with Elizabeth Rowe, principal flutist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Kelsey
Burnham, of The Julliard School. Nicole is a music teacher in the Kearsarge Regional School
District, director of youth music at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, and teaches privately. Her
students have achieved chairs in the prestigious All-State ensembles, and one of her students is
the 2022 composition winner in the K-5 category. Nicole performs with Folk Fusion, a trio of
women musicians, and Cedar and Silver, a guitar and flute duo.
During the second half of the program, Fred will be joined by Evan Palmer on bass and Bob
Savine on drums. What can safely be called the only jazz group of its kind, the Fred Moyer Jazz
Trio dazzles with stunning musicianship and a unique approach to jazz. Like other small jazz
ensembles, the trio performs its own arrangements of standards from the great American Songbook.
But what sets it apart from all others is its note-for-note transcriptions of great jazz
trio performances from the past. Fred and friends painstakingly transcribe every note of
favorite historic recordings, and then bring the resulting scores to life as would a chamber
music ensemble playing Bach or Beethoven, infusing the music with their own vitality and
interpretations. The result is a swinging celebration of the best in jazz, delighting both classical
music lovers and long-time jazz enthusiasts.
Tickets prices are $25 for adults and $5 for students.
They may be purchased online at www.summermusicassociates.org, by calling 603-526-8234,
by visiting Tatewell Gallery or Morgan Hill Bookstore in New London, or at the door.
On Saturday, June 10 at the Sawyer Center at Colby-Sawyer College, the 75-piece Boston Civic Symphony returns with violinist Keila Wakao. The orchestra will present Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, known as The Pastoral; Jean Sibelius’ Finlandia, and Ernest Chausson’s Poeme for Violin and Orchestra featuring violinist Keila Wakao. Ms. Wakao is the first prize winner of the 2021 Menuhin International Violin Competition and the first prize winner of the 2021 Stulburg International String Competition.
On Thursday, June 29 at the First Baptist Church, The Fred Moyer Jazz Trio returns with special guest, flutist Nicole Densmore. The concert will feature classical piano pieces in the first half along with Schubert’s Sonata in A minor arranged for flute and piano. The second half will present the jazz trio recreating iconic jazz trios from the classic jazz repertoire.
At the First Baptist Church on Thursday July 6, the two-time Grammy award winning Cuarteto Latinoamericano will share a program of mostly Latin American classical composers. The Cuarteto Latinoamericano is one of the world's most renowned string quartets and, for forty years, the leading proponent of Latin American music for the genre. Founded in Mexico in 1982, the Cuarteto has toured extensively throughout Europe, North and South America, Israel, China, Japan, and New Zealand.
On Thursday, July 27 at the First Baptist Church, The Moanin’ Frogs Saxophone Sextet will redefine what chamber music can be. Bending genres and uplifting spirits while rooted in the classical tradition and theater of the American Vaudeville show, The Moanin’ Frogs’ spirited arrangements, creative choreography, and technically precise performances of jazz, pop, and classical music will delight and inspire!
Chris Brubeck’s Triple Play closes the season on Thursday August 10 at the Sawyer Theater at Colby-Sawyer College. An evening of rollicking jazz and blues, Dave Brubeck favorites, and original compositions will bring the audience to its feet!
All concerts begin at 7 PM in New London, NH. Tickets for adults are $25 and $5 for students. They are available online at www.summermusicassociates.org, by phone at 603-526-8234, by mail at SMA PO Box 603 New London, NH 03257 or at Tatewell Gallery or Morgan Hill Bookstore in New London.
For more information, please visit www.summermusicassociates.org