ARIAS Newsletter

Newsletter Date

A Message from ARIAS President Tom Pippin December 2012

weekend concert for all ages to enjoy. These programs continue, and I invite you to read more about them on the following pages.

Historically, the funding for ARIAS has come primarily from membership dues. The current membership structure is $50 per person and $85 per couple. All of the membership dues are currently fully tax-deductible and will be used exclusively for the children's programs and ARIAS has completed another sucthe funding of “Let Freedom Ring”. We no longer have cessful season, carrying out its misa formal dinner-concert or other events funded from sions of being active in support of the your membership dues. ARIAS will continue to sponsor Jacksonville Symphony and bringing events which may include less formal dinner parties or music education to the children of cocktail parties with music ensembles, rather than the Nassau county. Every year since its full orchestra. We are excited about our program featurfounding, ARIAS has fulfilled these missions and has brought concerts and various special programs to Ame- ing both brass and strings ensembles planned for January 22, 2013, as is highlighted in this Newsletter. We lia Island and to all our wonderful membership. also sponsor bus trips to the Symphony for the Opera ARIAS will continue to do so, and will attempt to enlarge on its programs. But we have recognized that and Coffee concerts. Please see the back page of this Newsletter for a list of upcoming events, including a economic times have changed, and we are adjusting our operations accordingly. Let me review our history, member-only event. Going forward, members will pay the full price for each such special event they attend. Of and tell you some of the highlights of what we have course, members will continue to receive publications planned for you during the coming season. and informative notices throughout the year, announcThe ARIAS dream was first realized through the Ining upcoming events. strument Zoo. Instruments were donated to ARIAS ARIAS is a success story, but to continue its success, we and volunteers took the instruments to all fourth grade students in the county and gave them an oppor- need your support. With it we will continue to: Provide music education for Nassau County tunity to see, feel, and hear the various musical instruschool children ments. Then we started bringing ensembles from the Organize events for ARIAS members and the Jacksonville Symphony to the schools in the county community, including “Let Freedom Ring” and bussed children to the Symphony to experience a Support the Symphony live orchestra, and awarded deserving students scholarships to the Amelia Arts Academy to continue their Please promote ARIAS by telling your friends and musical education. And over the years, the community neighbors about it and help us grow this important nothas benefited from “Let Freedom Ring”, the annual for-profit organization. Please send in your memberconcert when ARIAS invites the Jacksonville Symship form NOW and ask your friends and phony to Amelia Island to perform a Memorial Day neighbors to do the same.

ARIAS Moves Forward!

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PLEASE JOIN NOW by sending your check for $50 per person or $85 per couple made out to ARIAS, 10 Marsh Hawk, Amelia Island, FL 32034 (tax deductible).

Name(s)___________________________________________________________________________ Address ____________________________________________ City ________________ State _________ Zip _______ Email _____________________________________ Phone (______) __________________________________ Questions? Contact Bill Gingrich: wggin@aol.com or (904) 277-7094

A SPECIAL SYMPHONIC SEASON WELCOME TO ARIAS MEMBERS AIDA RIBEIRO-MECHETTI'S PICKS AND TIPS FOR THE SEASON Fabio is very excited to bring to Jacksonville his “Dream Season.” The 2012-13 Masterworks Series is filled with programs with great variety combining fascinating works topped with astounding guest performers. It is hard for me to choose what I like best because I truly love all of them!

Be assured, there are pieces that you cannot miss, not only for their own qualities but also because you may not be able to hear them again in your lifetime!

So, here are just several of my picks and tips of the year.

And please, stop and say hello when you come. I am always in one of the left side boxes when facing the hall. We would love to see you there!

dous pianist. I have to say: I am not easily impressed by pianists, but this boy did it for me. What a talent he is! I am sure you will be seeing him all across the world and paying a fortune for your seats.

Fri, Jan 25, Sat, Jan 26, 2013, at 8pm HADELICH PLAYS BEETHOVEN BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto (Augustin Hadelich, violin); WAGNER Tristan and Isolde I was so excited to hear that Augustin Hadelich is coming back!

This violinist has one of the purest sounds I’ve ever heard! He is performing the Beethoven concerto on a Stradivarius that is older than the composer himself! The program also has one of the most romantic and innovative pieces in the classical music repertoire – Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde. Its melodies and chord progressions influenced many composers for years to come.

Thu, Feb 14, 2013, at 7:30 pm; Fri, Sat, Feb 15, 16, 2013, at 8 pm RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES, WAGNER We are celebrating Wagner’s 200th anniversary this year and for that Fabio has programmed excerpts from the monumental operas of the “Ring.” The world of Wagner is a very fantastic one filled with giants, dwarfs and mythological gods.The orchestra is of gargantuan proportions, including a greatly enlarged brass section with new instruments such as the Wagner tuba, bass trumpet and contrabass trombone. The music is very rich and the sounds are very particular and descriptive of this hugely creative man.

Thu, March 21, 2013, at 7:30 pm; Fri, Sat, March 22, 23, 2013, at 8 pm GRIEG PIANO CONCERTO, featuring Arnaldo Cohen, piano

THE PASSION OF BRAHMS, featuring the Piano Concerto No. 1 (Lilya Zilberstein, piano)

The Grieg concerto is definitely a jewel of the piano repertoire. This very romantic and melodious music topped with

One of the most difficult piano concertos, it is considered a true monster in the piano world. If you can play that, you can play almost anything!

the artistry of our great friend and one of my favorite pianists, Arnaldo Cohen, will sweep your feet off the ground at the end of the piece! Arnaldo has been here several times and has quite a following, so I know good seats are going to be hard to find.Thu,

Thu, Jan 10, 2013, at 7:30 pm, Fri, Sat, Jan 11, 12, 2013, at 8 pm

April 4, 2013, at 7:30 pm, Fri, Sat, April 5, 6, 2013, at 8 pm

SHOSTAKOVICH TRIUMPHANT

CHORAL SPECTACULAR , BRITTEN War Requiem

As a great example of the Russian masters, Fabio brings you Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 and Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 1 (Conrad Tao, piano). Both pieces are extremely energetic and powerful. The “Leningrad” Symphony by Shostakovich was composed in 1941 and it is still today regarded as the major musical testament of the millions of Soviet citizens who lost their lives in World War II due to the German invasion and its 900-day siege of Leningrad. It was one of the longest and most destructive sieges in history and overwhelmingly the most costly in terms of casualties. This fascinating piece depicts those tragic years with all the drama, force and intensity the theme deserves. You can’t help being completely moved by the power of this work. Be prepared for a huge sound from the stage, rich with different instrument combinations, lots of brass and very demanding performances.

The Masterworks series finishes with another famous war-inspired work not frequently performed due to its complexity and force.

Britten's War Requiem is a dramatic masterpiece, written for two orchestras, three soloists, large chorus and children’s chorus. Imagine the massive sound of all of this together! It was first performed on May 30, 1962, and it was commissioned to mark the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, which was built after the original fourteenth-century structure was destroyed in a World War II bombing raid on the night of November 14, 1940. Britten imbues timeless meaning in this dramatic, harrowing and riveting work.

I don’t know if you remember a young man who came here a few years ago and made us all drop our jaws after his performance. Now at age 17, Conrad Tao is already a tremen-

Fri, Sat, May 17, 18, 2013 at 8 pm

SPECIAL JACKSONVILLE SYMPHONY TWO-ENSEMBLE CONCERT ARIAS is pleased to bring a very special concert to Amelia Island, performed by a string quartet and brass quintet from the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. The concert takes place on Tuesday, January 22 at 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 1600 South 8th Street, Fernandina Beach, beginning with a pre-reception at 6:30 p.m.

The concert format is a great way for music lovers to get to know the Jacksonville Symphony musicians more personally, as they interact with the audience and announce the musical selections. The string quartet will open the program, offering a mix of classical and popular music, including movements by Haydn, Mozart, Borodin, and the tango from the movie “Scent of a Woman”. This will be followed by the brass quintet after intermission. Their performance will feature classical and jazz tunes, including works by Debussy, Brahms and Fats Waller.

Tickets will be sold at the door and will be $20. For advance tickets, call Pat Murray at 321-4174.

2012-2013 ARIAS Programs for Nassau County Students Once again, ARIAS is pleased to sponsor musical events performed by members of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra at schools in our County. The performances are called “Ensembles” and they consist of two to five musicians playing in small groups ( Strings, Woodwinds, Brass or Percussion) to students at many of the schools in our area.

This school year we have already “conducted” Ensembles at Yulee High School, St. Michael's Academy, and Faith Christian Academy with future scheduled events at Bryceville Elementary School, Emma Love Hardee Elementary, Callahan Elementary, Yulee Elementary, Hilliard Elementary and Yulee Primary School.

It’s extremely gratifying to receive “thank you” letters such as the one received from Gaye Foote, Music teacher at Yulee Primary who said: “On behalf of Yulee Primary School, I would like to take this opportunity to say “THANK YOU” for providing the funding to bring the wonderful string quintet from the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra to perform at our school----” She continued by saying “ The kindergarten and first grade students thoughly enjoyed listening to the String Family

instruments. They were mesmerized as they listened to the differences between high/low, loud/soft, and fast/slow. Many were especially impressed with the size of the double bass!

During the performance , my students wanted to impress the musicians with what they already knew, naming the parts of a string instrument, how the small ones sound high because they’re small and the big ones sound low because they’re so bigFor many of our students , this was their first exposure to a live and in person experience. A first grader named Leicee commented “This is the best day I have ever lived”. Many students have been “bugging” their parents to take them to see the whole orchestra play. For example, the father of a kindergartner asked me to PLEASE tell him exactly where it is to hear the whole symphony. Because that is ALL his son has been talking about since the performance. I have been sure to include such information to our parents in this month’s newsletter home.

The performance has apparently made quite an impression as many of our students want to learn how to play their own “personal favorite” instrument.

We hope you agree that the ARIAS membership structure of $ 50 per person and $85 a couple is a very worthwhile invest-

ment , especially when you can help to ensure Music Teachers like Gaye Foote to continue the results she has already achieved with her students!

Another example of what your annual membership is used for involves student trips to Jacoby Hall in Jacksonville where ARIAS “buys the ticket” for primarily fourth and fifth grade students to see and hear the entire Jacksonville Symphony perform in a wonderful concert setting ! These “Youth Concert” trips are obviously limited in nature by the additional costs per student, but the reaction by the attending students has been extremely positive, and the experience has a lasting effect on their future involvement with, and appreciation of, great music provided by our Outstanding Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra!

Our program of sponsorship by individual donors of a very worthwhile program of providing Musical Scholarships to approximately ten specific students per year has been temporarily halted due to the unavailability of the Amelia Arts Academy as the location for instruction. We will continue to pursue alternative site(s) and hope to be able to continue that program in the near future.

“Are you looking for a short-term volunteer

mornings over the two-month program but we are negotiable. You do not need to know how to play an instrument -- an all-you-need-to -know, hands-on workshop will be held in early January.

If you like children and would like to contribute a little of your time to making a lifelong difference in the lives of more than 850 nine-year-olds, please call to join our family of volunteers.

You'll beglad you did, and so will ARIAS. Please call Barbara Zacheis at 904-321-5639.

experience for bringing excitement to children??

2013 Just what in the world is the Instrument Zoo? It is a program sponsored by the Amelia Residents In Action for the Symphony (ARIAS), which takes 40 instruments into the 4th grades in all Nassau County schools.\Each student has hands-on fun and instruction about each instrument, hopefully planting

a seed in each child for taking advantage of music education opportunities and an appreciation of music.

The program is staffed by volunteers during mornings scheduled during January and February, a short commitment for busy people. We welcome both men and women -- currently there are 10 married couples among the volunteers. We would hope that each committee volunteer would give six

SPECTACULAR TWO ENSEMBLE CONCERT

ARIAS has arranged Holiday Pops Coffee Concert, December 7, 2012 Round-trip bus leaves from Harris Teeter 9:15 am sharp. After the concert, bus to the Cummer Museum for lunch and tour. Ticket $20; bus $20; lunch/tour $15.

Call Pat Murray for reservations, 904-321-4174

Verdi's Grand Opera Otello February 9, 2013 Round-trip bus leaves Harris Teeter at 5:00 pm sharp.

Dinner at Omni-Jacksonville Bus $20, dinner $35 For bus and dinner reservations, call Pat Murray, 904321-4174 For Opera tickets, contact Bill Cosnotti at JSO, 904356-0426

Grieg Piano Concerto April 5, 2013 Dinner at Horizons, then round-trip bus to concert.

Dinner $30, Bus $15 Call Pat Murray at 321-4174 for dinner and bus reservations Call Bill Cosnotti at JSO for concert tickets, 904-3560426

John Williams Coffee Concert May 10, 2013 Round-trip bus leaves Harris Teeter at 9:15 sharp.

After the concert, lunch at the Wine Cellar.

Concert tickets, $21, Bus $20, lunch from the menu Call Pat Murray for reservations, 904-321-4174 Also, please note that the Orchestra arranges a special bus, available to everyone, for each Friday Masterworks concert. It leaves from Harris Teeter at 6:30 pm.

Call JSO box office for reservations (904-354-5547)

ARIAS brings a special concert of JAX Symphony players to Amelia Island on Jan. 22, 2012, at the First Baptist Church, 1600 So. 8th St. The program presents a string quartet for the first part, and a brass quintet after intermission. The players will give a pre-reception, starting at 6:30, followed by the concert at 7:00. Tickets will be sold at the door for $20. Call Pat Murray, 321-4174.

ARIAS 2012-2013 Board of Directors Tom Pippin---President Ted Preston---Vice-President Pat Murray---Secretary Gene Brisach---Treasurer Susanne Brisach---Membership Bill Gingrich---Membership Sandy Shaw---Membership Bob Quinby---Music Education Barbara Zacheis---Instrument Zoo Honorary & Advisory Members John Billings Fred Gieg Hal Latimer Bill Hunt Joe Marasco Fabio Mechetti Shirley Spaniel---Historian

SAVE THE DATE for “Let Freedom Ring” Concert

Tickets $20 May 23, 2013 Featuring the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, First Baptist Church, Fernandina

Special Member Only Event On February 18, 2013, we will once again have the pleasure of a piano concert by Fabio Mechetti and his wife Aida Ribeiro. The concert is for 2013 members only, and will be held in the Palmetto Room, Ocean Club, Omni Amelia Island Plantation. The cost will be $40 per person, which includes heavy hors d’oeuvres (starting at 6:30 pm), with a cash bar (Club Card or cash, no credit cards), The concert starts at 7:30 p.m.

Call Pat Murray at 321-4174 to make your reservation. There is limited seating for this very popular event.