Widening Circles of Influence Cello & Organ Concert

stripling-brody

Widening Circles of Influence
Cello & Organ Concert

By Kathleen Fink

Renowned cellist Christina Stripling will be performing a concert entitled “Widening Circles of Influence” with composer, organist, and pianist Jeffrey Brody in a concert on Sunday, January 12 at 3 PM. This third concert of the season takes place in the Sanctuary of the Park Avenue Congregational Church in Arlington. Tickets in advance are $15 adults and $10 seniors and students; and at the door $20 and $12. To reserve advance tickets, call 781-643-8680 and leave a message if necessary (tickets will be held at the door). A post-concert Artists’ reception will be held in the Parish Hall.

With reference to the Book of Hours by Rilke, this concert explores questions of the relationship of art and the divine, as circles that ripple through time and space in an intimate, inspiring experience of sound and energy. These two outstanding Massachusetts-based musicians will be taking full advantage of PACC’s excellent acoustics and the refurbished Skinner organ console.

Including poetry readings as well as musical offerings, the concert is organized into sections by “The Book of Monastic Life,” “The Book of Pilgrimage,” and “The Book of Poverty and Death.” Composers include Bloch, Messiaen, Dvorak, J.S. Bach, and Hindemith as well as two works by Stripling’s friend, Matthew McConnell.

Christina Stripling is a multifaceted artist with a wide and varied career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestrator/arranger, and recording artist. As a solo cellist, she performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto with orchestra, the Bach Double Violin Concerto with cello choir for WGBH’s Bach Around the Clock Celebration, and for the premiere of Monkey, Journey to the West. When she was a member of the Boston String Quartet, she toured the United States, appeared on radio and television, was featured in recordings, as well as making a number of arrangements for them. She is presently an active recitalist and chamber musician in Washington D.C. and an artist for the Hebei Silang Performing Arts Agency.

Currently Music Director of Longwood Opera, Jeffrey Brody is active as composer, conductor, vocal coach, organist and collaborative pianist. Appointed to the musical staff of Seattle Opera in 1986, he has served as Assistant Conductor and Prompter for that company’s acclaimed production of Wagner’s “Ring”. He has also done musical preparation for the Opera Company of Boston and Boston Lyric Opera. As Music Advisor of the Boston Wagner Society, he selects repertoire and artists for their concerts and is a frequent contributor to their quarterly, Wagneriana. He is Resident Artist and Music Director and Organist of Park Avenue Congregational Church.

Park Avenue Congregational Church is located at 50 Paul Revere Road at the intersection of Park Avenue and Paul Revere Road, 1 block from Mass. Avenue, in Arlington Heights. The church is handicapped accessible and on MBTA bus route #77. The PACC concert series was started 23 years ago to benefit PACC’s music program and organ restoration fund. For more information, or to reserve tickets please call the Church Office at 781-643-8680 or visit www.pacc-ucc.org/events/concertseries.