By Matthew Wan
SCOTT WOOLWEAVER
Sunday, Aug. 30 at 4 p.m. — WOODSTOCK — Pentangle Arts is proud to present the 18th Annual Mozart Festival, directed by acclaimed violist Scott Woolweaver. This annual August event was originally conceived as a gift to the greater Woodstock and Upper Valley community by the late Father William Patrick Gallagher, priest at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church for many years. The tradition continues with a concert on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 4 p.m. at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church in Woodstock. Admission is free, with a suggested $10 donation gratefully accepted.
The program will feature three pieces written and composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: “String Quartet No. 15 in D minor,” “Serenade in G major,” and “Flute Quartet No. 2 in G major.” As always, the program will close with the mysterious “Ave Verum Corpus,” written in 1791, the last year of Mozart’s life. The audience is invited to sing along, and a score of the work will be provided.
Woolweaver will lead a world-class ensemble that includes John Lindsey and Benjamin Russell, violins; Karen Kaderavek, cello; and Deborah Boldin, flute.
John Lindsey, violin, holds the State University of New York’s highest rank, “The Distinguished Service Professorship” and was awarded the 1993 President’s Award and the 2003 SUNY Chancellor’s Award, both for excellence in teaching. He is concertmaster of both the Orchestra of Northern New York and the Eleva (Vt.) Chamber Players and is first violinist of the Aurora String Quintet. Mr. Lindsey has performed in the summer with festivals in Winston-Salem (N.C.), Columbus (Ga.), Lexington (Ky.), Glen Arbor (Mich.), Ithaca (N.Y.), Interlochen (Mich.) as well as in France, Italy, Prague, Colombia, Thailand, Bulgaria, and the 2014 Vianden Castle Festival in Luxembourg.
Benjamin Russell, violin, is a New York-based violinist, vocalist, and songwriter. In 2006, he formed the Bryant Park Quartet, an energetic string quartet that specializes in creating diverse programs that contrast historical masterpieces with contemporary works. He is also a member of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, the Wordless Music Orchestra, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. His work in NYC has led him to collaborate with such musicians as Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, Low, Arcade Fire, John Cale, and Paul McCartney.
Karen Kaderavek, cello, enjoys a diverse and multi-faceted career. In addition to her professional life as a concert cellist, she is also a playwright, actress and published author and poet. As solo cellist and chamber music artist she has performed throughout North America and Europe. She is a faculty member in the Humanities Department at John Abbot University.
Deborah Boldin flute, enjoys an active and diverse career as a recitalist, chamber musician and entrepreneur. She has appeared with the New World Symphony, Opera Boston, the Boston Philharmonic and the Rhode Island Philharmonic. Ms. Boldin has been a featured soloist on radio programs WJHU, Baltimore, and WQXR, New York. She is the flute instructor and chamber music coach at the Reveille! Music Festival for the Vermont Youth Orchestra. She is the founder and artistic director of the critically acclaimed Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston.
Scott Woolweaver, viola, graduated with distinction from the University of Michigan School of Music where he won the Joseph Knitzer and Earl V. Moore awards for outstanding participation in chamber music. After moving to Boston for graduate studies with Walter Trampler, he founded the Boston Composers String Quartet, which won the silver medal at the 1993 String Quartet Competition and Chamber Music Festa in Osaka, Japan. He was also a founding member of the Vaener String Trio, Grand Prize winners at the Joseph Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. From 1999-2006 he was a member of the Ives Quartet, based in San Francisco, Calif., and for over 25 years he was a member of the New England Piano Quartette. Mr. Woolweaver is on the faculty of the All Newton Music School in West Newton, Mass., and is Artist Affiliate in Viola and Chamber Music at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. He is a regular guest of the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber Music Society and is Director of the Adult Chamber Music Institute at Kneisel Hall in Blue Hill, Maine. He plays a Johan Georg Thir viola made in Vienna, 1737.
For more info, visit www.pentanglearts.org.
