Music on the Hill's festival returns June 2-10

The summer classical music season begins June 2, when Music on the Hill opens its eleventh annual chamber music festival. Seven concerts offer a variety of ensembles and music, featuring musicians returning to their native Rhode Island as well as those based in the Ocean State. Six evening concerts will take place in Westerly, Cranston and Warwick. An afternoon Lawn Concert will take place Sunday June 10 on the grounds of Clouds Hill Victorian House Museum in Warwick. In addition, Music on the Hill will offer its annual outreach performance for Warwick elementary schools on Friday, June 8. Tickets are just $25 online at www.musiconthehillri.org through PayPal, at BrownPaperTickets.com, or at the door with cash or check. As always, students with I.D. are admitted free of charge.

Music on the Hill’s adventurous programs combine highlights of the chamber music repertoire with less familiar gems. Mendelssohn, Mozart and Bach are heard with Jongen, Bliss and Schulhoff. Only Music on the Hill performs in five different venues in three towns around the Ocean State, in intimate venues where the audience sits up close to the action. Musicians play in a variety of ensembles in multiple concerts. Four highlights:

· June 2’s opening concert features Mendelssohn’s complete works for cello and piano, with Miami String Quartet’s Keith Robinson and pianist Donna Lee, in Westerly

· June 5 in Cranston, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 and Mozart’s Divertimento in D Major, with a large all-star ensemble of strings, horns and woodwinds

· June 7 in Warwick, a concert of Ocean State composers Nico Muhly, Thomas Bucci, Carl Schimmel, Daniel Carr and Sebastian Currier, featuring percussionist Peter Ferry, soprano Diana McVey, and strings and piano

· June 10 in Warwick, a Tanglewood-style afternoon lawn concert at Clouds Hill Victorian House Museum, with Narragansett Brass Quintet

Music on the Hill’s ensemble features Rhode Island-raised professionals: oboist Anne Marie Gabriele of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, percussionist Peter Ferry; the Metropolitan Opera’s Mary Phillips; soprano Diana McVey; violinists Gregory Cardi, Cami Sylvia and Kristen Pellegrino; cellist Elisa Kohanski; tubist Tom Gregory; and bassist John M. Pellegrino. Other festival favorites are the Miller-Porfiris Duo, pianists Bonnie Anderson and Jason Hardink, bassoonist Steve Vacchi, clarinetist Daniel Gilbert; hornists Michelle Reed Baker and Leslie Norton; violist Liana Zaretsky; violinist Amy Sims and cellist Trevor Handy. Ocean State artists include Narragansett Brass Quintet (Joseph Foley, Gino Villareal, Alexei Doohovskoy, Robert Marlatt and Tom Gregory), and harpsichordist Michael Bahmann (Musicians of the Old Post Road). Debuting this year is flutist Anthony Trionfo. Appearing with support from the Aaron Roitman Fund for Chamber Music are cellist Keith Robinson and pianist Donna Lee.

In his Juilliard days and professionally since then, Artistic Director John M. Pellegrino meets many gifted musicians from the Ocean State who lament the fact that they haven't performed in Rhode Island since high school. He says: “Seven fantastic concerts will take place in our beloved Ocean State this June for our 2018 music festival, as well as our annual concert for elementary school children and some surprise pop-up appearances for unsuspecting passers-by. We continue to offer free admission for students, so please bring your children and grandchildren to the festival!”

2018’s festival is dedicated to the memory of Alice Pellegrino (1930-2018), music educator, board member and visionary supporter of Music on the Hill. Music on the Hill’s festival is made possible through generous support from The Carter Family Charitable Trust, The Aaron Roitman Fund for Chamber Music, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, and Taco/The White Family Foundation.

Music on the Hill

2018 Music Festival: June 2-10, 2018

MENDELSSOHN

Saturday June 2, 7:00 pm

Dunn’s Corners Community Church, 221 Post Road, Westerly, RI

Sonatas No. 1 and 2 for cello and piano, Variations Concertantes, Album Leaf, Song Without Words

Keith Robinson, cello, and Donna Lee, piano

BRAHMS AND MORE

Sunday June 3 at 7:00pm

St. Gregory the Great Church, 360 Cowesett Rd., Warwick, RI

Brahms’ Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano, and works of Schubert, Schumann, Fuchs, Gates, Henryson, d’Rivera

Anton Miller & Kristen Pellegrino, violin; Rita Porfiris, viola; Elisa Kohanski & Keith Robinson, cello; John M. Pellegrino, bass; Diana McVey, soprano; Bonnie Anderson & Donna Lee, piano; Daniel Gilbert, clarinet; Michelle Reed Baker French horn

BACH AND MOZART

Tuesday June 5, 7:00 pm

Immaculate Conception Church, 237 Garden Hills Drive, Cranston, RI

Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 and Gamba Sonata No. 1, Mozart’s Divertimento, Zelenka’s Sonata No. 3

Anne Marie Gabriele, oboe; Anthony Trionfo, flute; Michelle Reed Baker, Leslie Norton, horn; Steve Vacchi, bassoon; Gregory Cardi, Anton Miller, Cami Sylvia, violin; Rita Porfiris, viola; Trevor Handy, Elisa Kohanski, Keith Robinson, cellos; John M. Pellegrino, bass; Michael Bahmann, harpsichord

SONATAS `

Wednesday June 6, 7:00 pm

Immaculate Conception Church, 237 Garden Hills Drive, Cranston, RI

Sonatas by Frederic Chopin, Ilja Hurnik, Thorvald Hansen, Erwin Schulhoff

Trevor Handy, Elisa Kohanski, cellos; John M. Pellegrino, bass; Michael Bahmann, harpsichord; Bonnie Anderson, piano; Joseph Foley, trumpet; Anthony Trionfo, flute; Anne Marie Gabriele, oboe

OCEAN STATE COMPOSERS

Thursday June 7, 7:00 pm

St. Gregory the Great Church, 360 Cowesett Rd., Warwick, RI

Music of Nico Muhly, Daniel Carr, Thomas Bucci, Carl Schimmel, Sebastian Currier

Diana McVey, soprano; Peter Ferry, percussion; Anton Miller, Amy Sims, violin; Rita Porfiris, viola; Elisa Kohanski, cello; Bonnie Anderson, piano; Jason Hardink, piano and organ

RICH AND ROMANTIC

Friday June 8, 7:00 pm

Saints Rose and Clement Church, 111 Long Street, Warwick, RI

Music of Ottorino Respighi, Joseph Jongen, Edouard Dupuy, George Onslow, Arthur Bliss

Mary Phillips, mezzo-soprano; Gregory Cardi, Anton Miller, Cami Sylvia, violin; Rita Porfiris, Liana Zaretsky, viola; Elisa Kohanski and Trevor Handy, cello; John M. Pellegrino, bass; Anne Marie Gariele, oboe; Steve Vacchi, bassoon

NARRAGANSETT BRASS QUINTET: LAWN CONCERT

Sunday June 10, 2:00 pm

Clouds Hill Victorian House Museum, 4157 Post Road, Warwick, RI

An outdoor concert, Tanglewood style! Bring a picnic, and a blanket or beach chair. Limited seating available for rental. In case of inclement weather, concert will be indoors at St Gregory the Great Church, Warwick.

Brass music of Handel, Gershwin, Ewald, Ives, McKee and Holst

Narragansett Brass Quintet: Joseph Foley, Gino Villarreal, trumpet; Robert Marlatt, horn; Alexei Doohovskoy, trombone; Thomas Gregory, tuba