‘Broken Consort’ in concert Sunday at UBC
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| From left, Celeste Gates, Margaret Lawyer and Todd Barnes, members of “Broken Consort,” will perform this Sunday at 4 p.m. in Urbanna Baptist Church. |
The first half of the performance will be Berthelle Denton playing solo on piano. She will perform three Preludes for Piano by George Gershwin (1898-1937). The preludes are Allegro ben ritmato e deciso; Andante con moto e poco rubato; and Allegro ben ritmato e deciso;
Denton also will perform three Sonatas for Piano by Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757). They include Sonata in E Major, L. 23; Sonata in d minor, L. 413; and Sonata in G Major, L. 349.
She also will perform Barcarolle, Op. 60, by Frederic Chopin (1810-1849).
Denton holds the degree of bachelor of music in piano from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. She was awarded a full scholarship toward a master’s degree in piano performance from the University of Alabama, but had to abandon her studies near their completion due to impending motherhood.
After performing and teaching piano in Alabama for some years, she relocated first to Washington, D.C., in 1987, then to Kinsale in Westmoreland County in 1994. Since then, she has performed as the soloist in two Mozart piano concertos with the Northern Neck Orchestra (Kilmarnock). She is also a frequent performer with the Northern Neck-based Rappahannock Music Study Club, and the Friday Morning Music Club in Washington.
After intermission, “Broken Consort,” a trio of clarinet, viola and piano, will perform Trio in A Major, Op. 264, by Carl Reinecke (1824-1910), which includes Moderato; Legend: Andante; and Moderato.
Broken Consort also will perform Konzertstuck Nr. 2 by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), which includes Presto; Andante; and Allegro grazioso.
Celeste Gates plays A and B-flat clarinet for Broken Consort. She holds the degrees of bachelor of science in music composition and creative writing from the Indiana University School of Music, and master of music (1994, magna cum laude) in music composition from Virginia Commonwealth University.
She is an elected member of Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society, and a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), the International Clarinet Association, the Conductors’ Guild, the Music Teachers’ National Association, and the National Association for Composers.
A former conductor of the Northern Neck Orchestra (1993-98), she has also taught music at Rappahannock Community College. She continues to compose and perform, as well as giving private lessons at her studio, “Realistic Expectations,” at Burgess in Northumberland County.
Margaret Lawyer plays viola for Broken Consort. She holds the degree of bachelor of music in music education and viola from Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore.
She was a founding member of the Northern Neck Orchestra in 1991, and since then has been its principal violist. She played professionally with the Violace Trio from 1991 to 1994 and the Saint Cecilia Trio from 1994 to 2000, and since 2001 has continued to do so with Blue Moon Strings and the chamber music network Strings and Things.
Todd Barnes plays piano for Broken Consort. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in music education (piano emphasis), and has completed further studies at Westminster Choir College, George Mason University, James Madison University, and Duke University.
In addition to a 29-year career teaching general music classes and directing an after-school choir at Northumberland Elementary School in Heathsville, she is active in the community as a pianist for St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church and the Rappahannock Women’s Chorale.
The April 11 concert will be presented with the gracious sponsorship of the Urbanna Baptist Church music department. The public is encouraged to attend.
The April 18 concert will be given to benefit the Northumberland High School music program.
