The Indian River Symphonic Association closed out its 2014-15 season last Wednesday evening with something new – collaborating with the Vero Beach Museum of Art to offer A Special Evening of Chamber Music.
The concert was a variation for the Symphonic Association, acclaimed for presenting world-class symphony orchestras, but was a format more familiar to the Museum, which partners each season with the Atlantic Classical Orchestra to host its Chamber Music Series.
“It’s something outside our normal bailiwick,” said John Crosby, IRSA board president. “This wasn’t conceived as a moneymaker. It was just another way to bring some great artists to the United States. We were pleased that the Museum wanted to be a joint partner.”
The evening began for 85 guests with a Caribbean-themed dinner catered by Adrienne Drew at tables circling the fountain of the Museum’s Wahlstrom Sculpture Garden in the Laura and Bill Buck Atrium. They were later joined by another 100 guests for the performance in the Leonhardt Auditorium.
The evening was the culmination of several special factors, including a friendship between IRSA board member Paul Gay and two extraordinarily talented young musicians from the Ukraine. It was two years ago in his hometown of Boston where Gay, a classical trombonist, conductor and composer, first met pianist Artem Belogurov and violinist Aleksey Semenenko.
“I am really grateful for the Museum and IRSA for supporting what I hope will be an annual event,” said Gay. “These are some wonderful young artists. Artem is one of the best young violinists in the world. Aleksey’s father is a nuclear scientist, and Aleksey is the pianist equivalent; his mind works so quickly.”
One of the pieces performed was Sonata for Violin and Piano, an original composition by Gay, who was pleased to have it played by the “dynamic duo.”
Another of the works, Banjo and Fiddle by William Kroll, had a tie to The Sonata, a painting by his brother, Leon Kroll, which the Museum acquired last year thanks to its Athena Society. Gay had a connection there as well, having played for many years with the composer’s daughter, violinist Barbara Kroll.
The Violin Sonata in G minor by Debussy and Prokofiev’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, No. 2 in D Major rounded out the performance.
“The access to the cultural arts in Vero Beach is incredible,” said Crosby. “I think the greatest joy is that little Vero Beach, per capita, is really the arts capital of south Florida. It’s just a wonderful place to be living.”
To help foster that love of arts and an appreciation of music, the Indian River Symphonic Association sponsors an annual Concert for Fifth Grade Students in partnership with the Brevard Symphony Orchestra and the Community Church. It also provides college scholarships to talented local seniors planning to major in music.
The 2014-15 concert season features an extraordinary lineup, including the return of the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Pinchas Zucherman as conductor and violin soloist, the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Keith Lockhart and the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico. The world-class Danish National Symphony Orchestra will perform here for the first time and the talented Brevard Symphony Orchestra will return with another three wonderful appearances.
Subscription tickets will become available in June, and individual tickets this coming fall.
