Third Thursday concert series with Eastman’s Italian Baroque organ will be featuring Italian opera of the Nineteenth Century this November. This popular music genre had a vibrant life of its own outside the Italian theater, and the organ in the church became the vehicle of this music for a larger number of people who could never attend an opera performance. Under the influence of opera, the Italian organ enlarged its palette of stops and colors during this period, and became the preferred instrument for playing the most famous arias, duets, cavatinas, and choruses by Verdi, Puccini, and other composers.
The Third Thursday concert series provides musicians and music-lovers the opportunity to experience authentic Baroque music on a regular basis. This month’s concert will include works by Bellini, Rossini, Donizetti, and Puccini. Musicians will include Gileann Tan; soprano, Lauren Nash Silberstein; soprano, Mary Mowers; soprano, Veena Akama-Makia; mezzo-soprano, Kyrsten Chambers Jones; mezzo-soprano, and Salvador Lopez Portillo; countertenor. Organists will include Eastman students Oliver Brett, Benjamin Henderson, Daniel Minnick, and Jacob Fuhrman.
Eastman’s Italian Baroque Organ was built around 1770 in central Italy. Restored and installed in 2005 at the Memorial Art Gallery, the instrument is the only one of its kind in North America. The organ’s beautiful, authentic sounds have been heard by thousands of visitors who attend weekly Sunday mini-recitals and special “Third Thursday” concerts by internationally celebrated guest artists and Eastman musicians.
Admission to the concert is included with Gallery admission, which is half-price on Thursday evenings and free to University of Rochester student ID holders. This concert is made possible by the Rippey Endowed Trust.
The next Third Thursday concert is entitled “An Italian Baroque Christmas” and will take place on December 20, 2018. It will feature organ students and faculty from the Eastman School of Music.
Thursday, November 15
7:30pm
Third Thursdays with Eastman’s Italian Baroque Organ at the Memorial Art Gallery
“Organ and the Opera”
Eastman School of Music students
Memorial Art Gallery
500 University Ave
Rochester, NY 14607
Free with Gallery admission
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