Category: archive

The David Esleck Trio will perform jazz at Cherry Hill on Sunday, July 13th. The concert will begin at 3:00 PM, and admissions will be taken at the door. The group, comprised of piano, bass, and drums, has made several appearances at the Inez venue and is among Cherry Hill’s most requested performers.

        Dr. Esleck, performer, composer, producer, and educator, teaches at the University of Richmond. Experienced as a multi-instrumentalist, he focuses on the piano, both as a soloist and with the trio. He has been heard in concerts and recitals around the country, including performances for and with  Presidents, heads of state, CEO’s, Hollywood stars and musical figures like Tony Bennett. He holds Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees . Jazz bands, children’s choirs, orchestras and soloists have performed Esleck’s music, and it has been heard in films and television programs.

         The July concert is given in memory of Edwina Rooker, Warrenton resident and longtime supporter of the Cherry Hill Foundation and its cultural and educational missions.

         Admission for this concert will be $10 for adults, $5 for students, and children 12 and under will be admitted at no charge. A reception will follow the program, and the entire 1858 home will be open.

 For further information and driving directions, please visit www.cherryhillconcerts.com or telephone 252-257-5259.

The Neave Piano Trio will perform at Cherry Hill on Sunday, March 23^rd. The program will begin at 3:00, and a reception will be held in the dining room and parlors of the 1858 plantation house after the performance.

Formed in 2010, the Neave Trio has earned enormous praise for its engaging, cutting-edge performances. The word “Neave” is Gaelic for “bright” and “radiant”, both of which apply to the trio’s music making, according to several music critics. The group consists of violinist Anna Williams, cellist Mikhail Veselov, and pianist Eri Nakamura and has performed at many prominent concert series and festivals worldwide. They have played at the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and numerous esteemed venues. They have held residency positions at Brown University, the University of Virginia, Bard College, and at Virginia Commonwealth University,

Sunday’s program will include David Ludwig’s “Three Yiddish Dances”, Bedrich Smetana’s Piano Trio No. 1 in G minor, and the Shostakovich Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor. Admissions will be taken at the door with adults at $10, students at $5, and children 12 and under admitted at no charge.

Begun in 1982 by Warren County resident Edgar Thorne, the Cherry Hill Concert Series takes place in the 1858 plantation home of the George Washington Alston family. The home has been carefully preserved by the original family descendants and the Cherry Hill Historical Foundation and will be open for touring after the concert. For more information about Cherry Hill and driving directions, please call 252-257-5259.

Pianist Kwan Yi will open the 2025 concert season at Cherry Hill with a performance of Franz Liszt’s “Years of Pilgrimage, Year Two” on Sunday, February 16^th. The concert, which will begin at 3:00 PM, features works written by Liszt during his second year of a stay in Italy. The composer developed a love for Italy and spent many years in that country.

Kwan Yi, now associate professor of piano at East Carolina University, is a graduate of the Curtis Institute, Julliard School, and the Peabody Institute. He has participated in numerous music festivals around the world and has been guest performer at renowned concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and many others. Yi was heard with delight when he played previously at Cherry Hill. Sunday marks the first time the “Years of Pilgrimage” has been played at the Inez venue.

  A reception will follow the performance, and the entire 1858 home of the George Alston family will be open for touring. Admissions will be taken at the door, with adults admitted for $10, students for $5, and children 12 and under at no charge. For more information about Cherry Hill and driving instructions, please call 252-257-5259.

The Oakwood Waits, an a cappella group from Raleigh, will perform at Cherry Hill Plantation in Inez on December 8th. The event will begin at 3:00 pm and will feature the group, dressed in antebellum costume, for their 14th visit to Cherry Hill. The performance of traditional carols and songs has been given from the Executive Mansion to the White House and has become a holiday tradition at the 1858 Inez home of the George W. Alston family. Guests are invited to enjoy refreshments and visit with the singers at a reception following the performance. 

 The board of directors of the Cherry Hill Foundation presents the singers as a Christmas gift to the community and cordially invites everyone for an afternoon of entertainment and refreshment. All donations will be gratefully accepted.For further information visit www.cherryhillconcerts.com. or call 252-257-5259.

The Cherry Hill Concert Series will present its annual celebration of Thanksgiving on Sunday, November 24^th at 3:00 PM.  Dr. Daniel Steinert will direct the program and play a number of familiar classical works with fellow pianist Laurel Siviglia. The two pianists will play compositions of Bach, Gounod, Grieg and others, using 4 hands or two pianos. Violinist Eric McCracken and his 15- year-old student Eric Mao will perform the Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor by J.S. Bach and also accompany the Cherry Hill Children’s Voices. Familiar music for the season will also be performed by the musicians, children’s chorus, and the audience. 

A reception will be held following the performance, and the entire 1858 ancestral home of the George W. Alston family will be open.

Admissions will be taken at the door, with adults at $10, students at $5, and children 12 and under admitted at no charge. For more information about Cherry Hill and driving directions to the Inez site, please visit www.cherryhillconcerts.com or call 252-257-5259.

Flutist Tadeu Coelho and pianist Dmitri Vorobiev will present their program, “Music of the Americas” at Cherry Hill on Sunday, October 13^th. The performance will begin at 3:00 and will include music by Aaron Copland, Katherine Hoover, Eduardo Gamboa, and other 20^th century composers.

Both artists are professors of music at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Dr. Coelho is a native of Brazil and regularly performs across the Americas. He is a masterful soloist and clinician, and is an ardent advocate for contemporary music. He has many CDs and published works. Dr. Coelho performed at Cherry Hill in 2023 with classical guitarist Joseph Pecararo.

Dr. Vorobiev, a native of Moscow, Russia, is a highly acclaimed pianist recognized for his dynamic concert schedule and profound interpretations of classical repertoire. He began his piano studies at the age of five, studied in Russia, and then moved to the United States to study at the School of the Arts. He earned his Masters Degree at the Manhattan School of Music and his Doctorate from the University of Michigan School of Music.

A reception will follow the performance. Admissions will be taken at the door, with adult admission at $10, students at $5, and children 12 and under at no charge. The entire 1858 plantation house will be open for touring.

For more information, please visit www.cherryhillconcerts.com or telephone 252-257-5259.

Pianist Benjamin Hochman will return to Cherry Hill in a performance of Beethoven works on Sunday, September 22^nd. Hochman, born in Jerusalem, now resides in Berlin, Germany. He performed at Cherry Hill when he was visiting professor of piano at East Carolina University.

Hochman fills many roles, from orchestral soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician to conductor. He regards music as vital and essential, and members of the music performance world recognize his deep commitment to insightful programming and performances of quality. Since his concert debut at Carnegie Hall, he has performed with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic and Prague Philharmonia. A winner of Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Career Grant, Hochman performs at venues around the world.

The concert begins at 3:00 PM and will include Beethoven’s Sonata #31, Opus 110, and Beethoven’s Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120. This concert is supported by an endowment in memory of Amma Graham, Warrenton resident and early supporter of local historic preservation.

A reception will be held following the concert, with the entire 1850’s plantation house open for touring. Admissions will be taken at the door with adults at $10, students at $5, and children 12 and under admitted at no charge.

For further information about Cherry Hill and driving directions, please visit www.cherryhillconcerts.com or telephone 252-257-5259.

Internationally acclaimed pianist Thomas Pandolfi will present a concert of the music of Frederick Chopin at Cherry Hill on Sunday, July 28^th. The concert will begin at 3 PM and will be followed by a reception for attendees and the artist.

Mr. Pandolfi, a great favorite of Cherry Hill audiences, will play etudes, ballads, polonaises, nocturnes, and other works by the beloved composer. Entitled “The Language of Infinity”, the program promises to delight the audience.

Thomas Pandolfi received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees as a scholarship student at Julliard. He has received outstanding reviews from his performances all over the world, and has just returned from a concert and master class tour of China. He is the Dean of the Piano Department at Midwest University in Missouri. He has played at Cherry Hill a number of times over the past 15 years and is the most requested musician by Cherry Hill supporters.

 The July concert has been endowed in memory of Warrenton native Edwina Rooker, a friend of the former owner of Cherry Hill, Edgar Thorne, and a faithful supporter of the concert series.

Admissions will be taken at the door, with adults at $10, students at $5, and children 12 and under at no charge. The entire 1858 plantation house, located in the community of Inez on Highway 58 12 miles south of Warrenton, will be open for touring. For information about Cherry Hill and the concert series, please visit www.cherryhillconcerts.com.

The Cherry Hill Concert Series will hold its annual Outstanding Young Artist concert on SATURDAY, June 8^th. Dr. Daniel Steinert will accompany mezzo-soprano Joanna Burke for the 3:00 PM event. Ms. Burke will sing works by Mahler, Ravel, and Rossini.

            Joanna Burke is a resident of Durham, where she studies under Dr. Brian Gill. She holds degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill and the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. She has performed in numerous opera and operetta roles in the United States, Canada, and Italy.

            Dr. Daniel Steinert is Director of Music Ministries at Christ United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill.  A longtime supporter of Cherry Hill and a frequent guest artist, Dr. Steinert was the founder and director of the Northeast Piedmont Chorale. He has spent many years conducting orchestras and choirs at the collegiate level.

            The Outstanding Young Artist series was begun by the board of directors of Cherry Hill as a means of introducing promising young talent and affording them an opportunity to perform in a unique setting as they begin their careers in classical music.

            Admissions will be taken at the door, with adults at $10, students at $5, and children admitted at no charge. A reception will be held following the performance, and the entire 1858 plantation house will be open for touring. For more information about Cherry Hill as well as driving instructions, please visit www.cherryhillconcerts.com or telephone 252-257-5259.

Joel Fan, acclaimed Steinway Artist, will perform at Cherry Hill on Sunday, May 19^th. The program, which will begin at 3:00 PM, will feature works of Frederick Chopin.

            Joel Fan has performed over 40 different concertos with orchestras worldwide including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Pops, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, Odessa Philharmonic, and London Sinfonietta, with conductors such as David Zinman, Alan Gilbert, Keith Lockhart, Zubin Mehta and David Robertson. In collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma as a member of the Silk Road Ensemble, Mr. Fan has appeared at Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and on the popular nationally-televised programs Good Morning America and Late Night with David Letterman.

            Joel Fan currently serves as Artistic Director of the Open Source Music Festival. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University, where his teachers included the composer Leon Kirchner. He holds a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, where he studied with Leon Fleisher. He has recorded for Sony Classical, Reference Recordings, Verdant World Records, and Albany Records.

            A reception will follow the performance. The entire 1858 home of the Alston family  will be open for touring. Admissions will be taken at the door, with adults at $10, students at $5, and children under 13 admitted at no charge.

            For more information, visit www.cherryhillconcerts.com or telephone 252-257-5259.