Category: archive

Please join us on November 1st for our second concert since the Coronavirus hit.

We are proud to present the return of Brenda Bruce and Mark Fontaine as they do a musical history with Chopin’s Poland. All concerts begin at 3:00pm.

Please note this will be an Indoor / outdoor concert. The doors will be open so people can sit inside and outside. The chairs will be spaced at least 6 feet apart. We ask that all visitors please wear a mask while attending the venue.

We are sorry to say that we have add to cancel all of the Concerts through July due to the Coronavirus and possibly longer. We hope to have concerts again once the State opens up. Please stay safe during this time. Thank you,

Cherry Hill Foundation.

The Oakwood Waits, an a cappella group from Raleigh, will perform at Cherry Hill Plantation in Inez on December 15th.The event will begin at 3:00 pm and will feature the group, dressed in antebellum costume, for their 12th 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 are gratefully accepted.

For further information call 252-257-5259.

Organist/pianist Dr. Daniel Steinert will present three outstanding sopranos and a gifted flutist in “A Season of Gratitude” at Cherry Hill on November 24^th. The 3:00 PM performance will feature 11-year-old boy soprano Ryan Best, who works with Dr. Steinert as part of the music ministry at Christ United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill. Ryan, a middle schooler from Durham, was selected to perform the National Anthem at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park last summer. Among Ryan’s numbers at Cherry Hill will be a duet with his mother, flutist Debi Best.

 

            Also singing will be Farren Hilliard, making a return visit to the concert series. Ms. Farren recently performed the role of Yum-Yum in “The Mikado” in Durham. She teaches voice and piano at the Cary School of Music and sings with the Christ United Methodist Church choir in Chapel Hill.

            Kayla Richardson-Piche is the third soprano in the group. A senior Vocal Performance major at UNC-Chapel Hill, Ms. Richardson-Piche will be singing the role of Costanza in Mozart’s “Il Sogno di Scipione” , produced by the UNC Opera. She plays guitar, mandolin, and banjo.

            Dr. Steinert is celebrating his 45^th year leading the music of the church. He began at age 15 in Wisconsin, where he sang in the choir and played the organ and piano in worship at a local church. Among his many positions during his career was that of organist and choirmaster at Warrenton’s own Wesley Memorial Methodist Church. During that time, he also taught at Louisburg College and was the Founding Director of the Northeast Piedmont College. He is  pleased to present a concert of gratitude during this Thanksgiving season. The program will conclude with a hymn sing by the audience and featured performers.

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

            For further information call 252-257-5259. 

Joel Fan, acclaimed Steinway Artist, will perform at Cherry Hill on Sunday, October 20^th. The program, which will begin at 3:00 PM, will include works by Beethoven, Chopin, and Evan Ziporyn and Christine Southworth.

            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 call 252-257-5259

            The Cherry Hill Historical Foundation will open its fall concert season with a performance by Lyricosa Quartet on Sunday, September 22^nd. The performance will begin at 3:00 PM.

            The string quartet features violinist Carol Chang, concertmaster of the North Carolina Opera. Ms. Chung also plays regularly with the North Carolina Symphony, teaches violin, and serves on the faculty of the North Carolina Chamber Music Institute. She holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in violin performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

            Julia Reeves is a violinist who teaches at the Duke University String School. She holds her Bachelor of Music from Ohio University, her Master’s from the University of Minnesota, and her Doctorate from UNC Greensboro.

            Simon Ertz is Principal Viola of the Winston-Salem Symphony and is also a member of the Greensboro Symphony. After graduating from UK’s Royal Northern College of Music, Dr. Ertz worked with several orchestras across the UK. In the United States he has performed in many venues across the country as a member of the Degas Quartet. Since moving to North Carolina, he has completed a Doctoral of Musical Arts at UNC Greensboro and now teaches at North Carolina State University.

            Rosalind Leavell regularly performs with the North Carolina Opera orchestra and the North Carolina Symphony. She received her bachelor’s in music from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota. She was formerly the Principal Cellist of the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra in Minnesota. Ms. Leavell is on the faculty of Triangle Area Suzuki Talent Education and the North Carolina Chamber Music Institute. She also teaches  cello privately to students of all ages and levels.

            During Sunday’s performance the group will play the String Quartet in F Major by Haydn, the String Quartet No. 3 in D Major by Beethoven, and the String Quartet in F Major by Ravel. The Classical Voice of North Carolina has lauded Lyricosa for their “beautiful, rich tone…and stylish phrasing”. Formed in the spring of 2018, their combined goal is to reach a vast depth of intimacy and understanding in each work they play and to share that journey with their audiences.

            Admission to the event will be $10 for adults, $5 for students, and no charge for children under 13 and will be taken at the door. A reception will be held in the dining room and parlors of the 1858 plantation house, which will be open for touring after the concert.

            For further information and driving directions, call 252-257-5259.

The David Esleck Trio will give a performance of jazz music at Cherry Hill on Sunday, July 14^th. Dr. Esleck performed solo at the piano in 2018 and is returning with his trio by popular demand. The program will begin at 3:00 PM, and admissions will be taken at the door. This is the fourth annual Edwina Rooker Endowed Concert, established in honor of the late Warrenton resident and long-time friend of the Cherry Hill Historical Foundation.

Dr. Esleck, adjunct professor of music at the University of Richmond, includes performing, composing, producing and educating in his life’s work. He appears frequently in concerts and recitals, both as a piano soloist and with his jazz trio. His recordings have been nominated for both Grammy and Indie awards, and he has performed for Presidents, heads of state, CEO’s, Hollywood stars, and with well-known musical groups. His compositions, both jazz and classical, are heard in concerts, films, and on television. A trained composer, Dr.Esleck holds Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees in the discipline.

Musical arrangements for piano, cello, and percussion will be announced during the program. 

Admission charges are $10 for adults, $5 for students, and no charge for children 12 and below.

A reception will be held in the historic plantation house following the performance.

For more information about Cherry Hill and driving directions to the venue, call 252-257-5259.

The spring concert season at Cherry Hill continues on June 16th with the annual student recital, performed this year by outstanding pianist Timothy Jones. Each year a student is recommended by his or her teacher for consideration as the young musician of the year at Cherry Hill. This student must show unusual promise of mastery in his or her chosen musical field.  

At the age of 21, Timothy Jones has already established himself as a highly accomplished solo, chamber, and collaborative pianist. He has recently won first prize in the MTNA National Young Artists Competition, which required 3 first prize performances up and down the east coast. He has also been a prizewinner of various other competitions, including the Russel C. Wonderlic Competition. Timothy’s recent performances have taken place at the Aspen Institute on the Wye River, University of North Carolina School  of the Arts, Peabody Institute, and Harris Hall (Aspen Music Festival).

Timothy has studied privately with Douglas Humphereys, and Anton Nel and has participated in masterclasses with Robert McDonald, John Perry, Richard Goode, and Leon Fleisher. He has recently graduated from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and will be pursuing his Master’s degree in the fall at the University of Texas at Austin with renowned pianist and pedagogue Anton Nel.

The program will consist of music of Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, and Grieg.

The 3:00 PM performance is one of two free concerts sponsored by the Cherry Hill Historic Foundation each year. A reception will follow the performance.

For additional information, call 252-257-5250.

Marc Callahan, bass-baritone, and pianist Clara Yang will present selections of French songs as well as works of Zhou Long and Georges Bizet at Cherry Hill on Sunday, May 19^th. The two musicians, both assistant professors in the music department at UNC-Chapel Hill, have collaborated to bring an afternoon of lyrical compositions to the 3:00 PM performance. 

            Dr. Callahan, a Pennsylvania native, received his Bachelor’s Degree from Oberlin College and his Master’s and Doctor’s degrees from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music.  As a Rotary Scholar, Dr. Callahan was able to pursue his studies in France.  His performance career has taken him around the world, singing at prestigious opera houses both in the United States and abroad.  Opera Magazine has reviewed him as “a powerful baritone, providing a wickedly glamorous tone”. 

            Dr. Yang is described by Fanfareas “a first-rate pianist who isn’t afraid of challenges”. The Chinese-American musician has performed in notable venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, Remonstrantse Kerk in The Netherlands, the Seymour Centre in Sydney, Australia, and numerous other sites in the United States and abroad. A sought-after teacher, Dr. Yang has frequently given masterclasses in Spain, London, and at Duke University. She has given solo recitals in major conservatories and universities internationally, and is an avid chamber musician.

            The concert will be followed by a reception in the 1858 plantation house, which will be open for touring after the program. 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 and driving directions, call 252-257-5259.

The directors of the Cherry Hill Concert Series are pleased to welcome Solomon Eichner in his debut performance on the Inez plantation’s  concert grand. The youthful pianist has received outstanding reviews, and was declared by the American Liszt Society as “A sensitive pianist, Solomon’s playing is poetic, beautiful and moving with deep feeling”. Equally at home with solo, chamber and concerto performances, American pianist Solomon Eichner has established himself as an exciting versatile artist known for his commanding interpretations of the romantic keyboard repertoire.

Dr. Eichner is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, and the University of South Carolina where he received a full scholarship to complete his studies for his Doctorate in Piano. The April 28^thperformance will feature works of Chopin, Paderewski, Debussy, and Faure.

The performance will begin at 3:00 PM. A reception will follow the program, and the entire 1858 plantation house will be open for viewing. 

Admissions will be  taken at the door, with adults at $10, students at $5, and children 12 and under admitted at no charge.

For travel directions and further information call 252-257-5259.