Category: archive

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.

The Oakwood Waits, an a cappellagroup from Raleigh, will perform at Cherry Hill Plantation in Inez on December 16th.The event will begin at 3:00 pm and will feature the group, dressed in antebellum costume, for their 11th 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.

As in past years, there will be no admission charge for this annual event. However, the board of directors suggests that each guest over the age of 12 make a $5 donation to support the service building restoration project.

For further information call 252-257-5259.

Pianist/organist Daniel Steinert will return to Cherry Hill on November 18^th. The 3:00 PM program will feature lyric soprano Farren Hilliard and will include works by Bach, Schumann, Strauss, Brahms, Puccini, Gilbert and Sullilvan, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and other well-known composers.

Farren Hilliard is from West Columbia, South Carolina. In 2015 she completed a Graduate Vocal Performance degree at Appalachian State University. She also has a BA in Comprehensive Music in Voice from Campbell University. She has performed roles in The Marriage of Figaro, Die Fledermaus, Kiss Me Kate, Beethoven’s 9^thSymphony, Verdi’s Falstaff, Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and Gilbert & Sullivan’s Ruddigore. She now works in the Triangle area where she also teaches private voice and piano at the Cary School of Music and sings with Christ United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill.

Daniel  Steinert is well-known in central and northern North Carolina as the founder and former music director of the Northeastern Piedmont Chorale. He spent several years as Organist/Choirmaster at Warrenton’s Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church.  He has been involved with organ music all of his life and is now the director of music and organist at Christ United Methodist Church in Chapel Hill. Dr. Steinert will include works on the Cherry Hill organ during Sunday’s performance.

A reception will be held in the dining room and parlors of the antebellum plantation home following the performance. Ticket may be purchased at the door for a charge of $10 for adults, $5 for students, and no charge for children 12 and under. For further information and driving directions call  252-257-5259.

After having performed together with great success for several years in other chamber combinations, David Gross, Deirdre Hutton, and Christopher Hutton founded the Poinsett Piano Trio in 2008.  All three members of the trio live in Greenville, South Carolina and teach at Furman University, a Liberal Arts college with a strong performance-oriented music program.  Together they have performed Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with orchestras in Idaho and South Carolina, and recitals in Alabama, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and  Washington, DC. The trio did international tours to New Zealand in 2010 and 2013, and to Germany in 2012.  They have performed at the Piccolo Spoleto festival and have been a “pick of the week” of the Charleston City Paper.

The ensemble is named in honor of Joel Roberts Poinsett, a statesman, physician, and botanist from South Carolina.  Like the members of the trio, Poinsett had an international life and career, living in England as a child, training in medical school in Scotland, traveling extensively in Europe and South America, and later was elected to Congress before serving as Minister (ambassador) to Mexico.  Poinsett is most remembered today as the discoverer of the Mexican Poinsettia plant, whose bright red flowers are popularly included in festive Christmas decorations throughout the world.

The trio will perform Rachmaninoff’s Trio Elegique No. 1 in G minor; Beethoven’s Trio in B-flat Major,Op.11; and Brahms’ Piano Trio in C Major, Op. 87. Visit the trio on the web at http://www.poinsettpianotrio.com where audio samples of their work can be heard.

Admission prices for the concert and reception are $10 per adult and $5 for students. Children 12 and under are admitted at no charge.

For more information call 252-257-5259.

 

 

 

Dr. Kent Lyman will present music of Mozart, Liszt, and Beethoven at Cherry Hill on Sunday, September 23^rd. The performance will begin at 3:00 PM.

Dr. Lyman is a Steinway Artist and Coordinator of Piano at Meredith College in Raleigh. He has toured extensively throughout the United States and abroad in such locations as South Korea, China, Brazil, Canada, and Italy.  He is very active as a solo and collaborative performer, and is in demand as a presenter, clinician, master teacher, and adjudicator throughout the region and beyond. He has performed with a number of orchestras, including the North Carolina, Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, Raleigh Civic Symphony, Florence (SC) Symphony, Broward (FL )Symphony, Meredith Sinfonietta, and others.  He holds degrees in music from the University of Utah and Indiana University, where he received his doctoral degree in piano, studying with James Tocco.

Dr. Lyman will perform Mozart’s Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor, and the Sonata in C major (Waldstein) by Beethoven.

The Cherry Hill Concert Series is presented by the Cherry Hill Historical Foundation, Inc. in the 1850’s antebellum home of the George Alston family in Inez, a community in southern Warren County.  A reception will follow the performance,and the entire house will be open for touring.

Admission will be taken at the door, with adults at $10, students at $5, and children 12 and under admitted free of charge.  For further information call 252-257-5259.

David Esleck of the David Esleck Trio will give a solo piano performance of jazz music at Cherry Hill on Sunday, July 15^th. The program will begin at 3:00 PM, and admissions will be taken at the door. This is the third 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.

Among the numbers to be played on Sunday will be works by Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Duke Ellington. Dr. Esleck will also play some of his own compositions, and has a “few surprises” in store.

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.

Bonnie Thron, Fred Jacobowitz, and Anatoly Larkin will present music written for the cello, clarinet, and piano at Cherry Hill on Sunday, October 15. The program, which will begin at 3:00 PM, will include compositions by Beethoven, Phyllis Tate, Arne Running, Igor Stravinsky, and Max Bruch.

Bonnie Thron, Principal cellist with the North Carolina Symphony, has played at Cherry Hill with several different groups. She plays recitals and chamber music regularly throughout the Research Triangle and also with Washington Musica Viva. She was the cellist of the Peabody Trio when that group won the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation award in 1989. She has been the featured soloist for many concertos with the North Carolina Symphony as well as in her home state of New Hampshire. In March 2018, along with the East Carolina University Orchestra, Mrs. Thron will premiere a concerto written especially for her by North Carolina composer Bill Robinson.

Fred Jacobowitz studied at the Julliard School in New York, where he received his Bachelors and Masters degrees. He made his New York debut at Carnegie Recital Hall and was a featured soloist on several radio stations in the city. Mr. Jacobowitz was Principal Clarinetist in the Annapolis (Maryland) Symphony Orchestra. He is equally at home performing classical, jazz, and folk music, and has performed as recitalist and soloist throughout the US and Canada, as well as in Panama. Mr. Jacobowitz resides in Raleigh with his wife, Bonnie Thron.

Anatoly Larkin was born in Russia and emigrated to the west with his family at age 13.  After completing undergraduate studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, he completed his doctoral studies in piano performance at the University of Minnesota. He moved to Raleigh to join Zenph, a music technology company which has developed a software process that enables recordings of the past to live again. Dr. Larkin continues to perform and compose music. He also teaches piano and “sees the learning of music akin to learning a spoken language”.

Following the performance, a reception will be held in the dining room of the 1858 plantation home. Tickets will be sold at the door, with adult tickets at $10, students at $5, and children 12 and under admitted at no charge.

For more information about Cherry Hill and its concert programs, please  call 252-257-5259.

The Cherry Hill Concert Series welcomes pianist Raffi Besalyan  on Sunday, September 17th at 3:00 PM. Dr. Besalyan received a standing ovation for his 2016 performance at the Inez plantation venue, and the Board of Directors is pleased to host the Steinway artist for an encore concert. A native of Armenia, Besalyan began his music studies at the Tchaikovsky Special Music School for Gifted Children. He received his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory. In addition, he studied at the Manhattan School of Music with legendary American pianist Byron Janis and with Sara Davis Buechner.

Press reviews in Japan, the United States, and Europe have hailed Besalyan as “a true heir of the mainstream of Russian pianism, like Horowitz”, “A keyboard phenomenon”, “a formidable pianist with a commanding presence and rich interpretive gifts”, “a master of his art”. He has established an international reputation as a magnetic and passionate performer.

During this second presentation at Cherry Hill, Dr. Besalyan will perform three virtuoso etudes by George Gershwin, Mozart’s Sonata in C Major, Chopin’s Ballade No. 4, three preludes by Armenian composer E. Baghdassarian, and two preludes and Sonata No. 2 by Rachmaninoff. Many of these selections may be previewed on YouTube and at raffibesalyan.com.

Tickets may be purchased at the door, with an adult charge of $10, students at $5, and children 12 and other at no charge. Immediately following the program, a reception will take place in the dining room of the historic 1850’s plantation house, located at 2740 NC Hwy 58, 12 miles south of Warrenton in the community of Inez.

The entire house will be open for touring after the performance.

For further information call 252-257-5259.