Concert: “Mozart, Madame Farrenc, and More” with Ensemble Aubade

The Norfolk Library presents Ensemble Aubade (Peter H. Bloom, flute and alto flute; Francis Grimes, viola; Steven Sussman, piano) performing Mozart, Madame Farrenc, and More.  The acclaimed trio, touring out of Boston MA, will provide an exhilarating tour of chamber music from the salons of Vienna and Paris to the concert halls of New York. The group is based in Boston and performs across the United States, captivating audiences with their virtuosity, versatility, and electrifying performances.  Aubade has been praised for “intensity, imagination, skill, and finesse” (St. Lawrence University, New York). Please register below for this free concert.

The program will include:

The sunny and lyrical Kegelstatt Trio, K. 498 (1786) by Mozart, featuring Bloom on alto flute (“wonderfully smoky and mysterious” – EarRelevant).

The lush and thrilling Trio Opus 45 (1856), by the great 19^th century composer Louise Farrenc, famous in her time but seldom heard today.  Farrenc was the first female professor at the Paris Conservatory, where she taught from 1842 to 1873.  She was an esteemed composer, an acclaimed pianist, and a successful music publisher.

Seven Postcards to Old Friends (1966), an exuberant chamber work by the legendary Broadway arranger Robert Russell Bennett who orchestrated hits like Show Boat, Oklahoma, The Sound of Music, and South Pacific.

Ensemble Aubade’s extensive career includes concerts for The Saint Louis Art Museum, The Robert H. Wood Great Artists Series (NY), The Nielsen Series in Des Moines, Kimberton Arts Alliance (PA), The Foothills Piano Festival (AL), Morton Arboretum Chamber Series (Chicago), Fairmont Chamber Music Series (WV),  Saugerties Pro Musica (NY), Garmany Music Series (CT), and Seacobeck Hall in Fredericksburg, to name a few.

Peter H. Bloom, flute and alto flute, whose playing has been called “a revelation for unforced sweetness and strength” (The Boston Globe), “brightly gorgeous” (Gapplegate Music Review), and “breathtaking” (Ivan Rod Review, Denmark), performs in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand; is featured on 49 recordings; is contributing editor for Noteworthy Sheet Music; and is a winner of the American Musicological Society’s Noah Greenberg Award.  Bloom has performed in London, Bangkok, Canberra, Ottawa and other world capitals, and in hundreds of cities across 40 states and four continents.   He has concertized with such noted artists as Ensemble Chaconne, The Henning Ensemble, Grammy-nominee D’Anna Fortunato, and the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra (52^nd season).  Bloom has given lectures and classes across the globe. He holds an MM with distinction in flute performance from New England Conservatory of Music, and a BA (philosophy) from Boston University. 

Francis Grimes, viola, is an esteemed chamber musician, orchestral player and educator.  He has performed with the Boston Pops, Boston Opera, Masterworks Chorale, Sinfonova, Boston Ballet, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, and other premier ensembles.  He toured nationally with the Star Wars Orchestra and performed with choral groups in Italy, England and the Czech Republic.  He serves regularly in the orchestras of Boston’s Colonial and Schubert Theatres.  He attended Boston University’s School of Fine Arts and completed his BM at Indiana University as a student of William Primrose.  He also studied with Roman Totenberg, Bernard Kadinoff, Eugene Lehner, and members of the Fine Arts Quartet at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Steven Sussman, piano, is acclaimed as a soloist, accompanist, chamber musician and orchestral member, performing classical music, jazz, and musical theater in New England and across the United States.  He is the director of Opera Presto, toured previously with Brown Bag Opera, and was staff accompanist at the Berklee College of Music. An experienced educator, Sussman serves on the faculty at The Rivers Conservatory of Music, teaches at the St. Marks School, and maintains an active private teaching studio.  He earned a Master of Music in performance from Boston University, and a Bachelor of Music from Indiana University, where his principal teachers were Enrica Cavallo-Gulli and Jorge Bolet.