Rhodes to headline benefit concert
Date: 2/9/2012
Feb. 8, 2012By Matt Murphy
mmurphy@thereminder.comLONGMEADOW — Feb. 10 will provide the Pioneer Valley with a chance to go back in time through music.
Springfield Symphony Orchestra’s (SSO) Maestro Kevin Rhodes will be the tour guide on this musical tour to benefit the nonprofit Longmeadow Chamber Music Society at First Church of Christ, 763 Longmeadow St. Rhodes will be joined by SSO musicians Marsha Harbison, Ronald Gorevic, and Boris Kogan, and Joel Pitchon.
“We are extremely fortunate to be featuring Maestro Kevin Rhodes performing on the piano. He is a dynamic musician, who usually conducts, but is also a fantastic pianist,” Harbison said.
Harbison is co-founder of the Longmeadow Chamber Music Society.
Rhodes has performed all over the world, including in France, Italy, and Australia. He has led more than 700 performances with more than 20 different orchestras. This season marks his 10th year as music director of SSO, and he continues to perform throughout the United States and Europe.
Speaking of the value of small-scale, local concerts such as this one, Rhodes said, “It allows all of us, the musicians and the audience, to interact in a way which is very different from the Symphony Hall stage and equally as rewarding.”
The pieces that will be performed are classical masterpieces from the classical, romantic and modern periods by composers Beethoven, Bruch, Prokofiev, and Dvorak, and are referred to by Rhodes as “some of the best ... ever written for these combinations of instruments.”
The concert will begin at 8 p.m., and will last for 90 minutes.
Donations for the Longmeadow Chamber Music Society of $15 will be accepted at the door. Harbison explained that the “donations go primarily to the professional musicians, moving and tuning the piano, and printing the programs and ... help support excellent live music concerts in our Pioneer Valley.”
