DALLAS, Pa. — The NEPA Chamber Music Society (NEPACMS) will perform a concert at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, at Penn State Wilkes-Barre inside Hayfield House.
The “Origins” concert is sponsored by Arts at Hayfield and Penn State Wilkes-Barre, which have a long-standing relationship, as well as the Back Mountain Chamber of Commerce.
The concert is open to the public with tickets sold online only for $20 each. Seating is limited. The event will include refreshments and a raffle during intermission.
The “Origins” concert features a selection of folk music. Concert attendees will hear a selection of pieces from artists including Johannes Brahms, Alberto Ginastera, Ginastera’s student Astor Piazzolla and American composer Jessie Montgomery.
Brahms often wove Hungarian influences into his works, while Alberto Ginastera celebrated his Argentinian heritage with compositions like his String Quartet No. 1, bursting with the relentless rhythms of the malambo, a spirited Argentine folk dance associated with gauchos.
According to NEPACMS, “Piazzolla boldly fused classical music with the evocative sounds of tango, sparking controversy — most notably during the premiere of his Buenos Aires Symphony in Three Movements, where the inclusion of two bandoneons in a traditional symphony orchestra incited a riot in the audience.”
Finally, Montgomery draws on American folk idioms in Strum for string quartet, “layering rhythmic and harmonic refrains to create a deeply textured and resonant work,” as described by NEPACMS.
Artists in this concert are John Vaida and Soo Yeon Kim, violin; Amy Iwazumi, viola; Jeremy Russo, cello; and Brian Farrell, piano.