Celtic to Classical sets Southern Delaware concerts Aug. 13-15
The popular Celtic to Classical ensemble will return to Southern Delaware for a ninth season in mid-August with three performances certain to satisfy audiences of all musical tastes.
Featuring Celtic to Classical founders Sheridan Seyfried and Ya-Jhu Yang, joined by flutist Pam Pecko Smith, the ensemble’s programs will include classical, Celtic and French music, as well as selections from the Great American Songbook and an original composition by Seyfried.
“We are eager to greet audience members from previous seasons and welcome both newcomers to southern Delaware and summer visitors to enjoy an evening of entertaining and inspiring music,” Seyfried said. “We look forward to sharing the joy of music, a universal language.”
Performances are set for Tuesday, Aug. 13, at Avenue United Methodist Church, 20 Church St., Milford; Wednesday, Aug. 14, at Epworth United Methodist Church, 19285 Holland Glade Road, Rehoboth Beach; and Thursday, Aug. 15, at St. Martha’s Episcopal Church, 117 Maplewood St., Bethany Beach.
All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. In lieu of ticketed admission, Celtic to Classical accepts a freewill offering, with a suggested contribution of $15. Seating is on a first-come basis.
This year’s program includes Gabriel Fauré’s lovely “Sicilienne”; movements from Francis Poulenc’s charming and quirky “Flute Sonata”; and the opening movement of Mozart’s popular “Kegelstatt Trio.” The ensemble also will perform Celtic dances with fiddle, piccolo and piano, and Triona Ni Dhomhnaill’s “At the Races.” Smith, who also is a jazz vocalist, will sing a few favorites from the Great American Songbook.
The program also will allow Seyfried and Yang to showcase their talent as arrangers, she with a version of the well-known Celtic folk song “Down by the Salley Gardens” for two flutes, and he with an adaptation of Brahms’ “Serenade No. 2, Op. 16” for flute, violin and piano.
Currently residing in the United Kingdom, Smith is a native of the Philadelphia area where she earned a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of the Arts, followed by graduate studies at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest. A dedicated teacher of performing ensembles, she has served on music faculties in schools on three continents. She works in multiple genres, including chamber, orchestral, folk, film and television music.
Seyfried and Yang have degrees in composition from Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute and the Manhattan School of Music in New York, where their teachers included Richard Danielpour, Jennifer Higdon and Nils Vigeland.
Their works have been performed around the world by musicians and ensembles including David Shifrin, Ida Kavafian, the Santa Fe Symphony and the Pacific Symphony. Yang’s piano trio, “Letters to Formosa,” was performed at the Kennedy Center as a prize winner of the 2009 Washington International Competition.
Seyfried, whose parents Elise and Steve Seyfried founded the venerable Rehoboth Summer Children’s Theatre 40 years ago, spent many summers at the beach while growing up. Celtic to Classical is inspired by the musical eclecticism of Andrea Clearfield’s Philadelphia Salon concerts and motivated by a desire to find joy in different modes of musical expression.
For more information, go to celtictoclassical.com.
