GUILFORD-The love of music, friends, and tradition will come together when the Guilford Free Library presents a cello concert on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 7 p.m. at the historic Guilford Center Meeting House, 4042 Guilford Center Rd., say organizers in a news release.
The performance will be followed by a dessert reception when the audience will have the opportunity to meet and talk with the musicians.
This concert series benefits the Library and was first presented in 2013. That initial concert featured a cello duet and in later years evolved into a cello trio, then a quartet. It has not taken place since 2019 for two reasons: the pandemic, and the condition of the Meeting House, the traditional venue, which had been closed for renovations. It just reopened in late spring, so this year, "there is even more reason to celebrate another wonderful experience."
The concert will again feature Judith Serkin, Elizabeth Tuma, Peter Wiley, and Theodore Mook. They will present a wide-ranging program with music from the late-16th century to the late-20th century.
Since their inception, the cello concerts have been organized by Serkin, who made them possible by inviting her associates to perform with her for local audiences.
"It's a great opportunity to play cello music we love with people we love in a town that I love," Serkin said. "This place means a lot to others as well because they keep coming back to play."
Serkin says the musicians are longtime friends. She began her studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in 1968 with Elizabeth Tuma and Peter Wiley and has known Theodore Mook since 1972. "They have impressive pedigrees and generously donate their time for the benefit of the library," say organizers.
Tuma received her formal training at the University of Michigan with Oliver Edel, The Curtis Institute of Music with David Soyer, and studied with the Guarneri and Budapest Quartets. She pursued post-graduate studies with Laurence Lesser at the Peabody Conservatory. Tuma retired from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in 2017 after 42 years.
Wiley also studied at The Curtis Institute with Soyer. He co-founded the Opus One Quartet, was cellist with the Beaux Arts Trio and, in 2001, succeeded Soyer as cellist of the Guarneri Quartet. He has been awarded an Avery Fischer Career Grant, nominated for a Grammy Award in 1998 with the Beaux Arts Trio and in 2009 with the Guarneri Quartet. Wiley teaches at the Curtis Institute and the Bard College Conservatory of Music.
Mook is a versatile performer in a variety of musical styles and has been a particularly active proponent of new music since 1980. He teaches at the University of Rhode Island, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School.
He has performed with Blanche Moyse at the New England Bach Festival in Marlboro and, for many years, at the Marlboro Music Festival. He performs on period instruments as well with a variety of groups. Mook has also developed a parallel career in computer technology, where he has worked in IT and programming for corporate clients and designed fonts.
Serkin began her studies with Marta Casals Istomin in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and continued at the Curtis Institute with Soyer and the Guarneri Quartet. She was also a student of Mischa Schneider. She has been a member of the Iceland Symphony, the Guilford and the Hebrew Arts (now known as the Mendelssohn) String Quartets, and a participant at the Marlboro Music and Yellow Barn Schools and Festivals over a period of many years.
She has toured throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan. She has been a teacher for over 40 years, serving on the faculty of American University in Washington, D.C., and at the New England Conservatory Preparatory Department. Serkin was a founding member of the Brattleboro Music School, where she still teaches.
"Judith Serkin's goodwill has provided opportunities for the town to gather and celebrate its dedication to our library," said Laura Lawson Tucker, co-president of the Guilford Free Library board of trustees. "Since its founding in 1892, Guilford Free Library has become an important resource for our residents."
In addition to the growing collection of books and materials onsite and the increasing online outreach, the library offers a variety of programs, including storytime for young children, summer camps for school-age children, monthly book groups for adults, astronomy club for all ages, cribbage club, community storytelling, gardening parties for families, and a pen pal activity to build community connections.
Library patrons who want to explore the countryside now have the option to rent e-bikes right from their own library.
Tickets for the concert at $25 are available online at bit.ly/779-cello, or at the library. For more information, call 802-257-4603 or 802-257-7024.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.