Fairfield County Symphony Society

09/18/2023

SEASON OPENER
September 23, 2023

"Join us for the electrifying opening to our season," enthuses Maestro Jonathan Yates. “This extraordinary launch unravels the tales of three iconic compositions, written within seven years of each other, and brings us to the varied and vibrant American musical scene of the mid-20th century.”

Indulge in the lyric rhapsody of Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915, as it weaves melodically through James Agee's prose-poem, conjuring a Southern childhood of yesteryear. Grammy-nominated soprano Laura Strickling is the soloist in this piece.

Immerse in Duke Ellington’s jazz-infused Harlem, a musical uptown stroll through vibrant neighborhoods: West Indian, Hispanic, and African American. In the composer’s own words: “You may hear a parade go by, or a funeral, or you may recognize the passage of those who are making Civil Rights demands.”

Lastly, born in Hungary but having fled fascism for the States, Bela Bartók's honors both his old and his new homelands in his magnificent and thrilling Concerto for Orchestra. This piece caps the evening, a great ending to a great concert, and the commencement of a great season.

04/11/2023

We still need a second bassoon for the following:

The Fairfield County Symphony Society is invited to play a concert at Edgehill Assisted Living Center on Tuesday, May 2, 2023 at 7:30 PM. On the program: Beethoven’s First Symphony and Mozart’s Piano Concerto in c-minor no 24. Soloist: Benjamin Steinhardt.
The rehearsals will take place at Temple Shalom, 259 Richards Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06850 every Tuesday night in April, starting at 7:30 PM (ending at 9:30 PM) with 10 minutes break.

04/04/2023

Please join us tomorrow and the rest of Tuesdays in April to play some of the greatest works ever written (as we always do 😁 ). Wind players will be there and our piano soloist Benjamin Steinhardt. Concert Tuesday May 2nd in Stamford. For more about Fairfield County Symphony Society please see

About the FCSSIn June 1976, Florence Saunders, Ardis Carlton and Virginia Pukilla founded the Fairfield County Symphony Society with John Swartz as musical director. From the beginning, the FCSS has offered a place where musicians can meet to play great music. We have more than 30 active mem...

02/07/2023

Kristin Huffman is a Performer, Producer, and Professor. Learn more about her work as a vocal coach, actor, producer, and more.

01/26/2023

This February, I’ll be heading up to Connecticut to take part in New Paradigm Theatre and the Norwalk Symphony’s production of Carousel: A Concert 🎠

One night only… FEBRUARY 11TH

🎫 🔗 : https://www.norwalksymphony.org/20222023/2023/2/11/carousel-rogers-amp-hammerstein

12/13/2022

Double Bass player needed for concert January 22nd, at 3 PM, with rehearsals two or three Tuesday nights before.

12/09/2022

11/28/2022

Sunday, December 4th
3:00pm
Norwalk Concert Hall

A full range of orchestral and holiday favorites will be performed at this festive afternoon concert!

From the beloved Messiah and Vivaldi's Four Seasons (Winter, of course!) to Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies, complete with dancers, to modern sing-along favorites, a Hannukah medley and a Christmas medley, both with soloists. This concert will warm the hearts of those from ages 5-95! Pssst, a surprise visitor may POP by!

Tickets on sale at: www.norwalksymphony.org

11/28/2022

Several wind and brass players and have responded positively about playing Haydn's Symphony no 104, just this one evening, Tuesday, November 29, 2022. So if you want to have a "symphonic" experience please plan to be there. "Crumbs-free" snacks are always welcome as well! See you at 7:15 PM for setup. We start playing at 7:30 PM.

11/26/2022

Go to paypal.me/fcss2022 and type in the amount. Since it’s PayPal, it's easy and secure. Don’t have a PayPal account? No worries.

05/20/2022

The chorus began rehearsals tonight for Verdi's Requiem!

05/20/2022

05/20/2022

Concert update: Karen Foster will be our Soprano soloist this weekend for Verdi's Requiem.

An accomplished Wagnerian singer, Ms. Foster previously won Third Prize in the Lauritz Melchoir International Singing Competition. She is an alumna of Santa Fe Opera’s Apprentice Program, where she performed segments from Verdi’s Macbeth, and Wagner Theater at Mannes, where she sang Wellgunde in Das Rheingold and Helmwige. Of her performance as Isolde in Tristan und Isolde, Kultur-og-underholdning declared, “She internalized the strength of Wagner’s character,” and Aftenposten observed, “Karen Foster’s Isolde fills the palette of emotions with conviction and flexibility.”

To learn more, go to www.karenfostersoprano.com

05/20/2022

May we introduce our Mezzo-Soprano for this weekend's performance: Caribbean-American Eliza Bonet!

Ms. Bonet continues to garner critical praise for her “sparkling, uninhibited delivery” (SF Classical Music Examiner) and the “richly dark colors in her voice” (DCTheatreScene). Ms. Bonet made her Kennedy Center debut in 2017 as a member of the prestigious Young Artist Program with Washington National Opera. Comfortable performing musicals as she is opera, Ms. Bonet has performed in the Kennedy Center’s ‘Leonard Bernstein at 100 Celebration’, West Side Story with the National Symphony Orchestra, and has recently made debuts with The San Francisco Symphony, The Atlanta Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Carnegie Hall.

To read more visit www.elizabonet.com

05/20/2022

Please welcome our Soprano for this weekend's Verdi's Requiem, Andrea Chinedu Nwoke!

A Colorado native and former Mezzo-Soprano, Ms. Nwoke holds a Bachelor of Music degree from The University of the Ars and received training at Peabody Institute, IVAI–Tel Aviv, Seagle Music Colony, dell’Arte Opera Ensemble, Russian Opera Workshop and Dicapo Opera Theatre Resident Artist Program. She Recently performed the role of Agnès Sorel in the Philadelphia premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Maid of Orleans and was honored to sing the title role (Fannie Lou Hamer) in the East Coast premiere of Dark River: The Fannie Lou Hamer Story with the Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra in the Spring 2014.

To read more: www.sopranoandreachinedunwoke.com

02/24/2022

Today is FC Gives! Please consider giving to the FCSS!

https://www.fcgives.org/organizations/fairfield-county-symphony-society

I’m ready to support Fairfield County Symphony Society on February 24, 2022 during Fairfield County's Giving Day. Learn more about Fairfield County Symphony Society and all the other organizations participating in .

02/24/2022

Today is FC Gives! Please consider giving to the FCSS!

https://www.fcgives.org/organizations/fairfield-county-symphony-society

07/04/2021

If you are a string player and want to sight-read classical music, or sometimes perform, please join us every Tuesday, year around at 7:15 pm @ Temple Shalom, 259 Richards Ave. Norwalk, CT. For more please see www.fairfieldcountysymphonysociety.org

02/21/2021

Mark your calendars for Feb 25! It will be a day for everyone to support our campaign at https://www.fcgives.org/organizations/fairfield-county-symphony-society.

11/04/2020

Dear Players,

We all still have to practice on our own, or in very small ensembles with safety measures in place. Take the time to learn something you never played before...

On www.imslp.org you can find just about any music written about 75 years ago or earlier centuries before...

Have fun!

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06/04/2020

The Strings Magazine "Shutdown Skills Series" is filled with fun ideas. The latest:
https://stringsmagazine.com/shutdown-skills-series-learn-traditional-scottish-ornamentation/

By Louise Lee The problem: You want to play traditional Scottish music, but you can’t seem to make it sound, well, Scottish. Solution: Learn to play Scottish ornaments to add more authentic flavor …

06/04/2020

More reasons to love the cello:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/arts/music/five-minutes-classical-music-cello.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage&contentCollection=AtHome&package_index=1

We asked Yo-Yo Ma, John Williams, Andrew Lloyd Webber and others to pick the music that moves them. Listen to their choices.

04/24/2020

Fun with Two Set:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90-qszhrsPw

LING LING INSURANCE: https://www.twosetapparel.com Follow for Weekly Giveaways: https://www.instagram.com/twosetapparel/ Submit your music memes: http://www....

04/20/2020

It's hard to keep playing during the quarantine, but the Tesla String Quartet has found a way. They are also featured in the NY Times today!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQbxwn16GiQ

"Variations on a Russian Theme" - Variation 7. Allegro Composer: Felix Blumenfeld (1863-1931) Recorded in self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, April ...

04/10/2020

Inspiration from Strings Magazine, "Shutdown Skills Series"--write a song! “Write tiny musical postcards to yourself that have no development, just bits of possibility..."

https://stringsmagazine.com/shutdown-skills-series-write-a-song-carrie-rodriguez-amanda-shires-carla-kihlstedt-want-to-help/?fbclid=IwAR3Qe5t5q_bToG-fAudTDFJEsL-Y1HI-yOsTiSlR9cKEhNeblZW_Rzej-I0

By Patrick Sullivan For some young string players, the first steps into songwriting can feel terrifyingly akin to walking off a cliff. Carrie Rodriguez remembers it well. After the Austin-born sing…

03/30/2020

More beautiful music for some inspiration. Read the comments--very interesting!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOWN5fQnzGk

Hilary Hahn performs The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams at the George Enescu Festival. Disclaimer: I do not own the rights for this material, I jus...

03/30/2020

Silkroad Home Sessions with Yo-Yo Ma:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or5Wa97KVbM

With social distancing in place, we want to continue sharing music and building community with audiences worldwide. Over the next few weeks, Silkroad artists...

01/29/2020

Dear FCSS players,

If you haven't played with us for a while, or if you are there just about every time: Welcome to play this program next Tuesday, February 4, 2020.

Beethoven: Romance op. 50 with Akiko Silver as soloist

Haydn's Symphony no. 91. Parts can be found on the link below.

http://ks.imslp.net/files/imglnks/usimg/2/2e/IMSLP31414-PMLP71543-Haydn_Sinfonia_Hob_I_91,_Eb.pdf

Schindler's List also with Akiko

Meditation from Thais, (Akiko).

Do you want to play a solo?? Please don't hesitate! What is the worst that can happen? Also, if you want to conduct, (maybe start with just one movement of something), please let's talk about it. Let me know when you want to do this.
www.fairfieldcountysymphonysociety.org ☺

See you on Tuesday,

All the best,

Gunnar

01/27/2020

This year our Winter Concert featured a World Premier of a wonderful composition by Gwyneth Walker. Ms. Walker was kind enough to come to a rehearsal a few weeks before the performance and speak to us about her vision for "Folk Carols for Strings." Also playing with us on January 14th, were three talented soloists. Ryu Mitsuhashi on violin, Melina Arcano and Kerry Walker on flute, performed the Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 by J.S. Bach.

01/21/2020

Tonight 1/21 and next week 1/29: Mozart Piano concerto no. 21, ("Elvira Madigan") and Schubert's Fifth Symphony. Strings: welcome to play!

01/21/2020

Meet our "Luther Billis" in the upcoming production of South Pacific: In Concert. Brought to you by the Norwalk Symphony and New Paradigm Theatre! Tickets at www.norwalksymphony.org

01/13/2020

01/09/2020

Our beloved Fairfield County Symphony Society is giving a free concert on Tuesday, January 14th at 8 PM. We have some especially fine soloists for this concert. We are also playing the work of a local composer, Gwyneth Walker from New Canaan, who will be in attendance. Program below.

Location: Temple Shalom at 259 Richards Ave. in Norwalk (less than a mile north of Norwalk Community College). It'll be really nicely informal, and be followed by a reception.

Program:
• Telemann, Suite no. 1
• Gwyneth Walker, "Folk Carols"
• Bach, Brandenburg Concerto Number 4, with soloists Ryu Mitsuhashi on violin, and Melina Arcano and Kerry Walker on flute

12/17/2019

Tonight's concert will be postponed till January 14th.

12/16/2019

Adult music camp at Charles Ives Music Festival in Ridgefield, CT, next summer August 5-8, 2020. For details please see
https://charlesivesmusicfestival.org/adults/

Adults ADULT CHAMBER MUSIC WORKSHOP – August 5-8, 2020Featuring graduates of the Juilliard School and other major conservatories as Artist-Faculty, including special guest faculty Julian Schwarz and Marika Bournaki.All daily events will take place at the First Congregational Church, Ridgefield, CT...

12/13/2019

Our beloved Fairfield County Symphony Society is giving a free concert on Tuesday, December 17th, at 8 PM. We have some especially fine soloists for this concert. We are also playing the work of a local composer, Gwyneth Walker from New Canaan, who will be in attendance. Program below.

Location: Temple Shalom at 259 Richards Ave. in Norwalk (less than a mile north of Norwalk Community College). It'll be really nicely informal, and be followed by holiday treats.

Program:
• Telemann, Suite no. 1
• Gwyneth Walker, "Folk Carols" – the composer will be with us again for the concert
• Bach, Brandenburg Concerto Number 4, with soloists Ryu Mitsuhashi on violin, and Melina Arcano and Kerry Walker on flute

12/04/2019

On Tuesday, December 17th at 8 PM, we perform our traditional Holiday concert at Temple Shalom on Richards Ave. in Norwalk (our usual rehearsal space). The program consists of a suite by Telemann, a world premier of Gwyneth Walker's "Four Folk Carols" and Bach's Forth Brandenburg Concerto with soloists Ryu Mitsuhashi, Melina Arcano and Kerry Walker. This is a free concert, open to the public. For more about Gwyneth Walker please see https://www.gwynethwalker.com/

Gwyneth Walker -- American Composer