APRIL 13 BENEFIT CONCERT FOR THE WOODSTOCK CHAMBER ORCHESTRA AT BARD COLLEGE FEATURES THE STRAWBERRY HILL STRINGS

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.--On Saturday, April 13, there will be a benefit concert for the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra featuring the Strawberry Hill Strings at Bard College. The program will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Olin Hall. Admission is $10.

The Strawberry Hill Strings comprises Suzuki violin students of Carole and Emily Schaad who range in age from 5 to 16. The group will perform classical music selections with orchestral accompaniment by several members of the Woodstock Chamber Orchestra (WCO). As part of the program, several advanced students will join with the WCO, conducted by Luis Garcia-Renart, the orchestra's artistic director and professor of music at Bard College. The concert will conclude with the Strawberry Hill Strings accompanied by their friends and family members on guitar, bass, and dulcimer. Additional performers include students of Julie Berman and Nettie West, Suzuki teachers and members of the WCO, who will join the Strawberry Hill Strings for part of the concert.

Strawberry Hill Strings director Carole Schaad is a member of the WCO; her daughter, Emily, has performed with the orchestra twice, as well as being a substitute violinist or violist several times. This concert is to show support for the WCO by the Schaads, their students and parents, family, and friends.

The primary method of instruction for the Strawberry Hill Strings is the Suzuki method, focusing primarily on classical music. In addition, the students learn fiddle and folk tunes. According to Schaad, her philosophy for the violin school is oriented to community service. She sees many benefits for her students including experience performing in a variety of community settings, an early foundation in active community service, and the entertainment provided for community organizations and events through their performances.

The WCO, formed in 1980 by local musicians from the Woodstock area, is now composed of 38 professional musicians from the Hudson Valley area. The WCO regularly commissions and performs new music written by local and regional composers. Each season it gives about 14 performances at locations in Woodstock, Kingston, Saugerties, and at Bard College. WCO's next performance at Bard is on Wednesday, May 8, and features a world premiere of a work by Peter Schickele.

For further information about the benefit concert, call the WCO at 845-246-7045.

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(3.21.02)

This event was last updated on 03-25-2002

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