On Sunday, Cape Ann Symphony's "Musicians Unleashed" Returns

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After a long hiatus from live concerts, the Cape Ann Symphony (CAS) will return this coming Sunday with “Autumn Awakening,” an event that is part of its popular “Musicians Unleashed” concert series designed for intimate spaces around Cape Ann. 

Autumn Awakening is a chamber music concert featuring music written for flute, oboe, clarinet and strings in various combinations and performed by seven CAS musicians at the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church.  An historic meetinghouse founded in 1779, the church was the first Universalist congregation in the United States.  Built in 1806, the building was created in a perfect “shoe box” design which gives it ideal acoustics.  CAS Music Director Yoichi Udagawa programmed a varied selection of music written by a mix of well-known and lesser-known composers from all over the world.  Maestro Udagawa and the musicians will introduce each piece of music to offer audiences insight and little-known facts about the composers and their music. 

“The Cape Ann Symphony is made up of extraordinary musicians, and we are thrilled to be able to highlight them,” said Maestro Udagawa.  “This concert will feature our principal flute, oboe and clarinet as well as some of our outstanding string players. We tried to make this concert a mixture of different composers as well as combination of instruments, and I’m sure the audience will enjoy this concert very much.” 

The musicians performing in Autumn Awakening are Stephanie Stathos, flute; Izumi Sakamoto, oboe; Bill Kirkley, clarinet; Oksana Gorokhovskiy, violin; Olga Kradenova, violin; Anna Stromer, viola, and Johnny Mok, cello.  The concert program includes Salem-born composer Arthur Foote's Scherzo for Flute and String Quartet; British composer Malcolm Arnold's Divertimento for Flute, Oboe and Clarinet; Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Oboe Quartet; German composer Johannes Brahms' Clarinet Quintet, 1st Movement; and Czech composer Antonin Dvorak's American String Quartet, 4th Movement.

The Gloucester's Unitarian Universalist Church is a perfect venue for Foote's music with his strong ties to the Unitarian Church.”  Foote's father, Caleb Foote, was the owner and editor of the Salem Gazette and his mother, Mary Wilder Foote, was a devout Unitarian.  Arthur Foote began composing while studying harmony at the newly formed New England Conservatory in 1867.  He studied music at Harvard where he received the very first Master of Arts degree in Music awarded by an US university, according to Foote's Faculty Papers at New England Conservatory.  

Foote was also the organist and Choirmaster at the First Unitarian Church in Boston for 32 years, taught piano in his own studio for over 50 years and served on the faculty of New England Conservatory for 16 years, teaching piano and piano pedagogy.  

Tickets are $40, available online or at the door.  In accordance with the CAS Covid Safety Policy, all concert attendees will be required to show proof of Covid 19 vaccination or to present documentation of a negative test within 72 hours prior to the event and will be required to wear a mask during the performance.

johannes brahms' clarinet quintet, antonin dvorak's american string quartet, olga kradenova, caleb foote, johannes brahms, cape ann symphony, mary wilder foote, malcolm arnold, johnny mok, flute and string quartet, cape ann, antonin dvorak, gloucester's unitarian universalist church, oksana gorokhovskiy, izumi sakamoto, new england conservatory, cas music director, wolfgang amadeus mozart, gloucester unitarian universalist church, bill kirkley, salem gazette, the salem gazette, yoichi udagawa, stephanie stathos, anna stromer, arthur foote