Benefit Concert to support revitalization of the arts in Lower Manhattan

On Tuesday, March 2nd, 2004, the Solstice Music Festival will be presenting a benefit concert at the Washington Square United Methodist Church to support its inaugural season. The church is located at 135 West 4th Street (between 6th and MacDougal), in New York City. The benefit program features two of the most beloved chamber music masterpieces of all time, the Mozart Clarinet Quintet and the Schubert Cello Quintet.

(PRWEB) February 25, 2004 --Supporters of the arts, classical music lovers and curious minds are gathering soon to show their support for the Solstice Music Festival. On Tuesday, March 2nd, 2004, the Festival will be presenting a benefit concert at the Washington Square United Methodist Church to support its inaugural season. The church is located at 135 West 4th Street (between 6th and MacDougal), in New York City. All are welcome to attend after providing a minimum donation of $25 per person at the door. Students are encouraged to attend for a reduced donation of $12. The evening begins with a silent auction at 6:45 and a reception will follow the performance.

The benefit program features two of the most beloved chamber music masterpieces of all time, the Mozart Clarinet Quintet and the Schubert Cello Quintet. Distinguished performers of the evening include the Avalon String Quartet, clarinetists Alex Fiterstein, and cellist Wendy Warner. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Avalon Quartet is an ensemble that invites you---ears, mind, and spirit---into its music...Their youthful vigor and spontaneity were set within a warmly blended style, their sound as rich as polished wood." The Washington Post adds, Alexander Fiterstein treats his instrument as his personal voice, dazzling in its spectrum of colors, agility and range." The Chicago Tribune also reported that, Wendy Warner played the Haydn D-Major Concerto with a glowing tone and ripeness of feeling her famous mentor might have envied. Warner cushioned every phrase with greater warmth than most Haydn scholars would accept...Warner won all hearts."

The Solstice Music Festival will celebrate its inaugural season this June at the Synagogue for the Arts in Tribecca. Dr. Ronald Sat, President and one of the founding members, said, I am enthusiastic to introduce the Festival with the theme 'American Music and Music Inspired by America with three different programs performed by a host of notable musicians." Additionally, the festival incorporates the visual arts into the program by commissioning Kerrin Ries Parkinson as Visual Artist in Residence. Ms. Parkinson will be designing a sculpture to be unveiled at the festival, and several of her musically inspired works will be on display at the benefit concert.

The Solstice Music Festival is a New York based organization committed to nurturing and stimulating the next generation of classical music audiences in communities of New York City that are in need of arts preservation, promotion and revitalization. By bridging traditional classical music performances with innovative programming, literature readings and visual arts presentations that enlighten the connection between these art forms, we seek to inspire, motivate and educate the fine art supporters of the future.
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