What a great week of music we just had on the Outer Banks. In this case it was the classical kind, although the local musicians were still out there performing all every day as well.
But for the past week it was the 7th Annual Surf and Sounds Chamber Music Series brought to the Outer Banks by the Bryan Cultural Series.
Performing everything from Haydn to contemporary compositions the remarkable musicianship of the performers is astonishing. The core group is a classic string quartet, Katie Hyun and Liz Vonderheide, violin; Luke Fleming, viola and Music Director Jake Fowler on cello.
Th quartet will bring in guest musicians to perform with them. So on Tuesday and Wednesday when they their concerts were at All Saints Episcopal Church in Southern Shores and St. Andrews By-The-Sea in Nags Head where there was a piano available, Amanda Halstead was on the piano creating two remarkable evenings of music.
Tow pieces in particular stood out.
The Shostakovich Piano Quintet in G Minor, composed in 1940 as the Soviet Union stood on the brink of war with Nazi Germany, was evocative, complex and satisfying.
But the piece that really stood out was “Juba,” a composition by contemporary American composer Libby Larsen. Written for piano and cello, experiencing it was to rethink what classical music is, how it sounds and the effect on the audience. Based on the rhythms of a traditional African-American dance, it is startling in its creativity.
The classic composers were well-represented as well. Friday night Surf and Sounds was at the Dare County Art Council Gallery and the performance featured Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.
Particularly notable was Moszart’s Flute Quartet in D Major. Debra Cross, the principal flutist for the Virginia Symphony was the guest musician for the piece. The first movement is very well-known, but second movement with the strings plucking a pizzicato accompaniment is wonderful music if very difficult to perform.
The plans are for the Surf & Sounds to return next August for an 8th year. Hope to see you there.
There is so much happening on the Outer Banks that we can’t report on everything. Be a part of the joy of life by the sea with visit to a Brindley Beach Vacations home.