The West Jersey Chamber Music Society will kick off its 2024-’25 season with “Autumn Serenade” at First Presbyterian Church in Moorestown on Sunday, Oct. 20.
The concert will capture the reflective vibe of fall performed by the West Jersey Orchestra Strings, according to the music society.
“Something happens; it’s not just the fact that the instruments in person have more beauty, but there’s a psychological thing when somebody is actually giving it to you and putting it before you,” said society music director Joel Krott.
“If you’re watching a stage play or a dance or listening to a concert … I’m much more interested in hearing it in person than I am in listening to it through speakers.”
This music society program will feature Mozart’s “Pauken Serenade in D Major, K. 239,” a piece that’s bright, suggesting a sunlit afternoon in autumn, according to the society website. Guests will also hear Joseph Suk’s “Serenade in E-flat Major, Op. 6,” with warm melodies that feel like the musical equivalent of “walking through a forest of autumn leaves.”
“I’ve got to lead, and I’ve got to be clear, and I’ve got to be focused,” Krott explained. “When you do a performance with a choir orchestra, or both at the same time, in the rehearsal, you teach everything that you think is important and you lead with everything that you think is important. Then, when you’re doing the concert, by your gestures and tempo settings you’re just reminding them (audience members) of what they already know.
“But you’ve got to remind them clearly, so that’s how it works.”
The music society will present “Christmas Celebration: Music for Choir and Brass,” with the West Jersey Chamber Chorale and Timberdale Brass, at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8. The evening will offer a blend of traditional carols, contemporary pieces and timeless compositions that celebrate the magic of Christmas. Audience participation is encouraged and there will be a special reception and fundraiser after the show.
The season will continue next year with “German Romantic Lieder,” with soprano Sophia Santiago and pianist Benjamin D’Annibale, on Sunday, March 2. That concert will transport guests to the heart of 19th-century Europe with a selection of songs by two of the Romantic era’s greatest composers, Franz Schubert and Hugo Wolf.
“J.S. Bach: Heralding Cantatas” will take place on Sunday, May 18 and feature “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (BWV 140),” an Advent cantata that begins with the sound of oboes; “Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (BWV 190),” a New Year’s cantata featuring trumpets and timpani; and “Erschallet ihr Lieder (BWV 172),” a Pentecost cantata with vibrant melodies and rhythms.
All four concerts will be livestreamed; showtime is 7:30 p.m. Concert tickets can be purchased online or at the door, and students 18 and under are free. For more information, visit www.wjcms.org.
