Greater Bridgeport Symphony kicks off ‘New Horizons’ concert series with violinist Tong Chen, art exhibit Nov. 15

Greater Bridgeport Symphony (GBS) continues its 80^th season exploring New Horizons. The spirited rhythms of South America head up this unique concert “Horizons of Fire,” at the Mertens Theater (in the Bernhardt Center at the University of Bridgeport) on November 15 at 7:30pm. New maestro, Brazilian-born/American citizen Eduardo Leandro, will conduct an evening of Villa-Lobos’ and Piazzolla’s music, capped by Bartok’s Divertimento for Strings. Tickets are on sale now here.

GBS Executive Director Phyllis Cortese says, “Eduardo is from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, which means ‘beautiful horizon,’ and this season, his first as GBS Music Director, he’ll bring our audience to beautiful ‘New Horizons’ of music.”

The concert opens with Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4, a fusion of Brazilian folk and popular music with the structure of Bach, through which the Classical listener experiences the Brazilian landscape. Then the music shifts south toward Tierra del Fuego with Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires; it’s a fiery concerto with roots in Vivaldi’s iconic Four Seasons, influenced by Piazzolla’s bicultural life in Argentina and Greenwich Village. For both pieces, GBS presents the vibrant violin solos of Tong Chen, who will also serve as concertmaster for the evening.

In the second half, the concert remains grounded in the fusion of Classical and folk music, but its focus shifts 6,000 miles to Hungary and one of the great concerti of Béla Bartók. The title description “Divertimento” is Italian for an entertaining and engaging composition. A common Italian wish for those setting off on an adventure is, “Buon divertimento!” – have fun.

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The concert venue is new to GBS (whose schedule includes three concerts at The Klein Memorial Auditorium and another at Mertens) and offers concertgoers two extra treats: before the concert and at intermission, GBS will team up with Bridgeport’s City Lights Gallery in their exhibition of local artists on view at the Schelfhaudt Gallery, right across the hall from the concert. Some of the artists will attend this pre-concert event, while advanced students from Bridgeport’s KEYS Program (Kids Empowered by Your Support) will provide music for art lovers; Maestro Eduardo has personally begun a monthly mentorship program with KEYS, and other collaborations between GBS and KEYS are being planned.

Also, a Pre-Concert Talk will be held at 7:00pm in its own space – the Littlefield Theater, just across the lobby from the concert – where GBS Trustee and musicologist Dr. Frank Martingnetti will guide concertgoers through the music of the program. After the talk, concertgoers can stroll across Mertens’ lobby and take their seats for the evening.

“The whole night will be a new experience for GBS fans,” says GBS Board President Mark Halstead. “The Mertens Theater is ideally sized for this performance, and very comfortable. Every seat in the house has fantastic legroom, and Mertens is easy to get to with ample parking, patrolled by U.B. Security. The Brazilian and Argentine music is a lively new sound, and our collaboration with the visual arts and youth music will make this a special event for all. Even the Pre-Concert Talk is better-timed than usual, so more people can take advantage of it.” Maestro Eduardo agrees, having selected the music of this concert especially for this inviting, radial space, to create an intimate musical experience. Says Leandro, “What fascinates me about the three composers in this concert is their ability to blend the tradition of their countries (Argentina, Brazil, Hungary) perfectly with the western classical canon. Villa-Lobos writes a long series of Bachianas, borrowing from and paying homage to Bach but still keeping a Brazilian flair, while Piazzolla borrows from Vivaldi’s famous Four Seasons adding to his famous modern tango. Bartók creates an entirely new language based the rich Hungarian and Balkan folk tradition that on which he was such an expert. Is this classical music? Folk or (to use a terribly misunderstood word) ‘ethnic’ music? I have no idea, but it is done with respect and understanding of their origins, and above all, it is music that’s tremendously exciting to play!”

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Greater Bridgeport Symphony kicks off ‘New Horizons’ concert series with violinist Tong Chen, art exhibit Nov. 15