Dick Hartzell, a retired army veteran, is a resident of Asbury Kindley Assisted Living. Dick plays both trumpet and piano. He told us that he taught trumpet for three years while he was serving in the army. He was so delighted with this recital that he wanted to join the AMSF! At the end of the recital, he made his way to the piano and flawlessly played the song “Memory” from the musical Cats. In addition, Dick wanted his picture taken standing in front of an army photo of him hanging on the back wall of the room (his photo is on the wall to the left, next to the blue star). It is always a privilege and a pleasure to interact with the senior residents at Community Outreach recitals.
Kindley is part of a huge retirement community in Gaithersburg where the AMSF has performed for several years. On Saturday, December 7th, seven of our members entertained 30 residents in the large Living Room with the Baldwin Grand piano. On the program were two pianists, three violinists, a classical guitarist, and a flutist. After a brief introduction about the AMSF, the recital began at 2:30 p.m.
In keeping with the festive season, violinist Stephanie Dailey opened with a medley of nine familiar Christmas Carols, playing about four to eight measures of each. They were “Coventry Carol,” “O Holy Night,” “Jingle Bells,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Carol of the Bells,” “Do You Hear What I Hear,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Accompanied by her Bluetooth speaker, Stephanie also played the Rondeau from “Sinfonie de Fanfares” by French composer, Jean-Joseph Mouret (1682–1738). Originally written in 1729 for instrumental ensembles including trumpets, the piece now serves as the easily recognizable Masterpiece Theatre theme. As a trumpeter himself, Dick Hartzell was especially touched by this piece and was eager to engage Stephanie in conversation about it afterward.
Pianist Chris Witsberger followed with the Intermezzo in F major by Russian Romantic composer Alexander Borodin (1833–1887), from his Petite Suite, and the Andante by German Romantic composer Richard Strauss (1864–1949), from his Funf Klavierstucke Op. 3, No.1. The Intermezzo is the second of seven pieces in the Petite Suite which was dedicated to the Belgian Countess Louise de Mercy-Argenteau. Strauss’ Andante is the first of a set of five pieces in Op. 3 composed when he was eighteen! Well-prepared with an enlightening introduction, and blessed with an uncanny ability to unearth musical nuggets in her selections, Chris played both pieces beautifully.
As the only classical guitarist on the program, Ellen Lazarus added welcome variety to the program with pieces by Italian guitarist Luigi Mozzani (1869–1943), and Cuban composer Leo Brouwer (b.1939). The Mozzani piece was “Feste Lariane.” Feste means festival, and Lariane is the Latin name for the Lake Como region in Italy. As the name suggests, it is a festive piece and Ellen played with convincing enthusiasm. She ended with two short Etudes by Brouwer that showcased her technical skill.
Our flutist, Sharon Atteh-Chi, played next. She also performed a medley of traditional Christmas Carols including “Coventry Carol,” “What Child is This,” “Good King Wenceslas,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “O come O come Immanuel,” and “Silent Night.” As the pure mellifluous sound of the flute floated throughout the room, we could hear one resident loudly singing the words. Sharon’s playing had a mesmerizing fluency.
Jodi Lipson was the second of two pianists on the program. She played the first movement of the Italian Concerto in F major BWV 971 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750). Though German, Bach studied the Italian concerto style in depth. This concerto is a solo keyboard work published in 1735 as part of his Clavier Ubung, and follows the 3-part “fast-slow-fast” model of the Italians. Jodi’s attention to detail was admirable.
Duettists Carolyn Lincoln (an Asbury resident in Independent Living) and Carol Henry also opted to play seasonal music and selected four well-known Christmas Carols arranged in two parts for first and second violin. They were “Away in a Manger,” “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” “Jingle Bells,” and “Joy to The World.” Without a doubt, they both enjoyed playing these pieces as much as the audience enjoyed listening to them. As before, the residents hummed and sang along.
The final performance was a singalong of “Silent Night” and “O Come All Ye Faithful” led by Carol Henry accompanied by Jodi Lipson on the piano. Stephanie and Ellen distributed the printed words, and the residents filled the room with beautiful singing as they savored these two traditional Christmas Carols. It was encouraging to see that even the Kindley staff members standing at the back of the room joined in the singing!
After the recital, there was much interaction with the residents as they showed their appreciation and shared their life stories. Decked in our gold garlands and fun party glasses, we then took our group photo in front of their beautifully decorated Christmas tree. It was a magical afternoon!