at St. Augustine's Episcopal Church
6th Street and Maine Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C.

(Across from Arena Stage, where Maine Avenue turns into M Street SW.
Click HERE to see a map.)

Southwest Chamber Players Guestbook

Admission free, donations accepted.


The One Hundred Forty-Ninth Concert

Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 7:30 p.m.

Featuring:

The Boxwood Recorder Trio (Jane Udelson, Mark McDowell and Bruce Crane)

Joyce Bouvier and Rosemarie Houghton, sopranos

Gwyn Jones and Heidi Schuller, flute

Harold Yaffe, clarinet

Nancy Sulfridge, basset horn

Tom Blackburn, cello

David Ehrlich, piano

The Program:

Wachet Auf, from Cantata 140 by J.S. Bach (1685-1750) (arr. Z. Kocsis)

O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL by Traditional

Velvet Shoes by Randall Thompson (1896-1984)

Madrigal by Philippe Gaubert (1879-1941)

Duett (Song Without Words #18) by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-47)

Konzertstuck #1 in A flat, op. 113 by Mendelssohn

HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING by Mendelssohn

Magnificat on the Fifth Tone (1542) by Georg Forster (ca. 1515-60)

INTERMISSION

Cantique de Jean Racine by Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)

IN THE DEEP MIDWINTER by Christina Rossetti/Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

Ave Maria by Luigi Luzzi (1828-76)

Serenade (Ständchen) by Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Agnus Dei by Georges Bizet (1838-75)

O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM by Phillips Brooks/Lewis Redner

Adagio from Clarinet Concerto, K. 626 by W.A. Mozart (1756-91)

O HOLY NIGHT by Adolphe Adam (1803-56)


Notes on the Program:

While we do put the weight on Christmas as we select music for tonight’s program, we are of course not unaware that Christmas is but one manifestation of the ways in which we twenty-first century Americans approach this joyful time of the year. Whether our orientation is Christian or not, we must recognize that Jesus Christ was a Jew, and that many of the principles underlying Islam are spiritually similar to Christianity. Moreover, at this time of year, we ought not ignore there’s so much more to the meaning of the seasonal celebrations we enjoy than the feckless commercial aspects of life that have forced themselves far too much into our everyday consciousness.

Christmas carols are only one of the ways of expressing the joy that we all find being alive for yet one more year in our beautiful city, in our wonderful country, and in the company of each other. May we all draw pleasure from the know-ledge that we are who we are and doing exactly what we are doing as we have been doing for all the years of our lives!

Or, as Tiny Tim used to say, "Merry Christmas and God bless us every one!"


About Us

The Southwest Chamber Players is a loose aggregation of more than 100 dedicated amateur musicians who have performed at Saint Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Southwest Washington, D.C., for the last ten years.

Formed in March 1997, we present concerts of fine chamber music each month since.  Including every one of the orchestra’s instruments as well as singers of every voice range, our repertoire extends from Bach and Telemann through Prokofiev and Barber, with heavy emphasis on the works of the great composers of the classical and romantic eras.

David Ehrlich, the director, learned the piano at the age of six from his father, Richard Ehrlich. Though his life’s work was in the retail business, he never lost touch with performing music as both pianist and singer. Today he hones his skills annually at chamber music workshops in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Spartanburg, South Carolina; and Lyndonville, Vermont.

The website lists a fair sampling of past concert programs as well as biographies of many of the performers.

No required dollars change hands. Admission to concerts is free, though we do gratefully accept donations to offset the minor expenses of publicity and post-concert receptions.  None of the performers is paid.  SWCP attracts much of its audience from the Southwest community, and maintains a mailing list of several hundred. Publicity is through this website, e-mail announcements, and postcards mailed for each performance.

Concerts past:

November 24, 2009
September 24, 2009
July 21, 2009
July 2, 2009
May 1, 2009
April 29, 2009
April 10, 2009
February 12, 2009
December 18, 2008
November 11, 2008
July 31, 2008
June 17, 2008
May 6, 2008
March 28, 2008
March 21, 2008
January 29, 2008
December 14, 2007
November 27, 2007
September 18, 2007
August 14, 2007
July 26, 2007
June 19, 2007
May 3, 2007
April 9, 2007
April 6, 2007
February 27, 2007
December 19, 2006
November 14, 2006
October 19, 2006
September 26, 2006
September 23, 2006
August 24, 2006
July 13, 2006
June 12, 2006
May 25, 2006
April 27, 2006
March 30, 2006
January 10-31, 2006
December 20, 2005
November 17, 2005
October 16, 2005
September 15, 2005
August 18, 2005
July 21, 2005
June 16, 2005
May 24, 2005
April 28, 2005
March 31, 2005
February 22, 2005
February 3, 2005
December 22, 2004
November 11, 2004
September 21, 2004
August 26, 2004
July 20, 2004
June 17, 2004
May 20, 2004
April 22, 2004
April 1, 2004
February 24, 2004
January 15, 2004
December 18, 2003
November 11, 2003
November 2
October 31
September 16, 2003
August 21, 2003
June 12, 2003
May 22, 2003
April 22, 2003
March 25, 2003
February 27, 2003
February 6, 2003
January 9, 2003
December 19, 2002
November 19, 2002
October 22, 2002
September 11, 2002
August 15, 2002
July 11, 2002
June 21, 2002
May 21, 2002
April 25, 2002
April 4, 2002
February 21, 2002
January 22, 2002
December 20, 2001
November 14, 2001
October 10, 2001
September 25, 2001
August 22, 2001
June 14, 2001
May 24, 2001
April 26, 2001
April 5, 2001
March 15, 2001
February 15, 2001
January 17, 2001
December 20, 2000
November 14, 2000
November 9, 2000
October 5, 2000
September 13, 2000
August 16, 2000
July 20, 2000
June 14, 2000
May 10, 2000
April 5, 2000


For more information,or to add your address to our postal mailing list, email David Ehrlich at david@southwestchamberplayers.org or call him at (202) 484-6354.

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