Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Lift the end-of-weekend blues with the Monday Midday Concert Series. In a new initiative sponsored by the Fetter Chamber Music program, six lunch-time concerts will be played throughout the school year, at one-month intervals, starting September 12. The organizers of the program hope to provide an afternoon lift in the middle of students’ stressed schedules. The concerts aim to be “inclusive, convenient, in a beautiful setting, high quality, varied, and accessible to all,” says Michael Johns, Associate in Performance and Director of the Elizabeth Pollard Fetter Chamber Music Program.
The Fetter Chamber Music Program has been involved with Swarthmore’s musical life for over two decades, providing master class, performance opportunities, and chamber music coaching to students. In fact, the Fetter family, which endows the program, has several alumni among its ranks. Johns says the new concert series is “viewed as an extension of that outreach.”
Next Monday, September 12, the concert series kicks off with the 9th Street Chamber Project, a new Philadelphia group “consisting of the most exciting young performers on the East Coast,” explains Michael Johns. “Each member…brings a unique personality and virtuosity to the ensemble yet all share a common passion for chamber music,” he continues. Their program includes Bach’s Sonata No 1 in G Minor for unaccompanied violin and a Dvorak string quartet.
Coming up in the series is a range of performances, from Renaissance wind instruments to vocalists to a jazz Quintet. Don’t miss members of Piffaro (October 3), Laura Heimes and Friends (November 7), The Ron Kerber Quintet (February 6), The Philadelphia Trio (March 13), and Trio Arundel (April 3). So bring your lunch (really), bring your friends and enjoy the Monday Midday Concert Series!
