The Portland String Quartet will kick off its 41st season with special guest Matt Szemela '97. Matt is a nationally known jazz violinist.
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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4TH, 2 PM
PRE CONCERT LECTURE, 1 PM
Presented by Matt Szemela, Willard Hertz and
Portland Conservatory Exec. Director Deirde McClure
Woodfords Congregational Church
202 Woodfords Street, Portland, ME
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The program will be a unique program of traditional music combined with the modern elements of jazz, rock and hip hop.
Tickets are $20 general admission, $18 for seniors, and free for age 21 and younger. A limited number of free or subsidized tickets for those on restricted budgets are also available.
The concert is presented by the LARK Society for Chamber Music and is sponsored by Martin's Point Health Care and Guest Artist Norway Savings Bank Post-Concert Reception hosted by Local 188. For more information contact Nina K. Oatley (207) 761-1522 or lark@larksociety.org.
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The featured work on this first program is Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons - Autumn, with a twist! The soloist, Matthew Szemela, will play a six-string acoustic electric violin, presenting a "fusion" interpretation of this classic.
Matt is a Maine native, having grown up in New Gloucester and graduated from Cheverus High School in 1997.
Szemela had this to say on his performance of the Vivaldi:
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''In many aspects, this performance of Vivaldi's "Autumn" will ring familiar in the audience's ear, and will remain true to the score. The work's three movements themselves will remain mostly unscathed. However, a distinct departure from historically standard performances will become apparent as we encounter effect-driven interludes between the movements, as well as injections of improvisation throughout the work. In my approach to these departures, I will draw from my various forays into fusion music, incorporating elements of jazz, rock, and even hip hop.
"Fusion" is a genre of world music blending musical traditions from around the world, mixing them with modern music such as jazz or rock. The main characteristics of fusion genres are variations in tempo and rhythm, and long musical "journeys" that can be divided into smaller parts, each with its own dynamics, style and tempo.
A special type of instrument is required for this venture. I play a six-string acoustic electric violin by Richard Barbera of Staten Island, New York. Luthiered in the fall of 2007, this violin possesses a standard body size while adding two lower strings (a viola C as well as an F a 5th below), resulting in a wider and longer neck."
Other works on the program include:
Brahms' String Quartet in C minor, Op. 51 and Mozart's Viola Quintet in G Minor
About Matthew Szemela
Mr. Szemela crosses musical genres with ease. Trained as a classical violinist as a student of PSQ member, Ronald Lantz and then at the Mannes College of Music in New York City, he has performed as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician in Carnegie, Alice Tully and Merkin Recital Halls in New York City and in Belgium, Luxembourg, Australia and Italy. On the other hand, he is a member of several fusion bands with whom he tours throughout the United States and abroad. In February, 2009, he performed in Portland with Daniel Bernard Roumain's "fusion" group DBR and the Mission in a concert sponsored by the Portland Concert Association (PCA).
He has been praised by the New York Times for his "outrageous fiddling" and performed at Carnegie Hall, abroad and is regularly called upon to collaborate with other talented artists including Savion Glover, Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, and Olivia Newton-John; he even portrayed an Irish rock violinist in the film "August Rush.
Matthew is a fervent proponent of violin jazz, ranging from the hot jazz of the late 19th/early 20th century to the jazz rock fusion of the 1970's and beyond. He is quickly becoming known as one of NYC's top traditional jazz violin sidemen.
Originally a native of New Gloucester, Maine, Matthew graduated from Cheverus High School in 1997. He currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
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