Who:
Pressenda Chamber Players
Tobias Werner, cello & Read Gainsford, piano
What:
Last-minute live concert
When:
7:00 pm, Friday, May 28, 2021
Where:
Westmoreland Congregational Church
One Westmoreland Circle, Bethesda, MD 20816
Cost:
Free (suggested minimum donation: $20)
Contact:
Scherm Schermann
sschermann@washingtonconservatory.org
A last-minute live concert in celebration of the lifting of restrictions in Montgomery County in accordance with the CDC guidelines will feature members of the Pressenda Chamber Players, Ensemble-in-Residence at the Washington Conservatory of Music. Pianist Read Gainsford will perform the Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise, Op. 22 by Frederic Chopin, and join cellist Tobias Werner, to perform the Sonata No. 1 in e minor, Op. 38 by Johannes Brahms, and the Sonata No. 3 in A Major, Op. 69 by Ludwig van Beethoven on Friday, May 28, at 7 pm. The concert will take place at Westmoreland Congregational Church, One Westmoreland Circle, Bethesda, MD. Admission is free, with a suggested minimum donation of $20.
The Pressenda Chamber Players, founded by Artistic Director and cellist Tobias Werner, is the Ensemble-in-Residence at the Washington Conservatory of Music. It was formed in 2016 and made its debut on the Washington Conservatory concert series that same year. The ensemble is comprised of a rotating membership of chamber musicians who have for many years enjoyed performing together in various ensembles and festivals in the United States and Europe. It is named for the Italian stringed instrument maker Giovanni Francesco Pressenda (1777 –1854), on whose instruments Werner and violinist Aaron Berofsky play — and it is very likely that their violin and cello were sitting in Pressenda’s shop at the same time in 1844.
Tobias Werner, cello, is the music director at The Chamber Music Conference of the East and founder and artistic director of Pressenda Chamber Players. Tobias has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in the US, France, Germany, and Romania. His recordings include Suites for Unaccompanied Cello by J.S. Bach and the Sonatas for Piano and Cello by Beethoven with Victor Asuncion. Tobias studied at the Musikhochschule Freiburg in Germany, and at Boston University and plays on an 1844 J.F. Pressenda cello.
Read Gainsford, piano, is a native of New Zealand, and has performed widely in the USA, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa as a solo recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician. He has made successful solo debuts at the Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall and has performed in many other venues, including the John F. Kennedy Center, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Barbican Centre, Fairfield Halls, Birmingham Town Hall, and St-Martin-in-the-Fields.
The Washington Conservatory is one of 16 nationally accredited community music schools in the U.S. for students of all ages. WCM Concerts are donation-funded and presented free of charge to allow people of all ages and economic means to enjoy outstanding live classical music in the community. For those able, a minimum $20 donation is suggested. Families are welcome at all concerts.
Upcoming Washington Conservatory Concerts
Tuesday, June 15 at 7:00 PM – Pressenda Chamber Players - Mozart and Dvorak piano quartets
For more information: https://www.washingtonconservatory.org/