Outreach Through the Music and the Arts
Westmoreland Circle Concert Series
The concert series began in 1973 and continues to present some of our area's finest musicians in performance. The concert series is dedicated to outreach. The offerings collected at the concerts are contributed to four charities. These currently are the Montgomery County Chapter of the National Association on Mental Illness, the Shaw Community Ministry, Marie Reed Learning Center, and Bethesda Cares. There is no charge for admission to the concerts.
Riders to the Sea - March 10, 2012
The audience attending the March 10 concert thoroughly enjoyed a wonderful evening of songs and opera provided by the Voix de Femmes chamber choir directed by Annick Kanter-Sait Hubert and Grace Cho. To begin the concert, the chamber choir performed five songs including Mass 6, an unusual work composed by Gyorgy Organ solely for women’s voices. The opera, Riders to the Sea, composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams, is based on a John Millington Synge play dealing with the hopeless struggle of people against the cruelty of the sea. Performed beautifully by soloists from the Shenandoah University Opera program and Voix de Femmes and with staging, the audience was treated to a very moving operatic experience.
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Plan to attend the final concert for the 2011-2012 Music and Arts Concert Season. Keeping with tradition, a choral concert will complete the season with the Westmoreland Chancel Choir and Soloists and the New Orchestra of Washington performing Faure’s Requiem Op. 48 and excerpts from Handel’s Messiah. The date for the choral concert is May 19.
Concert by B.A.R. Piano Trio - October 29, 2011
October 29 was a cold and stormy night, but B.A. R. Piano Trio was masterful in their performance of chamber works by Mendelssohn, Babajanian and Piazzola. The B.A.R. Trio includes noted musicians Benjamin Wensel, cello; the WCUCC’s own Director of Music, Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, piano; and Regino Madrid, violin.
The concert was dedicated to Louise Kupelian, a long-time member of Westmoreland and a noted pianist, who passed away recently. The work by Armenian composer Babajanian was selected to honor her Armenian heritage.
The free will offering collected at the concert benefitted the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), Montgomery County Chapter. A reception followed the concert.
 Benjamin Wensel, cellist |
 Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, pianist |
 Regino Madrid, violinist |
 Katherine Slye Griffin, NAMI Executive Director & Diane Kupelian President, NAMI Board of Directors |
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The Colors of the Organ - September 17, 2011
Sondra Goldsmith Proctor , well known in the Washington area as an organist and choral director, was the guest artist for the first concert held on September 17, 2011. The former Music Director and Organist for Westmoreland Church, Ms. Proctor chose a program that took advantage of the capabilities of our Aeolian Skinner organ that demonstrated the full range of the organ’s capability from the most quiet and beautiful colors to its most dynamic and brilliant.
 Sondra Goldsmith Proctor and the Aeolian Skinner Organ |
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 Rev. Anne Troy, Executive Director and Pastor of Shaw Community Ministry and Nancy Van Meter, Shaw Community Board Member |
 Sondra Proctor greeting concert attendees during the Reception |
Plan to attend the remaining three concerts planned for the 2011-2012 Music and Arts Concert Season. An October 29 concert will feature the B.A.R. Trio, which includes Benjamin Wensel, cello, Regino Madrid, violin, and our own Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, piano. They will be performing exciting chamber music by Piazzola, Babajanian, and Mendelssohn. The Chamber Choir Voix de Femmes, and soloists will perform the moving opera “Riders to the Sea” by Ralph Vaughn Williams on March 10. The opera is based on a play by the Irish playwright, John Synge. Keeping with tradition, a choral concert will complete the season with the Westmoreland Chancel Choir and Soloists and the New Orchestra of Washington performing Faure’s Requiem Op. 48 and excerpts from Handel’s Messiah. The date for the choral concert is May 19.
Page last updated 18 March 2012.
