A Grammy-award-winning quartet and holiday concerts will fill Newport with music

It’s been a busy fall season here at Newport Classical, with our most recent October Chamber Series concert by rising-star flutist Adam Sadberry continuing to establish the Recital Hall at Emmanuel Church as one of the best places to hear chamber music on Aquidneck Island on a year-round basis. We have been so thrilled to welcome many new audience members, as well as those coming back each month, to hear what we describe as “timeless music, for today,” in Newport.

While in Newport, Adam led an engaging and inspiring workshop for our youngest students at Head Start, through the East Bay Community Action Center. Utilizing movement to teach the fundamentals of music, Adam inspired over 50 children ranging in age from two to four, helping to cultivate tomorrow’s music lovers.

Up next on our Chamber Series is a concert featuring the Grammy Award-winning, Boston-based Parker Quartet on Friday, Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m. The Parker Quartet is renowned for its dynamic interpretations and polished, expansive colors, having distinguished itself as one of the preeminent ensembles of its generation. The New York Times has described the group as, “something extraordinary.”

The Parker Quartet is bringing something very special to Newport. The group has performed all of Beethoven’s quartets before, except for the one that they will play here on Nov. 4 – for the first time, they will delve into Beethoven’s Op. 18, No. 4, from 1799-1800. They’ll also play Valencia, a piece written by Caroline Shaw, who was the youngest composer to ever win the Pulitzer Prize in music in 2013. Valencia is a piece about the ordinary orange – and as Shaw puts it, “its hundreds of brilliantly colored, impossibly delicate vesicles of juice, ready to explode.” Bartók’s fifth quartet from 1934 is a work the Parker Quartet recorded on its very first album. Its visceral drive, intellectual prowess, and stunning beauty continue to astound to this day.

It’s still October, but we are already looking forward to celebrating the holiday season in Newport with two programs in December. We’ll present Messiah at the Mansion featuring Rhode Island’s fast-rising Ensemble Altera, led by Christopher Lowrey, and the Professional Choristers of The Choir School of Newport County, led by Peter Berton in two performances on Dec. 4 at Rosecliff. On Dec. 10 at Emmanuel Church, we’ll host a community celebration, featuring classical Christmas repertoire performed by Emmanuel Church Director of Music and Events Randy Elkins, conductor and organ; Newport Classical Board President Suzanna Laramee, piano; Lucas Swanson, trumpet; with vocalists (and sisters) Meaghan Kelly Brower, Alison Kelly Hosford, and Kate Kelly Longo; and the Emmanuel Church Choir. The concert will conclude with sing-along carols and a joyous reception hosted by the Parishioners of Emmanuel Church. Tickets for both of our holiday programs are available starting Oct. 18.

In anticipation of the Parker Quartet performing in Newport on Nov. 4, we asked them a few questions:

Newport Classical: Which piece on this program are you the most excited to perform and why?

Parker Quartet: We always love each piece on our programs, but if we have to choose for this one, we'd currently say the Beethoven Quartet, Op. 18 No. 5. This year marks our quartet's 20th anniversary season, and to celebrate that, we're embarking on our first-ever Beethoven cycles, which are happening in March. Leading up to those cycles, we're spending the season revisiting each Beethoven quartet, most of which we've spent years and years studying and performing. Op. 18 No. 5, however, is new to the quartet, so it feels like a gift to see a Beethoven quartet with completely fresh eyes.

NC: How do you curate programs for recitals?

PQ: One of the highlights of playing in a string quartet is the vast amount of repertoire we have available to play. We have always been drawn to a wide spectrum of time periods and styles, so our programs are often balancing these preferences or creating programs around a unifying theme.

NC: Is there anything you are looking forward to doing in Newport?

PQ: There are so many things to do in Newport, it will be difficult to choose! We hope to have the time to do a cliff walk, visit Bellevue Ave, relax for a few moments on a beach, and visit some restaurants. Luckily, we don't live too far away, so we'll certainly hope to visit again if we can't fit it all in this time!

NC: What will you be focusing on in your educational workshop?

PQ: We'll have to see what the students bring, but we'll look forward to connecting over musical interpretation, ensemble skills, and instrumental technical ideas.

Tickets for this much-anticipated performance on Nov. 4, as well as tickets for the holiday concerts on Dec. 4 and 10, can be purchased online at www.newportclassical.org/chamber-series.

And be sure to join Newport Classical’s mailing list to be the first to know about upcoming concerts and events: www.newportclassical.org/email-sign-up

Trevor Neal is the director of artistic planning and engagement at Newport Classical. The column from Newport Classical appears monthly in The Daily News and on newportri.com.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Grammy-award winning quartet, holiday concerts coming to Newport