Has the charm of pub nights in Spangler worn off already? For those itching to get off the bar stool and out into the city of Cambridge, I recommend checking out Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra. Pro Arte welcomes its new music director, Isaiah Jackson in a mostly Mozart concert on Sunday, February 18, 2001 at 3PM in Sanders Theater, on the Harvard University undergraduate campus. Chosen by Pro Arte’s musicians, Jackson is the first African-American to be appointed to a music directorship in the Boston area.
The mostly Mozart program will feature local favorite Randall Hodgkinson in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat. Pro Arte will also present Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 in E-flat and the Boston premiere of John Harbison’s Fantasia on a Ground. Fantasia on a Ground, says Harbison, “is a combination of law and fantasy. It begins with a scale which ascends, then descends inverted, each tone as long as its scale degree…Against this ‘arbitrary’ ground, free material is woven, bringing to it elements of mystery, meditation, and unpredictability.”
The pre-concert Aperitif series begins at 2 PM. The post-concert Ask the Artists session, immediately following the main concert, is moderated by Steven Ledbetter and features Jackson, Harbison, and Hodgkinson. Also after the concert, for a nominal charge, Pro Amore provides a wine and cheese singles reception and a friendly atmosphere were music lovers of all ages can mingle. Pro Amore is the only classical music singles group in Boston.
Tickets are available in advance for $9, $19, $29, and $39, with discounts for seniors and students, by calling the Pro Arte office (617) 661-7067 or the Sanders Theatre box office (617) 496-2222.
