Brevard – The Brevard Philharmonic will follow the footsteps of their incredible concert on February 23rd featuring violinist SooBeen Lee with a unique concert titled “Chamber Strings.” Past years’ concertgoers have delighted in the unique intimacy of the setting, which will be held not at the usual Porter Center in downtown Brevard but at Brevard Davidson River Presbyterian Church. The colorful program at 3:00 PM on Sunday, March 9th, will include selections by Mendelssohn, Sibelius, and Grieg, as well as some more light-hearted pieces like recognizable American melodies and a lively Irish reel.
This chamber music concert will consist of 15 string players from the Brevard Philharmonic, with James C. Fellenbaum as their Artistic Director. Kristine Fink Candler is their concertmaster. This is Fellenbaum’s sixth season with the Brevard Philharmonic. In addition, he has been the Resident Conductor of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra for 15 years, conducting a variety of concerts, and since 2010, he has served as the Music Director of the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra Association.
The afternoon’s exhilarating opener for the “Chamber Strings” concert is by Felix Mendelssohn. The prodigy wrote thirteen string symphonies between 1821 and 1823. His String Symphony No. 2, written when he was only 12 years old, comprises three movements: a shadowy, dark movement in a minor key, sandwiched between fun, sprightly first and third movements.
This will be followed by Sibelius’ Impromptu Opus 5 for string orchestra. Written in 1893, Sibelius became Finland’s most beloved composer. Beginning with a somewhat mournful tone, the piece works its way through all six movements until ending with the melody of the violins and violas soaring above in beautiful legato phrases.
A contrast to these classical pieces will be found in Price’s “Five Folk Songs in Counterpoint.” Florence Price had no illusions about the success rate of composers like herself. She was a woman, and she was black. Although those two handicaps were obstacles to her success while she was alive (1887-1953), the rediscovery of her works in 2009, in a slightly more enlightened time, shed new light and appreciation upon her brilliance and vast body of work. Her “Five Folk Songs in Counterpoint” (1950), the third piece of the afternoon, features three recognizable American melodies in a succession of sophisticated contrapuntal guises: “Oh My Darlin’ Clementine,” “Drink to Me with Thine Own Eyes,” and “Shortnin’ Bread.”
The remainder of the 2024/2025 season for the Brevard Philharmonic will feature the Cirque de la Symphonie concert on March 29th and a masterworks program by American composers on May 18th. The Cirque de la Symphonie promises an extraordinary presentation blending live music with gravity-defying acrobats and captivating performers, showcasing pieces like Bizet’s Carmen Suite and Tchaikovsky’s Danse des cygnes from Swan Lake, creating a unique sensory experience for audiences of all ages. On May 18th, Concertmaster of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, William Shaub, will present a program including Hailstork’s Fanfare on Amazing Grace, a Barber Violin Concerto, and Copland’s Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo at 3:00 PM at the Porter Center in Brevard.
Korean Violinist SooBeen Lee
An earlier concert this February featured the extraordinarily talented SooBeen Lee performing music from Spain. The concert program for “Espana” had originally been set for the fall of 2024 but was moved to February 23rd due to Hurricane Helene. Lee began studying the violin at the age of four. At eight years old, she won the National Competition of the Korean Chamber Orchestra. She won First Prize at the Russia International Youth Violin Competition the following year and captured First Prize at the 2013 Moscow International David Oistrakh Violin Competition. Since then, she has won many competitions, played with various orchestras, and currently studies with Miriam Fried at the New England Conservatory.
Violinist SooBeen Lee has been praised by The Washington Post for her “poised presence, a luxurious sound, spot-on intonation, and a bow arm that surely will be the envy of her peers.” This young violinist awed and amazed the audience at the Porter Center with her melodic intonations and extraordinary technique. She and Maestro Fellenbaum played together with remarkable ease and coordination, delivering a highly esteemed concert that will be remembered for years by those who attended.