Quintet to Perform Old, New Music
Bach & Forth, an ensemble of four instrumentalists and a soprano, will open its second season here at 7 p.m. Saturday at the East Hampton Presbyterian Church. The members of the quintet are Trudy Craney, a soprano who has a house in Springs, Thomas Bohlert, the music director of the church, organ and piano, Linda DiMartino Wetherill, flute, Rebecca Perea, cello, and Terry Keevil, oboe.
The program on Saturday reflects the ensemble’s commitment to music from the Baroque to the avant-garde, which gave rise to its name. Bach, Corelli, and Telemann will be performed, as well as a United States premiere of a solo work for alto flute by Gregg Caffrey. Two other contemporary pieces on the program are “Vita Nova,” for voice and piano, by Noa Ain and “Ornament of Grace,” for organ and oboe, by Bernard Sanders.
Five of Bach’s Choral Preludes, for organ, and his “Sheep May Safely Graze,” in which the entire quintet will perform, are on the program, as well as Telemann’s Trio Sonata in C minor and Corelli’s Sonata for flute and cello, Opus 5 No. 3. Tickets are $20 and will be sold at the door.
Mr. Caffrey is a young Irishman whose compositions have been heard around the world. Ms. Ain is an award-winning American lyricist and librettist. She is also a painter whose most recent exhibition was in August at the Monika Olko Gallery in Sag Harbor. Ms. Craney starred in Ms. Ain’s one-woman opera, “Joan of Arc.” Mr. Sanders, the other contemporary composer, was educated at Wichita State University and is a music director and organ consultant in Germany, where he did postgraduate work.
Mr. Bohlert, the accompanist of the Choral Society of the Hamptons, said the instrumentalists had met as members of the South Fork Chamber Orchestra in performance with the Choral Society. Mr. Keevil has frequently been its oboe soloist.
Because of his position at the East Hampton Presbyterian Church, where he arranges a series of concerts called Music at the Old Town Church, Mr. Bohlert has been central to the formation of Bach & Forth.
He is a cum laude graduate of Wagner College, where he concentrated on piano, attended the Mannes College of Music, and received a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music. A frequent recitalist, he is certified by the American Guild of Organists, and composes music for organ, choir, and handbells. He also writes about music for The East Hampton Star.
Mr. Keevil, who plays duduk and English horn in addition to oboe, is a member of three additional chamber ensembles. He is the director of the community chamber music program at the State University at Stony Brook, from which he received master’s and doctoral degrees, and teaches privately in Stony Brook.
Ms. Craney is known for her versatility as a soprano soloist, with appearances ranging, like Bach & Forth’s, from the Baroque to the contemporary, and she adds art song to her credits. Her operatic roles include Mme. Mao in John Adams’s “Nixon in China.” Performing in major houses in this country and abroad, she has had leading roles in operas by Verdi and Prokofiev, and was the Queen of the Night in 39 European performances of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” She lives and teaches voice in Manhattan as well as Springs.
Ms. Wetherill, the flutist, who began her career in Europe, has performed with La Scala Opera and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony and toured as a soloist in the Middle East, South Asia, South America, and China. She divides her time between New York City and Lucca, Italy, where she directs an international festival and academy.
The cellist, Ms. Perea, has a continuing interest in 20th century music including pop. She has performed with rock bands and popular artists such as Natalie Cole and Bobbie Ferren. She has toured Eastern Europe and been the principal cellist in several chamber orchestras and musical theater productions in this country.
Bach & Forth’s second season will continue at the Unitarian Universalist Church in East Setauket on Nov. 10 and at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in the Citicorp building in Manhattan on Feb. 4.