With the new year, pianist Kessa Mefford is returning to the "stage" at Piano at Noon! Kessa has been hosting classical musicians monthly in this classical lunchtime concert series, the only regular classical series in her hometown of Peekskill NY. She has not performed solo on the series since April, and has not performed on the series at all since August. Join her for this exciting return to what started the series in the first place!
In the new year, Piano at Noon is also going to be charging ticket fees. The costs of bringing in professional musicians was ultimately not sustainable on a donation model. Tickets are $10 if reserved in advance via this platform, and $15 at the door via cash or Venmo. The series will still accept donations from attendees who wish to contribute more than this! As before, all proceeds go directly to the performing artists.
Dates, performers, and repertoire for the series will be added as they are scheduled. Doors open at 12:00pm noon, and music will begin by 12:15. Performances last 30-40 minutes.
In January, Kessa will be performing some of classical piano's greatest hits: Bach Prelude in C Major, Beethoven Moonlight Sonata, and Satie Gymnopedie No. 1, as well as lesser-known crowd favorites by Glass and Ravel.
In February, Kessa will be performing the complete Mozart Sonata K. 330 in C Major. (This performance has been changed from Tuesday, February 13 to Thursday, February 15 due to a snowstorm on February 13.)
In March, tenor Matt Marano will join Kessa in performing art songs in French, German, English, and Italian, by Debussy, Schubert, Vaughan Williams, Rossini, and Tosti. Matt has been singing with Taconic Opera since 2020. He most recently appeared as Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos. Before that he has appeared Taconic Opera's productions of Manon by Massenet, Manon Lescaut by Puccini, and La Traviata by Verdi. He has also appeared with the New York Opera Conservatory in the lead roles of Norma, Lucia di Lammermoor, Pearl Fishers, Don Giovanni, La Traviata, Il Tabarro, Tosca, and Elixir of Love. Matthew graduated from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. There he appeared in Kurt Weil's Street Scene, Verdi's La Traviata, and Mozart's Clemenza di tito.
In April, pianist Cade Roberts will perform the complete Schubert Sonata D.960. This was Schubert's last sonata before his death, and one of the most beautiful pieces of piano music ever composed. Cade is an active recitalist and chamber musician who has performed throughout Europe and the United States including at Carnegie Hall, DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Pärnu Concert Hall (Estonia), and St. Peter’s Church (Vienna). Recent engagements have included performances at the Gijón International Piano Festival (Spain), Orchestra of St. Luke’s Young Artists Series, and New York Estonian House. In May he will earn a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music where he studies with Marc Silverman. He also studied with Claudius Tanski at the Universität Mozarteum and Stephen Beus at Brigham Young University.
In May, soprano Kristina Cook will join Kessa in performing some new repertoire for them: not Ravel, but a collection of songs from South and Latin America in Spanish and Portuguese. Composers Rodriguez, Villa-Lobos, and Ginastera will be featured. Come see the duo’s take on a completely different style of music!
