Diverse opening program a nod to commemorating 9/11, pandemic life

McGRATHPR.com – Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra (CCCO), the Cape’s professional collaborative orchestra, launches its Season Five performances with the concert “Quiet City,” on Sunday, September 11, from 3 to 5 pm at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 533 Rt. 28, Harwich Port. The orchestra is conducted by Founding Music Director Matthew Scinto.

“We are so happy to have made it through pandemic disruptions and into our next big season ahead!” shares Scinto.  “I am grateful to our musicians and audiences who continue to ensure that our mission is sustained in our inspiring, exciting programs and collaborative connections.”  CCCO’s Season Five features new soloists, new music and hallmark performances.  The orchestra also marks the new year’s programs with the launch of its Sandbar Chamber Series in venues around Cape Cod.

CCCO’s season opener “Quiet City” features Kyle Spraker, principal trumpet of the Cape Symphony, and the orchestra’s Mary O’Keefe, English horn performing music of Aaron Copland, Jessie Montgomery, and Edward Elgar. The concert title work, Copland’s “Quiet City”, began as music for the 1939 Irwin Shaw play by the same name.  After a few unsuccessful performances, the work has lived on in the orchestral realm, set for trumpet, English horn, and strings. “It is music filled with nostalgia and an eagerness to return to a past life,” shares Scinto. “The main character of Shaw’s play is haunted by his abandoned aspirations to become an artist; it is easy to see the parallels for us to return to a sense of normalcy in our world today.”

Also on the program, Composer Jessie Montgomery’s first sketches of “Source Code” began as transcriptions of imagery from African American artists prominent during the peak of the Civil Rights era in the United States. Montgomery’s re-interpretation of gestures, sentences, and musical syntax are a nod to choreographer Alvin Ailey, poets Langston Hughes and Rita Dove and jazz songstress Ella Fitzgerald, resulting in a black spiritual that crosses the landscape. Jessie Montgomery is an acclaimed composer, violinist, and educator. She is the recipient of the Leonard Bernstein Award from the ASCAP Foundation, the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, and her works are performed frequently around the world by leading musicians and ensembles. Her music interweaves classical music with elements of vernacular music, improvisation, poetry, and social consciousness, making her an acute interpreter of 21st century American sound and experience. 

CCCO prides itself on exceptional programming and its collaborative performances, a highlight of every season.  Season Five features four full-orchestra main concerts and three small ensemble performances, launching its new Sandbar Chamber Series.  

Committed to artistic integrity and excellence, Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra’s mission is to connect the diverse arts communities and individuals of Cape Cod inclusively. By collaborating with other disciplines of art and culture, the Orchestra aims to create unique concert experiences while providing exciting, enriching and memorable orchestral music.  Spotlighting living composers is at the forefront of the orchestra’s mission; bringing audiences closer to the music of modern time, positioned as an essential and educational element to each performance program.  Other repertoire emphasize the championing of works of living composers, as well as the music of the classical canon.

Tickets to “Quiet City” are $35, students and children are admitted for free.  More information, the full season schedule, concert programs and tickets to Season Fiveare available at capecodchamberorchestra.org, by calling 508-432-1668, or at each venue door by cash or credit card.  For more information, email info@capecodchamberorchestra.org, or follow Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra on Facebook and Instagram.

Quiet City Program:

AARON COPLAND – Quiet City

     Kyle Spraker, trumpet; Mary O’Keefe, English horn

JESSIE MONTGOMERY – Source Code

EDWARD ELGAR – Introduction & Allegro

About Dr. Matthew Scinto, Conductor

Matthew Scinto is an emerging conductor based in Cape Cod, where he currently serves as Founder and Music Director of the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra and Visiting Director of Orchestra at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He has twice studied conducting at the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center, was recently finalist for the Assistant Conductor of the San Antonio Symphony, and also currently serves as a cover conductor for the Portland (ME) Symphony. He received his Doctor of Musical Art’s degree from Boston University, where he received the Conducting Department Award for Excellence in Conducting. Dr. Scinto has been involved in Alzheimer’s care for the past several years, working with memory care facilities at Maplewood Senior Living in Brewster, MA and Bridges in Mashpee, MA. He is also a frequent guest of the Arts & Ideas program with the Alzheimer’s Family Support Center of Cape Cod for caregivers and loved ones with memory loss. By using aspects of music appreciation and conducting, Dr. Scinto has developed curriculum for working with individuals dealing with memory loss in order to allow them to reconnect to their loved ones and enjoy fun movement to music. In addition to conducting, Dr. Scinto has been teaching private piano, violin, and viola lessons for over a decade, currently at Steeple St. Music Academy in Mashpee, MA

About Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra

Committed to artistic integrity and excellence, the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra’s mission is to connect the diverse arts communities and individuals of Cape Cod inclusively. By collaborating with other disciplines of art and culture, the Orchestra aims to create unique concert experiences while providing exciting, enriching, and memorable orchestral music.  Featuring living composers is at the forefront of the orchestra’s mission; bringing audiences closer to the music of modern time, positioned as an essential and educational element to each performance program.  Other repertoire champions the works of living composers, as well as the music of the classical canon.  For more information visit www.capecodchamberorchestra.org, email info@capecodchamberorchestra.org, or follow Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra on Facebook and Instagram.