Contact: Jenni Brockman
Telephone: (804) 443-3357
Fax: (804) 443-6781
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Sweet Sounds of George Gershwin Coming to St. Margaret's
The music of George Gershwin and his contemporaries is coming to Tappahannock à la a husband and wife tandem team who will give a "one piano/four hands" performance of musical selections to celebrate the Gershwin centennial (1898 - 1998). The concert will be held Tuesday evening, January 19th at 6:30 p.m. in Ball Gymnasium at St. Margaret's School, off Water Lane in Tappahannock.
Barbara and Gary Suhrstedt are a rarity in America: a piano duettists team, who tour annually with an imaginative program repertoire. Since their 1982 New York debut at Merkin Concert Hall, the Suhrstedts have performed in over 35 states and Canada. They annually present over 125 concerts for colleges, art councils, community concert associations, museums, elementary, and secondary schools. Barbara Fetrow Suhrstedt, a native of Ohio, is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Gerhardt (Gary) Suhrstedt, originally from Charleston, South Carolina, is a graduate of Furman University. The Suhrstedts met and married while completing graduate study at Boston University's School for the Arts. Barbara and Gary now live in Boston; their upcoming visit to St. Margaret's School is part of a six-week winter tour.
The Suhrstedts have visited the St. Margaret's campus two times prior. In 1995, the Suhrstedts presented "Slava: The Glory of the Arts in Tsarist Russia" (Russian music, arts, and poetry); in 1994, they entertained the St. Margaret's community with their "Four Hands Fantastique!" program, which introduced French music, art, and poetry, 1870 - 1920. This time around, they will be sharing their special Gershwin program, titled "Four Hands, By George!," which brings together music and art from North America, South America, and Western Europe. Additionally, the Suhrstedts will give a workshop on piano duets to students enrolled in St. Margaret's music director Beverly Gordon's classes.
Said then St. Margaret's music director, Kathleen Hughes, of the Suhrstedts 1995 visit, "The Suhrstedts could, with no apology, present themselves as virtuosos in their musical idiom. They choose, however, to enhance their audience's education with understanding. Their presentation is relaxed-but informative-and they weave the historical information into the idioms of art, music, and poetry." "Gosh, Mrs. Hughes, they play even more notes than you do!," added one of Mrs. Hughes' students.
Barbara and Gary Suhrstedts performance on January 19th at St. Margaret's School is sure to be a treat. Two recent newspaper reviews further this point:
"These pianists paint pictures in musical sounds, reaching a high level of artistic achievement." --News and Observer, Raleigh, NC
"The artists gave a remarkable display of close musical rapport in a recital that was musically solid and brilliantly performed throughout." --Sarnia (Ontario) Observer
"Four Hands, By George" is free and open to the public. Don't miss this one-the one hour performance is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.