Delaware County Symphony

Bill Conville was a longtime member of the Friends of the Marple Library who was passionate about bringing the arts to members of the community. We wanted to h...onor his memory with a special event and so we reached out to some of the wonderfully talented musicians who worked with Bill. On behalf of the Marple Library, I'd like to express our deepest gratitude to these artists for graciously contributing their time and talent to make this tribute possible. Thank you for watching. - Bridgette Crockett, Marple Library Assistant Director Delaware County Symphony Whirled Music The Lyra Society

Concert No. 3 of our virtual "Concerts on Demand" series, under the direction of Jennifer Nicole Campbell, is now available! This concert features the DCS Brass Quintet and the DCS Woodwind Trio performing pieces inspired by folk music or based on folk tunes and dances. Holst's Second Suite in F for Military Band and Vaughan Williams' English Folk Song Suite, both based on English folk songs, were written for concert band, "but the folks songs themselves, as well as the cla...ssic English scoring, make them ripe for an all-brass treatment," said Jeff Istvan, principal trumpet of the DCS and leader of the DCS Brass Quintet. Although the Second Suite contains four movements and the English Folk Songs Suite has three, "each piece actually incorporates eight different folk songs, often interwoven within movements to dramatic effect," Mr. Istvan explained. The Festival Pieces by Jack Hawes offers a contrast with the earlier selections. "Though he was British to the core -- he served in the British Army during World War II -- Hawes' piece sounds more French or even Russian and thoroughly late-20th century," said Mr. Istvan. "Hawes did not seek or achieve the notoriety of his predecessors, but his music is just as intricate and enjoyable and Festival Pieces is a favorite of the DCS Brass." The DCS Woodwind Trio offers a broad program, from Bach and Mozart to Bartok and Godard. Roberta Winemiller, principal bassoonist of the DCS shared that the trio "celebrated the universal language of music in these difficult times, giving thanks for a variety styles" and drawing from different ethnic traditions when selecting pieces for this concert. While the pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges for all of us, individually and as a society, we are deeply thankful for the selfless work and sacrifice of our first responders and teachers who are helping us navigate the crisis every day. We dedicate our third virtual concert of the season to these heroes, with our sincere thanks and appreciation. We hope you enjoy our performance!

On October 19th and October 26th, our piano quartet and chamber string orchestra recorded our second concert of the 2020-2021 season! This virtual concert was programmed by our Concertmaster, Nina Vieru. The concert is free and features works by Mozart, Doga, and Vivaldi. The recording of this concert took place on two dates because our producer took ill and was unable to record Part 1 for us - so, it was recorded on an iPhone by our board president/oboist, Merri Lee Newby!... The link to Part 2 is on YouTube in the video description of Part 1 linked below. And, if you would like to make a donation to the Delaware County Symphony, please go to our website, .https://www.dcsmusic.org/donations - we truly appreciate anything you can give! Enjoy!

Two of our long-time members have recently announced their retirements from the DCS. During their 50+ year tenures with the orchestra, Nancy Kauffman (violin) and Barbara Cohen (flute) have been faithfully committed both as players and as active board members, pioneering programs such as our Musical Perspectives, coordinating our lobby volunteers, writing grants, organizing the annual yard sale (our biggest fundraiser every year!). These ladies also were instrumental in coor...dinating small ensembles to play in other local arts and civic spaces in our community, producing our symphony and chamber programs, and directing many other activities and fundraisers on behalf of the orchestra. Their absence as players and on the board will be deeply felt. Thank you, Barbara and Nancy, for your years of membership and dedicated service to the DCS - you will be greatly missed!