The music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Kenji Bunch, and Astor Piazzolla will take center stage during a solo show featuring Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra violinist Emma Powell this Saturday, January 16 at 2 pm at CapeSpace in Mashpee Commons.
The show will be livestreamed on both the chamber orchestra’s and CapeSpace’s Facebook pages.
“Since the pandemic started, we’ve experienced just how important music is in providing us with comfort, joy and an escape from the difficulties of the past year,” said CapeSpace President Robbin Orbison. “That’s why we’re so thrilled to welcome Emma to CapeSpace for a virtual concert this weekend that will not only showcase her talents, but the power of the arts.”
The show is the latest in the orchestra’s third season which kicked off at the beginning of October with a virtual concert recorded at the Yarmouth New Church.
Matt Scinto, founder and music director for the chamber orchestra, was excited for this weekend’s concert which will offer a mix of popular classical music in Bach, fun tango music by Piazzolla, and a contemporary piece by Bunch. “We have a really diverse program with music that’s older and music written in the past 10 years or so. It should be a lot of fun,” Scinto said. “We’re really looking forward to it.”
The concert aligns with the orchestra’s theme of placing a spotlight on its individual musicians this season. “Emma is such an amazing musician,” Scinto said. “We’re glad we can give her this opportunity to perform and do some solo work which honestly for an orchestra we don’t really get a chance to do ever because we’re always playing as a group.”
Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Powell is currently a resident musician at the Newport String Project in Rhode Island. As a soloist, she has performed with several orchestras, including the Michigan Pops Orchestra, the Princeton University Orchestra, and the Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony.
Over the summers she has served as concertmaster at the Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival USA, and Roundtop Festival Institute.
She holds a Master of Music from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. She received her BA in music theory/musicology with a certificate in violin performance from Princeton University.
After this weekend’s solo performance, the chamber orchestra’s next concert will be streamed live on its Facebook page on Valentine’s Day from the Steeple Street Music Academy in Mashpee Commons. It has three additional performances, one in March and two in April, this season.
For a full lineup of the orchestra’s performances, visit www.capecodchamberorchestra.org.