Fair Winds Blowing Into Ridgefield

RIDGEFIELD — On Sunday, January 21, Fair Winds Brass Ensemble will appear in concert at St Stephen’s Church at 4 pm. The members of the ensemble are all members of Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra (RSO).

The January 21 program will open with a focus on works by French composers, including Debussy, Bozza, Bizet and Berlioz. The second half of the program will feature New Orleans jazz.

The Fair Winds includes Patricia Hurley (trumpet), Eleanor Miller (trumpet), Marjorie Seymour-Callaghan (horn) and Edward Chansky (trombone). Ms Hurley is a founding member of the Fair Winds. She performs with the Norwalk and Ridgefield symphonies in addition to serving on the faculty of the Music Conservatory of Westchester, where she teaches and coaches brass ensembles.

Also a founding member of Fair Winds, Eleanor Miller holds an MA in music composition from the University of California at Berkeley. She has performed as principal trumpet in ensembles both here and abroad, including Cambridge Sinfonia and Cambridge Philharmonic in the United Kingdom.

Marjorie Seymour-Callaghan holds a doctor of musical arts degree from Manhattan School of Music. She performs with Nutmeg Brass Quintet as well as RSO as principal horn. She is professor of horn and music history at Central CT State University.

Edward Chansky is a member of Orchestra New England, the Connecticut Grand Opera and Orchestra, and RSO. A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, Mr Chansky practices law by day and plays trombone at night.

Sunday’s program will begin with works by two French Renaissance composers, Pierre Passereau (El est bel et bon) and Tilman Susato (Three Dances). It will also include repertoire from the 19th Century, the sonorous Adagietto by George Bizet and the rollicking Chorus of Jugglers by Hector Berlioz.

The 20th Century will be represented by Eugene Bozza’s Trois Pieces and Claude Debussy’s Golliwog’s Cakewalk.

Admission to Sunday’s concert is free; donations are welcome. St Stephen’s Church is at 351 Main Street (Route 35) in Ridgefield. For additional information, call 203/438-3789.