(With thanks to Susan Chopp for her commentary in the Weekly News)
This spring at Graceview, we were treated to two fabulous concerts arranged by our Music Director Kento Stratford.
On Friday, May 24, a 13- member ensemble of saxophones regaled us with some contemporary arrangements. With
saxophone sizes ranging from the tiny sopranino sax to the huge and thundering bass saxophone we were mesmerized with the sounds and tones of these magnificent instruments performing together. The hit of the evening was a transcription of An American in Paris by George Gershwin. It was truly amazing to hear.
On Saturday, June 8, a second concert featuring Pascale Menke and Kento Stratford graced our sanctuary. If you were not there, you missed a truly wonderful performance by two amazingly talented pianists. The music, if not familiar to most of us, was sprightly and melodic – in fact, so sprightly that if you were close enough to watch Pascale
as his acrobatic fingers moved over the keys, you would have seen nothing but a blur. It was totally mesmerizing – in
my view, the best one yet. Thank you, Kento, for bringing this wonderful musical talent into our church.