December 3, 2019

The Kennett Symphony Orchestra and the Chester County Choral Society take their show on the road Saturday when they blend instruments and voices at Rustin High School in Westtown Township. The 100 musicians include 40 orchestra members and 60 chorale members. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.

“This concert features more musicians on stage,” said Michael Hall, music director of the Kennett Symphony. “They are all very accomplished and have been preparing.”

The combination of voice with instruments, along with a sing-along, reflects Hall’s mission to create events that appeal to a wide range of people. The concert features popular songs like “Sleigh Ride” and the “Hallelujah Chorus” as well as lesser-known pieces.

“The program flows from strong pieces to quieter ones and includes straight-up carols,” said Hall.

For the sing-along portion of the concert, a medley of familiar songs will be performed with the words provided in the program. 

Hall, a Kennett Square resident, is in his sixth season as music director for the symphony. In addition, he has just been named music director for the Prince George Symphony Orchestra in British Columbia, Canada. “It’s really nice being able to work with other orchestras when the Kennett Symphony isn’t playing,” he said.

While the Kennett Symphony is the only professional symphony orchestra in Chester County, the choral is an all-volunteer group. The group will be singing in both four- and eight-part harmony at the concert, according to Sue Drummond, president of the organization.

“We have local talent from all over Chester County and we range in age from 20 to 70 years old,” she said. “Gary Garletts, our artistic director, gets a wonderful quality sound out of the chorus.”

The two groups will be rehearsing together this week, fine-tuning their performances before Saturday’s concert. The chorus will be learning to respond to Hall’s conducting style.

“It’s very different singing with an orchestra versus only piano accompaniment,” said Drummond.

Both Hall and Drummond are enthusiastic about performing at Rustin. “It’s a great venue, with great acoustics, plenty of parking and easy to get to,” said Hall. Drummond agreed, “It’s a great auditorium, large with good acoustics.” 

“Our ongoing challenge is to let people know they can hear great classical and holiday music right in their backyard. Once people know about us, they come back,” Hall said. The holiday concert, Pops Goes the Holidays, is appropriate for all ages, and, as Drummond added, “Come and see what you’re missing.” 

Tickets and more information are available online at http://kennettsymphony.org/

Square Pear Gallery’s December exhibition titled “Wrap it Up!” will be a crowd pleaser for shoppers in Kennett Square this month. There is something for everyone in this show. The gallery’s space is divided into a few small rooms which allows for displaying various vignettes of art. It doesn’t feel too crowded, and there is a nice flow from one room to the next. Some stand out works include lovely beach scenes painted by Karen Benco, cool street scenes with signage by Brad Earl, the striking interior scenes by Heather Lynn Gibson and ceramics by Jeanie Silver and Bob Deane of Media, who digs his own clay.

I talked with owner, Corien Siepelinga and asked her how she runs the gallery. The nurse turned curator oozes enthusiasm while talking about the art and the artists in the gallery. Each month, she invites a group to show their work based on a theme that she comes up with. She shows various mediums and styles from local, regional, national and international artists. She’ll look for artists at fairs and festivals as well as online platforms like Instagram and Pinterest.

One goal is to introduce new artists to the local scene. Asked about how she got started, she shared a little about her history. Originally from Holland, she first relocated to Canada before moving to the US. She lived in Texas before landing in Pennsylvania. She and her husband moved around a bit for his career and when her career as a nurse became challenging to sustain, she began to explore her interest in painting and became good at it. She is mostly a self-taught artist but took classes with Neil Carlin at Carlin Academy of Fine Art and online courses with Nicolas Wilton. Eventually she was able to devote all of her time to painting.

After the family moved to Kennett Square, just a few blocks from the Mala Galleria, an opportunity to take over the gallery presented itself and in 2018 Siepelinga took charge of the gallery. She quickly established herself as an arts advocate in the community. She runs the gallery, curates and hangs each show, paints and exhibits her own work, and conducts weekly art classes for children (K through 4^th) at the gallery. And, she loves doing it all. The opening reception for “Wrap it Up!” is Friday, December 6^th during First Friday Art Stroll, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. For more information visit https://www.squarepear.com.

Gallery Duo co-owners Alessandra Manzotti and Sus Iserbyt are inviting folks to come out and enjoy an open house in Chadds Ford this Friday, December 6^th. The duo is preparing to put art in their gallery and another open space located in Fairville Village. Works by them and guest artists Katee Boyle, Natale Caccamo, Karen Delaney, Lisa Fedon, Lindsay Risby, and Julia Sperry will be displayed in the first floor entrance space, both floors of the gallery and in the barn in the old forge behind the cluster of buildings that face Kennett Pike.

I visited on Monday and talked with Manzotti while Iserbyt was busy preparing for the show. It is being organized in part to draw visitors in to peruse available spaces for rent in the restored village. The barn space, formerly occupied by an architectural firm, is beautifully appointed and the art shines in this modern yet rustic location. To set themselves apart from other venues, Manzotti said they like to show art that is “out of the box” compared to what is typically exhibited in “Wyeth Land.”

Folks attending the event will enjoy seeing Manzotti’s striking photographs, Iserbyt’s abstract paintings and Fedon’s whimsical metal sculptures of horses, one of which almost fills the space it’s allotted to in the barn. Boyle and Delaney will be showing sculptures and paintings. Their work is very different in style yet their pieces look cohesive. Along with Fedon, each of them will have their own room in the barn. Fedon’s animals of minimal mixed metals are a nice balance between Delaney’s weightier totems of steel, and Boyle’s softer paintings of women and interiors. The Open House Family Event at Fairville Village is from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. A fire pit will be going outside and food and drinks will be offered as well making it an inviting setting for visitors to linger. For more details, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/592656551481115/.

Other events worth checking out: Barbara Moore Fine Art is holding the 3rd Annual “Christmas in Miniature.” The exhibit is art on a small scale, perfect for collecting your favorite artist or giving as a gift.  Opening reception will be held in the Barn Shops on Route 1 in Chadds Ford on Dec 04, 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Jill Beech has open studio hours on Sunday December 8^th and Sunday December 15^th at her home in East Fallowfield. For more information email jbeech@vet.upenn.edu.

The 25^th Anniversary International Exhibition “CraftFORMS 2019” opens at Wayne Art Center with a ticketed preview party on Friday December 6^th and a public reception on Saturday, December 7^th. For details, visit https://www.craftforms.org.

Whatever you do this week, support the arts!!