Twickenham Fest vocalists, bassoonist to appear at library
MADISON – Accomplished musicians with Twickenham Fest will entertain and conduct children’s sessions at Madison Public Library on Saturday.
Soprano Susanna Phillips and bassoonist Matthew McDonald, co-founders of Twickenham Fest, will share classical music on Aug. 31 from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. in Madison and then at the main library in Huntsville from 11 to 11:45 a.m. No admission will be charged.
Susanna Phillips (CONTRIBUTED)
At each venue, they will perform for about 15 minutes for both children and adults. “Then, the children will break off with other musicians to do some hands-on projects about music for about 20 minutes,” publicist David Lilly said. McDonald will disassemble and explain the double-reed bassoon to the children.
Adults can participate in a question-and-answer session with the other musicians.
Twickenham Fest is a chamber music festival presented each summer.
Matthew McDonald. (CONTRIBUTED)
Phillips received the Metropolitan Opera’s 2010 Beverly Sills Artist Award and continues to establish herself as one of today’s most sought-after singing actors and recitalists. In her fifth consecutive season at the Met, she recently appeared as Donna Anna in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.”
In New York City this season, she will portray Stella in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and will present her solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall. She is a Juilliard School alumna and has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Phillips was born in Birmingham and grew up in Huntsville.
Matthew McDonald will start as principal bassoonist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra this fall. He also has performed with numerous symphony orchestras, including Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio, and in Huntsville.
McDonald, a Huntsville native, has studied with Hunter Thomas and Benjamin Kamins. He is a graduate of the Young Artist Program at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Curtis Institute of Music.
For more information about Twickenham Fest, call Lilly at 256-532-5975.
