Charles Ives

(NEW MARLBOROUGH, Mass.) – The distinctly American musical works of Connecticut Yankee composer Charles Ives will be presented at the Meeting House on Saturday, August 31, 2013, at 4:30 p.m., as part of the Music & More series. Performers include mezzo-soprano Deborah Rentz-Moore, pianist Donald Berman, and violinist Daniel Stepner.

Ives, whose music was largely ignored during his life, was later regarded as an “American original.” He developed an extensive body of work: songs, symphonies, chamber works for various ensembles and solo piano music.  The program includes a selection from his over 200 songs, his Sonata No. 3 for violin and piano, Decoration Day for violin and piano and the Emerson Transcriptions for solo piano, a portrait of New England philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Mezzo-soprano Deborah Rentz-Moore is a soloist in early music, oratorio and contemporary music, performing with such ensembles as the Handel & Haydn Society, the Boston Camerata, Aston Magna Festival as well as the Mark Morris Dance Group.

Donald Berman

Award-winning pianist Donald Berman has performed around the world in recitals linking classical and modern repertoires, and he received accolades for his two-volume set of recordings, The Unknown Ives and The Light That Is Felt: Songs by Charles Ives.

Daniel Stepner is musical director of the Aston Magna Festival, first violinist of the Lydian String Quartet at Brandeis and a Grammy Award nominee. His notable recording of Ives’s Five Violin Sonatas, with legendary pianist, John Kirkpatrick is considered a “must” for Ives enthusiasts.

A pre-concert talk at 3:30 p.m. will offer insights into the world of Charles Ives, who led a double life as an insurance executive and innovator by day, composer by night and weekends. A reception follows the concert, in the Meeting House Gallery.

Deborah Rentz-Moore

The Meeting House is at 154 Hartsville-New Marlborough Road. Tickets are $20 or $25 for members of the New Marlborough Village Association. For reservations, call 413.229.2785 or email info@newmarlborough.org.

Music and More, founded and directed by Harold Lewin and sponsored by the New Marlborough Village Association, is marking its 22nd year as a late-summer destination for world-class chamber music, jazz, theatrical and literary events in historic New Marlborough. Performances are on Saturdays at 4:30 p.m., from Aug. 3 through Oct. 5. For Music and More event information visit Music & More. To join NMVA, visit NMVA or call 413.229.2785.