Maria Howell and Noel Freidline kick off the Live Music Is Better series on Saturday.Blue Ridge Community Theater opens its Live Music is Better concert series with two performances this weekend at the theater, 2591 E. First St. in Blue Ridge, Ga.
Maria Howell and Noel Freidline kick off the series on Saturday, June 10, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 and $50 for its special cabaret stage seating.
Howell is a singer and actress known for sultry, soulful music. As an actress, she has worked in stage productions, sitcoms and for Hallmark television.
Her most recent recording is a collaboration with the Noel Freidline Quartet, “Old Devil Moon,” which includes a list of traditional favorites that showcases her love of swing and sultry ballads.
Freidline is a pianist, vocalist, writer and arranger, who has opened for many notable jazz artists. As a composer, he has written music for ESPN, Walt Disney Co., Sports Center and Monday Night Football.
Bergonzi String Quartet
“Wolfie! The Mozart Dialogues” featuring the Bergonzi String Quartet will be presented Sunday, June 11, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $22.
One of the greatest musicians in history comes to life in this two-act program that features the quartet in collaboration with the Blue Ridge Community Theater. Mozart comes alive through his own words, and those of his friends and family, in combination with his music.
The quartet is comprised of Scott Flavin and Evija Ozolins, violins; Chauncey Patterson, viola; and Ross Harbaugh, cello.
Flavin is professor of violin at Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, where he is also resident conductor and artistic coordinator for the Henry Mancini Institute. Since 2002, he has been concertmaster of Florida Grand Opera and the Miami Bach Society.
Ozolins is concertmaster for the Palm Beach Symphony Orchestra and assistant concertmaster of the Florida Grand Opera.
Patterson is a chamber musician, teacher, soloist and orchestral player. He spent 15 years with the Miami String Quartet and is currently an interim professor of viola at Frost School of Music and solo viola of the Florida Grand Opera.
Harbaugh is professor of cello and chairman of the Department of Instrumental Performance at Frost School of Music. He was a founding member of the New World Quartet, and has served as a judge for the Fulbright Competition for Graduate Music Study Abroad.
For more information: 706-632-9223.