Season Opener: Fall Lawn Pops & Jazz!
Saturday, Sept 13, 2025 at 3pm
On the Lawn
Grounds of First Church
75 Main Street, Farmington, CT
Rain location – Indoors at Porter Memorial Hall, adjacent to the lawn.
This program will be free of charge, with donations gratefully accepted.
Introducing a new program of Chamber Music, String Orchestra and Jazz. Join us for this members-led program, coordinated by Gail Reynolds.
Performances by:
FVSO STRING ENSEMBLE, with guests Michael Reynolds, piano. James St. Pierre, percussion
RESONANT WINDS
SYNERGISMUS
FVSO Jazz Combo
FVSO STRING ENSEMBLE, led by Gail Reynolds, is the core of FVSO. Gail is principal viola of FVSO. During her career as a music educator, she has led the string program in Glastonbury, CT. and served as District String Coordinator for the Wallingford Public Schools. She has served as an adjudicator and guest conductor for many regional festival orchestras and has been a member of MENC, ASTA, NEMFA and the FVSO Board of Directors.
Resonant Winds is a collective of local professional musicians dedicated to exploring the vast repertoire of woodwind quintet music. A successor group to “Tropical Winds” — a woodwind quintet founded by Peggy Hartman in South Florida — Resonant Winds have performed concerts throughout CT in local libraries, churches, and for various social functions.
SYNERGISMUS (Millie & Randy Calistri-Yeh) is the premier violin-cello duo of Southern Connecticut. Its members, Millie and Randy Calistri-Yeh, live in Killingworth CT and have been playing together for over 30 years in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Synergismus offers an intriguing mix of classical and popular music, many of which are our own original duet arrangements.
The FVSO Jazz Combo was formed by FVSO clarinetist Bob Abraham, with members of FVSO in the spring of 2024, for inclusion at FVSO’s June outdoor concert. Initially envisioned as an interlude program during intermission, the combo returned in June 2025 as an integral part of the program. Many of the musicians are long-time members of the orchestra who enjoy exploring programming beyond the symphonic repertoire.
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem, “A German Requiem”
Saturday, November 8, 2025 at 3pm
Christ Church Cathedral, Hartford
Sarah Callinan, soprano
Greg Flower, bass
with The Hartford Chorale
Jack Anthony Pott, Artistic Director
Presented without intermission
Annual Holiday Pops
Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 3pm
Farmington High School, Farmington (location subject to change)
This hour long family friendly program features soprano Lisabeth Miller and sing along carols.
Presented without intermission
Classical Concert: Strauss & Tchaikovsky
Saturday, March 7, 2026 at 3pm
Hoffman Auditorium, University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford
Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1
Oved Rico, horn
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 3 in D major, “Polish”
Presented without intermission
Janet Fantozzi Memorial Concert
Saturday, May 16, 2026 at 3pm
Hoffman Auditorium, University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford
WILLIAMS: Premiere & Commission 2025
COLERIDGE-TAYLOR: Petite Suite de Concert, Op. 77
COLERIDGE-TAYLOR: “Danse nègre. Allegro assai” from African Suite, Op. 35
DVORAK: Symphony No. 6 in D Major
Presented with intermission
Annual Lawn Pops: Happy 250th Birthday America
Saturday, June 6, 2026 at 6pm
5pm – Picnicking begins
Lawn at First Church, Farmington
Rain Location: TBD
Key: Star Spangled Banner
Copland: Variations on a Shaker Melody
Berlin: God Bless America
Ward: America, The Beautiful
Sousa: Stars & Stripes Forever, The Thunderer, Liberty Bell
Williams: Star Wars Suites
Additional music by FVSO Jazz Combo