Rossini Club Event Calendar
Portland Rossini Club Outdoor Concert
We are still active, planning small outdoor concerts for this Summer (and possibly September) and virtual concerts for the later Fall, Winter and (we hope not) Spring.
Enjoy music al fresco with performers from the Rossini Club! We are planning small outdoor concerts for this Summer (and possibly September) and virtual concerts for the later Fall, Winter and (we hope not) Spring.
Our first summer outdoor concert will take place at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 29 at the home of member Ruth Matt in Portland. The audience and performers will be appropriately socially distanced and follow protocols for safety.
Performers include Eleanor Lehman, violin; Ruth Matt, piano; Leah Neuchiller, piano; Barbara Graustein, cello; and Scott Eaton, piano.
The approximately hour-long concert will include a variety of pieces from Bach to Vaughan Williams.
Safety procedures for the concert:
Instrumentalists will play from the porch while audience members will be in the garden (on the lawn) and a few may be seated on the big porch in the shade. You are asked to bring a lawn chair, and wear a mask. You may wish to bring a hat or sun shade, and a water bottle as there will be no refreshments. Also please note there will be no restroom facilities available.
Reserve your spot now!
Suggested donation at the door of $15 for under 62, $10 for 62 and older, and free for students. Handicapped accessible. When you have RSVP’d and been accepted, directions will be sent with parking instructions and a program that you can print out to bring with you.
Rossini Club looks forward to enjoying some music with you.
Photographs from the Garden Concert
Enjoy music al fresco with performers from the Rossini Club! We are planning small outdoor concerts for this Summer (and possibly September) and virtual concerts for the later Fall, Winter and (we hope not) Spring.
Our second summer outdoor concert will take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday, August 26 at the home of member Sydney Patten in Falmouth (come 15 minutes early to set up your chairs). The audience and performers will be appropriately socially distanced and follow protocols for safety.
The approximately hour-long concert will include several instrumentalists performing pieces from a variety of classical composers.
Photographs from the Garden Concert







Violinist Eleanor Lehmann, violist Susanna Adams, and guest cellist John Bennett play Trio in B flat major by Schubert and Haydn, and Serenade in D major, Op. 8 by Beethoven
Guests Jennifer Packard and Iona Hagl sing Motherland and We’re All In This Together
Pianist Jonathan Prak performs Rachmaninoff’s Lilacs and Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2
August 26th Concert Flyer
August 26th Concert Program
Safety procedures for the concert:
Instrumentalists will play from the porch while audience members will be in the garden (on the lawn) and a few may be seated on the big porch in the shade. You are asked to bring a lawn chair, and wear a mask. You may wish to bring a hat or sun shade, and a water bottle as there will be no refreshments. Also please note there will be no restroom facilities available.
Reserve your spot now!
Advanced Registration is required by emailing Susanna Adams.
Suggested Minimum Donation: $10 for the public, free for Rossini and Marston Kotzschmar members
Safety procedures: Wear a mask, put your lawn chair or blanket at least six feet apart from others not in your bubble
Bring: your own chair; something to eat and/or drink if you wish; bugspray; flashlight. No restrooms will be available.
Handicapped accessible. When you have RSVP’d and been accepted, directions will be sent with parking instructions and a program that you can print out to bring with you.
Rossini Club looks forward to enjoying some music with you at our Summer Concert in the Garden.
The Public Concert Series of The Portland Rossini Club
At the home of Barbara Payson, Falmouth, Maine
Sunday, September 13, 2020 at 2 p.m.
Performance Program
Lydia Forbes* and Sydney Patten, piano performing works for violin and piano by William Bolcom and Astor Piazzolla
Works for solo piano by J.S.Bach, Ernesto Lecouna and Ludwig van Beethoven played by Michael Bostock*, winner of the Ocy Downs piano competition
Morgan* and Eric Peppe performing Three Sacred Pieces by Brant Adams for violin and piano
Italian Concerto by J.S.Bach for solo piano played by Steven Blumenthal
To keep the music playing safely, this concert will be outside with a 30-person limit.
Advance registration is required by emailing Susanna Adams.
PRC and MK Club members, and students are free. For the general public, there is a suggested minimum donation of $10 per person payable at the door.
Bring a chair, mask, drinks, bug spray, flashlight, etc. No restroom will be available.
Arrive 15 minutes early to set chair or blanket, for social distancing.
Our Guests
*Lydia Forbes is a member of DaPonte String Quartet
*Michael Bostok is a piano student at Portland Conservatory of Music
*Morgan Peppe is a 2020 graduate of Waynflete School in Portland and is the recipient of a full scholarship at Bard College in New York.
The Public Concert Series of the Portland Rossini Club
150th Season Opening Concert
Sunday, September 20, 2020 at 3 p.m.
To keep the music playing, safely, this concert will be available via Zoom.
Portland Rossini Club Virtual Program
Kimberly Lehmann ,* viola performing Three Short Pieces by Emmanuel Arias y Luna
Mark Braun, piano, playing two Domenico Scarlatti sonatas
Michael Bostock,* piano and Alex Lehmann,* flute, playing Sicilienne by Faure
Mary Johnston Letellier, soprano, performing art songs by Quilter, Debussy, Schubert, and Poulenc
Ruth Matt and Leah Neuchiller, performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, Movement 2 arranged for piano duet
Advanced Registration is required by completing the form below.
Once you register, you will receive Zoom instructions on September 19th for the next days concert.
PRC and MK Club members, and students are free.
For the general public, there is a donation of $10 per person.
Reserve Your Seat for the September 20th Zoom Concert at 3 p.m.:
Rossini Club looks forward to enjoying some music with you at our Zoom Concert kicking off the 150th concert season.
The Public Concert Series of the Portland Rossini Club
150th Season Concert
Sunday, October 25th, 2020 at 3 p.m.
Portland Rossini Club Virtual Program
Selections from the Iris Ensemble’s* performance, which took place on March 8, 2020
Pianist Jonathan Perdey Prak will perform a piano selection by Franz Liszt
John Bennett* will play two movements from Bach’s Cello Suite Number Three
*Guest Performers
John Bennett, cello: Formerly from the San Francisco Bay area of California, John Bennett and his wife relocated to Portland, Maine in 2018. He attended San Francisco State University and California State College, East Bay, and his cello teachers included Margaret Rowell, Irene Sharp, and Lazlo Varga, and studies with Burton Kaplan at his Magic Mountain practice retreats. For many years John taught students of all levels and ages in his private studio, and led workshops and cello ensembles. For 20 years he was the adjunct cello instructor at Pacific Union College and the Paulin Center for the Creative Arts in Angwin, California, where he taught lessons, coached chamber music, and conducted a youth orchestra. At the present John, is teaching at the Portland Conservatory of Music. In addition to teaching, he was a tenured member of the Vallejo and Napa Valley Symphonies, freelanced as much as possible, and performed in chamber music and duo recitals. John’s greatest loves have always been helping and guiding students of all ages and levels achieve their musical goals, and playing chamber music.
Iris Ensemble, which is part of Portland Conservatory’s Girl Singers of Maine, usually meets for one and one-half hours on Monday evenings throughout the school year and is accompanied by David Vernier. These singers must be self-motivated, responsible individuals with a desire to grow and develop as musicians. Their repertoire comes from the finest written for women’s voices and includes sacred and secular; medieval to modern; classical, folk, gospel, and non-traditional modern tunes. Members of Iris Ensemble are very active in school and community events, including sports, theater, and various musical organizations, and devote time to community service. The Iris Ensemble was preparing to travel in April of this year.
To keep the music playing, safely, this concert will be available via Zoom.
Advanced Registration is required, please use the form below. You will than receive Zoom instructions on October 24th for the next days concert.
Portland Rossini Club, Marston-Kotzschmar Club members and students are free.
For the general public, there is a donation of $10 per person.
Rossini Club looks forward to enjoying some music with you at our Zoom Concert in our 150th concert season.