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Second Concert of the 156th Season
The Public Concert Series of the Portland Rossini Club in its 156th Season
Sunday, October 4th, 2026 at 3 p.m.
Jellyfish by and performed by Sydney Patten
Mother Goose Suite by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) performed by Josie DiPhilippo, piano and Jonathan Prak, piano
Perpetual Motion by Karl Bohm (1894-1981), Polish Dance by Edmund Severn (1862-1942) and Czardas by Vittorio Monti (1868-1922) performed by Morgan Peppe Stevens, violin* and Eric Peppe, piano
Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53, “Waldstein” by Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) performed by Anthony Ayer, piano*
*Guest
Please click here for the October 4th Flyer and October 4th Program
Performers Biographies
Anthony Ayer, piano:
Anthony hails from Lisbon, Maine, and has been playing the piano for over 10 years. He is currently a
junior at the University of Southern Maine where he studies with Dr. Laura Kargul. Among his favorite composers are
Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms.
Josie DiPhilippo, piano:
Josie is a musician from South Portland, Maine and has been studying piano for 21 years. She received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in piano performance with Dr. Laura Kargul at the University of Southern Maine. Currently, she holds a studio of 30 piano students at 317 Main Community Music School. She is also the co-music director at the First Congregational Church UCC in South Portland. Josie has worked with organizations such as Opera Maine, the ChoralArt, Opera in the Pines, and the Monteux Music Festival. She was the associate music director for USM’s production of Nine (2022) and their production of Into the Woods (2023). Josie has been a choral accompanist in the Scarborough school ystem since 2019. Honors include first prize in the Hanna Powell Competition, winner of the USM Concerto Competition (2018, 2020, and 2022), first prize in the Ocy Downs Competition, first prize in the Pine Tree Piano Competition, winner of the USM Youth Ensemble Scholarship Competition, recipient of the Frank Glazer Award and recipient of the Kotzschmar
Memorial Trust Scholarship.
Sydney Patten, piano:
Sydney began studying piano at the age of six to please her mother. She very quickly fell in love with the instrument and with classical music. At Skidmore College, she minored in music with a concentration in piano performance. She also began to compose music, not sharing her compositions until she had graduated from college. While living on the North Shore of Massachusetts, she began composing music inspired by birds at Crane’s Beach. During that time, she served as the Vice President of the American Women Composers. Her greatest inspirations for composition continue to be wildlife and sea creatures in Maine and especially on Mount Desert Island. Some of her favorite subjects have been piping plovers, eagles, seaweed, jellyfish and great white sharks. She continues to study classical piano music which also influences her work. Sydney lives with her husband, Bill Patten and their dog, Patapouf in Falmouth Foreside, Maine. Sydney is passionate about doing whatever she can for climate. She is currently producing concerts for climate to inspire audiences to make changes in their lives.
Eric Peppe, piano:
Eric graduated from the USM School of Music with three degrees in music performance, where he
studied with Laura Kargul. He has also studied privately with Jeffrey Kahane and Boaz Sharon, and participated in master
classes Jerome Rose, Igor Kipnis, and Veronica Joachim. Eric collaborates with musicians of all types, from students to
professionals, performing classical, chamber, and theater music. He is the organist at First Parish Gorham and the
accompanist for the Gorham Community Chorus. He is also a professional piano tuner-technician and a recording engineer,
specializing in on-location classical recording. He lives in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont with his wife Helen and their dogs, horses, donkeys, and chickens. One of his favorite things is to perform with his accomplished daughter, Morgan Peppe Stevens.
Morgan Peppe Stevens, violin:
Morgan is a part-time professional violinist with eighteen years of experience as a performer and student. She has attended Bard Conservatory, New England Conservatory Preparatory School, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, and the New England Suzuki Institute. She has studied with Luosha Fang,Yi-Wen Jiang, Kelly Barr, Robert Lehmann, Sergiu Schwartz, David Bowlin, Clorinda Noyes, and Erica (Brown) Shipman, and has attended workshops with the Portland String Quartet and the DaPonte String Quartet. She has performed as a soloist with the White Mountain Bach Festival Orchestra, the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, and the Kotzschmar Organ, served as the concertmaster of the Maine All-State Orchestra and the Portland Youth Symphony Orchestra, and toured Eastern Europe with the NEC Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. She is a two-time recipient of the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ Scholarship and took first place at the Maine High School Concerto Competition in 2018. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from
Pennsylvania State University and lives in Lewiston, Maine.
Jonathan Pekdey Prak, piano:
Jonathan Prak has been playing the piano since he was 6 yrs old and currently studies with Dr. Laura Kargul at the Osher School of Music at USM. He is currently studying for his Graduate Degree in Performance. He was a featured soloist for the USM Annual Scholarship Gala (2014, 2021) and was selected to perform for the USM Honors Recital (2014, 2015). He has won numerous competitions and scholarships such as the Bob Crewe Foundation Scholarship, Federal Pell Grant, Chester Cook Scholarship, Newell A. Augur Scholarship, Anne Gannett Piano Scholarship, Lucia Wright Piano Scholarship (2015-2016), Brian McGorrill Memorial Scholarship, and Hanna Powell Scholarship. Jonathan participated in masterclasses under the instruction of Andrius Žlabys, Steve Pane and Yuri “Lily” Funahashi on works for two pianos, and Grammy-nominated cellist Matt Haimovitz for chamber duo for a colleague’s composition. Jonathan has been a recurring performer for the Winter Solstice concerts as a part of Vigorous Tenderness, known for the “Piano Burning” by Annea Lockwood.
Live Music Location of Concerts:
Portland Conservatory of Music, 28 Neal Street, Portland, Maine
General Admission: $20 [61 and under]
Seniors: $15 [62 and older]
Students: Free of charge
Associate Members and Subscribers: Free of charge
For more information: 207-318-7465
The Portland Rossini Club holds 7 concerts per season. If you regularly attend two or more concerts, you may wish to become a dues-paying member.
Associates and Subscribers pay $40/yr and Senior Subscribers pay $30/yr. You can become a member by paying dues online using PayPal. Click Here.
Wheelchair Accessible
PCM is wheelchair accessible to the first floor, providing access to the Performance Hall, some of the practice/teaching studios, and a handicap accessible restroom. Plans are underway to construct a lift, which will allow access to the lower floor. All of the seats in the Performance Hall are ADA accessible.
If you would like to pay ahead for the concert, you may use this Rossini Club QR Code to pay for tickets. Your name and quantity of tickets will be collected and available at the concert door for check-in.
You may also use this to donate to the club at any time. Thank you.
Parking at Portland Conservatory of Music
There is a small parking lot at PCM. Street parking is available for up to 2 hours. Free parking is available on neighborhood streets.
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