Riverfolk presents community orchestra concert May 21

Riverfolk's next community concert will be both live and virtual and performed in the auditorium at Manchester Jr./Sr. High School

The Riverfolk Music & Arts Organization will host a Community Orchestra Concert at 7:30 pm on May 21.

The "Riverfolk Community Orchestra" concert will feature a partnership with the Dexter Community Orchestra, including members of their winds and brass sections donating their time to play in the orchestra. Local freelancers will fill out the rest of the group, including several area Manchester residents and Riverfolk board members.

Carol Palms and Elaine Osterbur will represent the Riverfolk board; Riverfolk Cultural Arts Strings (CAS) staff in the orchestra include Colleen Wang and Daniel Winnick. Also participating will be Manchester alumni and resident Cozette Cecconie, and Manchester resident Alden Rohwer, who has been involved in CAS since its inception in 2012.

Conductor, Dr. David Schultz, currently enjoys a diverse career as a conductor, violist, and composer based in Dexter. Dr. Schultz is the music director and conductor of the Dexter Community Orchestra, the Livingston Symphony Orchestra, and the Mason Symphony Orchestra. He has previously conducted as associate conductor of the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, conductor of the
Jackson Youth Symphony Orchestra, and conductor of the contemporary-music ensemble Musique 21 at Michigan State University.

The opening piece of the concert, "The Dream Deferrred," for strings and harp, composed by Evan Williams. The Dream Deferred was commissioned by the activist orchestra, The Dream Unfinished, for their 2017 season “Raise Your Hand." The title of the work and its movements are inspired by the Langston Hughes poem “Harlem” in which he asks, “What happens to a dream deferred?”

The concert will also feature Tchaikovsky's "Serenade for Strings" and Violin Concerto.

This partnership with Manchester Community Schools is part of an effort to continue to focus on promoting and supporting Music and The Arts in our community. Superintendent Brad Bezeau explained, "In order for us to continue to be a destination community and a destination school district, it is essential that we continue to support and develop our students in these areas to show them all of the possibilities that exist for them in our community and in our world. The Riverfolk Music and Arts team continues to offer these larger scale events, in addition to some very unique and smaller opportunities for our students to benefit from more directly, as we look to continue to confirm and build our partnership with them and other community organizations.

"The schools are at the center and foundation of our community, and music and art is an essential piece to that foundation."

There will be a limited capacity audience of 200 individuals in person at the high school. The concert also will be livestreamed on Crowdcast. For tickets — both virtual and in person — go to Riverfolkmusicandarts.org.

This event is sponsored by Arts Midwest US Resiliency Fund, Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, and the Manchester Community Schools.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.