March 5, 2020
N. BETHESDA, MD — Starting Wed. March 25 and in the weeks to come, National Philharmonic will post short pieces recorded by our musicians on social media. The program “Musical Notes” taps into cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s call that musicians—of all levels—around the world join him in offering “Songs of Comfort”.
“As musicians, it is our calling to perform—to delight, to enrich, to move our listeners.” said Piotr Gajewski, National Philharmonic’s music director and conductor. “In the coming weeks, we won’t be able to play as an orchestra or appear live in front of the public. Instead, for the time being, our musicians can film short solos, reaching our audience through social media. And, as we do, we will all look forward to a time when we can again all gather and make music together!”
This week’s “Musical Notes” include Laura Colgate, Acting Co-Concertmaster, performing Smile by Charlie Chaplin. Says Colgate, “We all need to to find something that makes us smile right now, and wigs always seem to bring a smile to my face, hence my backup singers’ colorful new hairdos. Keep smiling y’all”. Colgate’s “Musical Notes” performance along with more National Philharmonic musicians can be found on National Philharmonic’s Facebook , TWITTER and Instagram.
On Friday, National Philharmonic informed its patrons that as a result of the directive from Governor Larry Hogan, the final three performances of the season would be cancelled. Said Jim Kelly, President of National Philharmonic, “The decision to cancel our final concerts of the season was not taken lightly. As the health and welfare of our musicians, staff, patrons and community-a-large are at stake cancelling the season was inevitable. We hope ‘Musical Notes’ provides fun musical selections to warm everyone’s heart during this difficult time.”
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