World-renowned flutist and Marion resident Wendy Rolfe will join Mattapoisett pianist Janice Weber for “A Flute Spectacular: Celebration of the Americas,” a benefit recital Sunday, October 25, at the First Congregational Church of Marion.
“Wendy Rolfe on flute and Janice Weber on piano are exceptional artists on the national and international stages,” said Carolyn Gilmore for the Congregational Church’s Music Committee. “We are thrilled to host them at our historic church.
The concert will feature music from Latin and North America, including works performed on the Ecuadorian indigenous quena flute and the Brazilian pífano, usually made from wood or bamboo. The program will include compositions by New England composer Amy Beach, African American composer William Grant Still and Brazilian composer Chiquinha Gonzaga, among others.
“I hope people will come and enjoy a small slice of the sounds of different parts of the Americas,” Rolfe said in an interview with The Wanderer. “I chose music that is very melodic and captivating to listen to.”
Rolfe, an internationally recognized performer, educator, and recording artist, has built a career spanning classical, Baroque, and contemporary music. She has performed with ensembles including Boston Baroque, the Handel and Haydn Society and Toronto’s Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. She also teaches flute at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Her fascination with global instruments stems from early exposure to music beyond the traditional Western repertoire, thanks to a music teacher in Lincoln, Massachusetts, where she grew up
Every culture has its own type of flute,” Rolfe said. “The sound quality and sound characteristics are different depending on material and aesthetic. I was interested in historical flutes because of the different colors and tone qualities. There is a wide world of flutes to explore.”
Many years ago, a trip to Brazil with her husband for a UNESCO music meeting ignited her interest in South American music. There, she met Brazilian musicians, exchanged ideas and performed works that introduced her to new styles.
“I came to love that music,” she said.
Since then, she has performed and taught at festivals and universities worldwide, including in Brazil and Ecuador, where she has created lasting musical relationships with local performers and composers.
Rolfe continues to perform recitals and give master classes abroad frequently. In fact, she recently returned from the Perla del Pacifico flute festival in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and will travel to Brasilia, Brazil, after the Marion concert to attend a festival organized by the Brazilian Flute Association.
She sees cross-cultural exchange as central to musical development.
“We have many musical languages, so when we play music from other cultures, we need to learn other cultures,” she said.
Rolfe pointed to the ways musicians borrow from and adapt other traditions, creating new styles over time. The recital’s varied repertoire will let audiences hear some of those influences, including music written for traditional Latin American instruments.
It will also feature Still’s “Summerland,” a lyrical work originally written for string quartet and arranged for flute and piano. Rolfe said she is looking forward to performing it, along with a lively sonatina and works by Ecuadorian composers.
Weber, a Mattapoisett pianist and artistic director of the South Coast Chamber Music Series, has known Rolfe for many years. The two first played together as fellows at the Tanglewood Music Festival, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer fellowship program. They later worked together at Berklee College of Music and the Boston Conservatory.
“She’s a great chamber musician and collaborator,” Rolfe said.
The church sanctuary is well suited to the performance, she added. “It’s intimate and has a nice high ceiling. There is a lot of wood, which really lends itself to some ensembles and the organ.”
Rolfe thanked the church’s music committee and Pastor Eric Osterday for supporting community performances.
“I’m grateful to the music committee for supporting music in the community,” she said. “We’re fortunate to have churches that really want to bring music into their spaces.”
“A Flute Spectacular: Celebration of the Americas” is sponsored in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Marion Cultural Council. Concert proceeds will support Marion Congregational Church music programs, including adult and children choirs led by organist/choirmaster Beverly Peduzzi as well as our Meetinghouse Bells, a 10-member handbell choir directed by Karen Sanborn. Refreshments will be served following the program.
The First Congregational Church is at 28 Main St. in Marion and is wheelchair accessible. Tickets are $20 and are available at the church office, Penny Pincher’s Exchange in Marion, the Marion General Store, Friends Market in Rochester, and online at marionfirstchurch.org. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the door.
By Laura Pedulli