McGRATHPR.com – Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra (CCCO), the region’s newest professional orchestra, announces Season Two: Towards the Sea, a 2019-20 season of four performances. The orchestra is conducted by Music Director Matthew Scinto.
“Towards the Sea represents the real ‘DNA’ of our second season, beginning with a commissioned project based on the life of pirate ‘Black Sam’ Bellamy in collaboration with the Whydah Pirate Museum. His story as one of the richest pirates to have ever lived ends dramatically off the coast of Wellfleet, when he and his crew met their demise in April of 1717 aboard the Whydah during a violent storm. I look forward to welcoming composer Sam Wu for this commission with our orchestra”, says Scinto. This look towards the sea four-concert season concludes in April, with a special commemorative piece for the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage to New England. “This historic event shaped the formation of our country and also had a deep impact on the native Wampanoags. Our goal to reflect on the whole story of the Pilgrim’s landing in 1620. It is much more complicated then we tend to accept,” says Scinto.
CCCO’s Towards the Sea is inspired by Scinto’s vision for the future of classical music on Cape Cod. He is fulfilling his mission to collaborate with local Cape individuals, arts organizations, and causes to create a unique concert experience of high quality, enriching, and memorable orchestral music. Featuring living composers is at the forefront of his plans; bringing audiences closer to music and the beauty found across Cape Cod communities.
2019-20 Schedule of Performances
Haydn the Pirate
Sunday, October 20, 3 PM
Pre-Concert Talk with Chris Macort of the Whydah Pirate Musuem, 2:15 PM
Pilgrim Congregational Church, 533 Main Street, Rt. 28, Harwich Port
Join the CCCO in a program featuring the life and story of “Black Sam” Bellamy, who after becoming one of the richest pirates in history, goes down with his crew in 1717 aboard the Whydah during a violent storm off the coast of Wellfleet. Composer Sam Wu and the CCCO premieres a new work depicting this harrowing story. The famous fugitive is musically illustrated by the ‘Mourning’ Symphony No. 44 in E minor of Haydn. The CCCO also performs Sibelius’ reaction to Belshazzar’s Feast, and a selection of music from Jean-Philippe Rameau’s ballet and opera works.
A Mostly English Holiday
Sunday, December 15, 3 pm
Pilgrim Congregational Church, 533 Main Street, Rt. 28, Harwich Port
Ticket proceeds benefits in part the Alzheimer’s Family Support Center of Cape Cod
CCCO takes a trip overseas with more beautiful English music for strings. Ralph Vaughan-Williams’ “Fantasia on a Theme” by Thomas Tallis was inspired by this English Renaissance composer, creating a work featuring many of the orchestra’s musicians. Johann Christian Bach (the son of famed Johann Sebastian Bach), best known as the “London” Bach, reached much success as a composer in England. CCCO performs his “Sinfonia in G minor”. Peter Warlock entertains with his Capriol Dances (1926), the CCCO will take us on a tour of the sea with Grace Williams’ Sea Sketches (1944) for string orchestra.
image by Jean Kirby Photography
An Afternoon of Chamber Music
Sunday, February 16, 3 pm
Pilgrim Congregational Church, 533 Main Street, Rt. 28, Harwich Port
An afternoon of delightful chamber music selections with CCCO! A concert featuring music for strings and winds by Dvořák, Brahms, Mozart and CCCO’s composer-in-residence Cody Forrest.
Towards the Sea
Sunday, April 19, 3 pm
Pilgrim Congregational Church, 533 Main Street, Rt. 28, Harwich Port
CCCO’s Season Two concludes with a special commemorative work for the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s journey to New England. Toru Takemitsu’s “Towards the Sea” (1981) for alto flute (featuring Cape Symphony Principle Flute Zach Sheets), harp, and strings was commissioned by Green Peace for its “Save the Whales” campaign, featuring a movement dedicated to Cape Cod. CCCO also performs Gustav Holst’s cheery and picturesque Green Brook Suite and Mozart’s stormy Symphony No. 40.
image by Jean Kirby Photography
Tickets to all Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra 2019-20 season concerts are $30 general admission, $35 at the door, and free for all students and children. A season pass to all four concerts is available for $100. (Note: season pass excludes the CCCO Summer Celebration performance). Tickets are available at www.capecodchamberorchestra.org, by calling 508-432-1668, or at the door by cash or credit card.
For more information visit www.capecodchamberorchestra.org, email info@capecodchamberorchestra.org, or follow Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra on Facebook and Instagram.
About Dr. Matthew Scinto, Conductor
image by Jean Kirby Photography
Matthew Scinto is an emerging conductor based in Cape Cod, where he currently serves as the founder and conductor of the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, and Interim Music Director for the Civic Orchestra of New Haven. Mr. Scinto received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from Boston University, where he was a student of Stefan Asbury and David Hoose and twice received the Conducting Department Award for Excellence in Conducting. Mr. Scinto has studied conducting at the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center, and was invited back again in July 2018. While at Boston University, Mr. Scinto served as the Assistant Conductor of the Boston University Symphony, Chamber, and Opera Orchestras where he covered and conducted in numerous concerts and opera productions, including Boston University’s recent production of Le Nozze di Figaro in 2017. Matthew Scinto has worked with conductors Bramwell Tovey, Ken-David Masur, Stefan Asbury, Diane Wittry, Daniel Hege, Marin Alsop, David Effron, and Markand Thakar. He has conducted such orchestras as the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Symphoria, the New Haven Civic Orchestra, the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra, the Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestras, the Indian Hill Sinfonia, the Miami Music Festival Orchestra, the Syracuse University Symphony, and the Boston University Symphony and Chamber Orchestras.
About Sam Wu, Composer
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Sam Wu’s music deals with the beauty in blurred boundaries. From Shanghai, China, Wu (b. 1995) earned a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School after receiving a Bachelor of Arts with honors from Harvard University. His teachers include Tan Dun, Robert Beaser, Chaya Czernowin, Richard Beaudoin, and Derek Bermel.
Selected for the American Composers Orchestra’s EarShot Readings, winner of an American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Morton Gould Young Composer Award, Harvard’s Robert Levin Prize, and Juilliard’s Palmer Dixon Prize, Wu was also a recipient of the Society of Composers (SCI)/ASCAP student commission.
Wu’s music has been performed across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. His collaborators include the Melbourne, China National, Shenzhen, Xi’an, Suzhou Symphonies, Sarasota Orchestra, Shanghai Philharmonic, Florida Symphony Youth Orchestras, National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Shanghai International Arts Festival, Sydney University Confucius Institute, Asia Society, members of the Parker and Ansonia Quartets, Princeton Pianists’ Ensemble, Harvard Ballet Company and pipa master Wu Man.
Wu also has been featured on the National Geographic Channel, Business Insider, Harvard Crimson, Yale Daily, Asahi Shimbun, People’s Daily and CCTV, among others.
About Cody Forrest, Composer-in-Residence
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Cody W. Forrest is a composer and educator, fascinated by ineffable music and its ability to forge pathways between souls. His works explore the human impulse to share stories, the interplay of musical dichotomies, and a diverse spectrum of expressivity. Forrest has been commissioned by Dinosaur Annex, conductor Daniel Hege, and the Cochran Wrenn Duo. His music has been performed by Boston Music Viva, the Cassatt String Quartet, and internationally by violinist Léo Marillier. He has received the Florence Price fellowship from the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music, the Classic Pure Vienna International Composition Competition grand prize, an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, and was selected for the 2015 EarShot New Music Readings. In 2016 he served as composer-in-residence for Chamber Music Campania in Varano, Italy. Cody resides in Brookline, and currently teaches at Northeastern University and New England Conservatory. He holds a doctorate degree in Music from New England Conservatory, Master of Music from Syracuse University, Bachelor of Music from University of North Texas, and has studied with Kati Agócs, Malcolm Peyton, Daniel S. Godfrey, Andrew Waggoner, and Cindy McTee.
About Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra
Committed to artistic integrity and excellence, the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra’s mission is to connect the diverse arts communities and individuals of Cape Cod inclusively. By collaborating with other disciplines of art and culture, the Orchestra aims to create unique concert experiences while providing exciting, enriching and memorable orchestral music. Featuring living composers is at the forefront of the orchestra’s mission; bringing audiences closer to the music of modern time, positioned as an essential and educational element to each performance program. Other repertoire champions the works of living composers, as well as the music of the classical canon. For more information visit www.capecodchamberorchestra.org, email info@capecodchamberorchestra.org, or follow Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra on Facebook and Instagram.
