Violinist Tessa Lark to play different concerts at Respectable Street, Norton
Classical music has been energized in recent years by the arrival of young musicians who fearlessly and unapologetically cross over to different genres, sometimes to meld the two into a new blend.
This week, the Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach will show area audiences what that’s all about with two concerts by the Kentucky-born violinist Tessa Lark, who will play them on successive nights: One at the Norton Museum of Art, and the other at Respectable Street, the indie-rock Clematis Street night spot.
On Wednesday night, Lark is joined by bassist-composer Michael Thurber for a program called “Bach to Bluegrass” at Respectable Street.
“This duo is a place for us to explore our varied musical influences,” Lark said in a prepared statement. “I grew up in Kentucky playing bluegrass long before I started my career as a classical musician, so I’ve always longed for an outlet to integrate my American music roots into my performances.”
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Thurber and Lark, who released an album called “Invention” in 2018, promise a program of Bach, jazz, folksongs and bluegrass, along with improvisations, something also important to Lark, a graduate of the New England Conservatory and the Juilliard School.
Thurber, who grew up in Indiana and studied at Juilliard, has played with Jon Batiste’s house band on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," and written music for theater productions including those of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
On Thursday, Lark will be joined by pianist Peter Dugan at the Norton as the Visionary Duo. The concert features works by Debussy (his late Violin Sonata), the Belgian violinist-composer Eugène Ysaÿe (the “Rêve d’enfant” and the Sonata No. 4 for solo violin), and the “Recititavo and Scherzo-Caprice” of the Austrian violinist and composer Fritz Kreisler.
Lark, who was nominated for a Grammy award in 2020, also will play her own “Ysaÿe Shuffle.” Lark’s newest album, “The Stradgrass Sessions,” was released earlier this year and includes guests such as Batiste and bluegrass mandolinist Sierra Hull.
Dugan is the host of “From the Top,” the National Public Radio program featuring young classical musicians.
Wednesday’s Lark & Thurber concert starts at 7:30 p.m. at Respectable Street, 518 Clematis St. Thursday’s concert at the Norton, 1450 S. Dixie Highway, begins at 7 p.m.
“Our goal is to share a range of experiences and musical styles with the Palm Beaches community,” said Ahmad Mayes, executive director of the CMPSB, in a prepared statement. “Not only does this kind of innovation and audience engagement help ensure a thriving future for our organization but it helps sustain the chamber music art form globally for audiences to come.
“There are few who do it better than the three artists we have lined up,” Mayes said.
Tickets for the Respectable Street concert are $15. The Visionary Duo concert is $75. For more information, visit chambermusicpalmbeach.org.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Violinist examines her folk, classical sides in two West Palm concerts
