PEORIA -- A dreary, rainy afternoon was easy to forget at the St. Martin Chamber Players concert on April 19. The music was delightful, a cream pie for the senses.
The chamber orchestra, conducted by Todd Schifeling, played in a lovely venue, the First English Lutheran Church, of polished wood and stained glass with perfect accoustics.
The music, beginning with a sonata from from the 17th century by Georg Philipp Teleman, transported the audience back in time. It was followed by Corelli, Mozart, Handel, Hayden, and Dykes.
The full, rich sound of the musicians, which numbered almost two dozen in various combinations, filled the auditorium.
After an intermission, the chamber orchestra played the amusing Finale from Haydn's Farewell, Symphony 45, in which the musicians gradually leave the stage until only two violinists remain.
Then an interesting modern piece, The Mojo-ic Flute, arranged by Wesley Sedrel, presented a mad mixture of modern atonal, classical, jazz and rock music, with two vocalists. The vocal pieces, which included "California Dreaming," would have benefited from stronger voices. But the musicians were superb, as usual.
-- Elaine Hopkins
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