TBT - Rossini's Sins

What do opera, a mass, some gondoliers, and two cats have in common? Well, Rossini, of course!

Yes, today's #throwbackthursday brings us back to the first Thursday night of the 2015 Wintergreen Summer Music Festival, when the Richmond Symphony Chamber Chorus, boas in hand, invaded the Dunlop Pavilion. They performed selections from the Petite Messe Solennelle by Rossini (a piece which is neither petite nor particularly solemn) as well as some other works that the opera composer wrote as part of a set he called "Sins of My Old Age."

The pianist who played some of the most virtuosic accompaniments imaginable was the incomparable Peter Marshall - one of WPA's own Festival Artists. He stepped in at the last minute for an injured pianist, but the chorus was in excellent hands (literally and figuratively). His expert technique was matched only by his sensitive and supportive accompanying skills. (Did you know that Peter is also the pianist for the Grammy-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus?!)

And, if you didn't get enough of the Rossini Petite Messe this summer, the Richmond Symphony Chorus will be revisiting the work in its entirety this Saturday in Richmond at the Alexander Paley Music Festival. The event is FREE and open to the public. Find information here: paleymusicfestival.org

Hopefully, performances like this Saturday's will keep you going until our 2016 Festival!