On Stage: Serafin Ensemble featured the clarinet at Arden Gild Hall show

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times

On March 10, there will be a groundbreaking concert at the Arden Gild Hall (2126 The Hwy, Arden, Delaware, ardenconcerts.com).

The concert is “Serafin Ensemble: The Classic Clarinet – Works by Beethoven, Mozart, Compo.”

The show marks the moving forward of a partnership between the Serafin Ensemble, promoter Ron Ozer and the Arden Gild Hall.

The concert also features a world premiere by Delaware composer Peter Compo – “Trio for Viola, Violin, & Piano.”

The evening’s other numbers are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Clarinet Quintet” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Clarinet Trio.”

Performers include Joseph Velez, clarinet; Eric Pritchard and Kate Ransom, violins; Amadi Azikiwe, viola; Guang Wang, cello; and Read Gainsford, piano.

Serafin Ensemble, “The Serafins,” is a group of internationally acclaimed performing artists devoted to collaborative chamber music performances of unconducted repertoire.

Serafin Ensemble takes its name from master violin maker, Sanctus Serafin, who in 1728 crafted the violin currently played by Serafin founder and artistic director, Kate Ransom.

The ensemble shares with audiences performances of great masterworks and lesser-known works for an unconducted ensemble of two to eight players. Occasionally, larger works or solo works are included in their programming.

The individual roster artists of Serafin Ensemble have been heralded around the globe for concerts and recordings, been acclaimed in the press, and received international prizes and awards.

“We started working with Peter last year,” said Ransom, during a phone interview Wednesday afternoon.

“I initially met him when I was the President of the Music School of Delaware and he returned a violin he found when one of his neighbors passed away.

“Peter is very passionate about music. He eventually joined the Board at The Music School. He helped the Serafins with their outreach at the Cab Calloway School.”

Compo comes from a multi-generational family of musicians in New York. He is a composer, scientist, corporate veteran, and author of “The Emergent Approach to Strategy.”

After earning a doctorate in Chemical Engineering from City College New York, Compo spent 25 years at E.I. DuPont working in both commodity products and tech ventures.

He held leadership positions in marketing, supply chain, product, and business management. He was also corporate lead for integrated business planning.

Early on, he came to the conclusion that creativity is a Darwinian process. It was a belief reinforced by seeing the same adaptive patterns in all of his endeavors — from business and pure science to music and technology.

After a quarter-century at DuPont, Compo opted to work full-time on writing, developing the theory of creativity and innovation, and returning to his musical roots.

One of the results of his return to music was “Trio for Viola, Violin, & Piano” – a piece that will have its world premiere at a venue that is just over a block away from his home in Arden.

“Peter has about three or four career paths – corporate strategy, writing books and composing music,” said Ransom. “He’s a real Renaissance Man.

“He’s retired now and he decided to put his creative energy into composing. He told me he had two flute pieces, and he wanted flute and violin instead of two flutes. I told him we could put it in in a program at Arden.”

According to Compo, “This year, the Serafin Ensemble is premiering a substantial new piece of mine — a trio for viola, violin, and piano — a rare chamber music combination.

“It is a thrill for me to have these top players, Amadi Azikiwe, Kate Ransom, and Read Gainsford perform this challenging, but dare I say, fun, three-movement trio here in Arden.

“Oh yeah, the larger ensemble will also play a little of those long-hair cats — Beethoven, Mozart — maybe you’ve heard of them.”

Bringing classical music to the comfortable venue in Arden seems to be well-received project.

“Kate was pretty persuasive,” said Ozer, during a phone interview Wednesday evening from his home in Arden where he has lived since 1995.

“I figured there was a pretty good audience for classical music in Arden. It also gave Gild Hall audiences an opportunity to hear unamplified music.

“Also, Peter is a friend of mine. He lives on my street in Arden. We’re both very close to the Gild Hall.”

Now, Gild Hall audiences will have the rare opportunity to hear a piece of music performed in public for the first time ever.

“I get a sense of his jazzy elements – little riffs, flourishes,” said Ransom. “There is a lot of underlying structure to the piece — a lot of recognizable motives. It’s classical with a jazzy accent.”

The other two pieces will be Mozart’s “Clarinet Quintet” and Beethoven’s “Clarinet Trio.”

“Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in A-major, K.581” is unquestionably a timeless musical masterpiece. Written in 1789, it was the first composition written for clarinet and string quartet.

The work was written as a showpiece for Mozart’s friend and fellow Freemason virtuoso clarinetist Anton Stadler.

It found an unexpectedly wide audience when it was featured in the final episode (1983) of the television series “M*A*S*H.”

“This is one of the most glorious pieces of chamber music ever written for clarinet,” said Ransom, who pursued post-graduate chamber music study at The Juilliard School with Robert Mann and holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in violin performance from Yale University and University of Michigan, respectively.

“It’s as perfect piece as you’ll ever find. It’s like an opera without actors. A jovial rondo closes the piece.

“Beethoven: Clarinet Trio is just a delightful piece by Beethoven – and one of his early compositions. The clarinet is the lead voice, cello is bass and piano is the glue.”

Video link for “Trio for Viola, Violin, & Piano” — https://youtu.be/Y5bWdVuWuMg.

The show at Arden Gild Hall on March 10 will start at 7: 30 p.m.

Tickets are $29.

With Ozer as the promoter, the lineup of March and April shows at Arden Gild Hall features Donna the Buffalo on March 12, Oneida/Carlton Melton/Terry Gross on March 20, Patrick Watson – Uh Oh Tour w/ La Force on March 21, The Tisburys, Mothman Properties, Ripe Enough on April 10 and “Laurie Kilmartin: An Evening of Comedy” on April 11.

“I got involved with the concert series here at the Gild Hall 23 years ago,” said Ozer. “We do about 20-25 shows a year.

“I do work all the shows, but I don’t book every show – only about 75 percent of them. I now work full-time doing the booking at Elkton Music Hall.”

The Elkton Music Hall (107 North Street, Elkton, Maryland, www.elktonmusichall.com) is a relatively new live music venue.

It is a 300-cap venue located 60 miles from both Baltimore and Philadelphia, just off the I-95 corridor.

Upcoming shows at the Elkton Music Hall are “Louisiana Calling: Sonny Landreth Band & The Iguanas” on March 5, “Joyride – 80’s Mixtape Live — Ladies of the 80’s” on March 6, Total Mass Retain — Yes Tribute on March 7, California Guitar Trio with special guest Tim Motzer on March 11, Stanley Jordan with special guest E. Shawn Qaissaunee on March 12, Patterson Hood and John Moreland on March 13 and Sue Foley on March 14.

Ozer is also the promoter of a special show on March 15 at The Queen (500 North Market Street, Wilmington, www.thequeenwilmington.com).

The venue in downtown Wilmington will present Gary Numan.

One of the founding fathers of synth pop, Numan, who also featured in Tubeway Army, has influenced countless artists with his constantly evolving form of dystopian electronic rock music since the late 1970s.

Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org) will host Brandywine Ballet Spotlight Performance & Fundraiser on March 8 and Dueling Pianos with The Philly Keys on March 11.

Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http://www.kennettflash.org) is hosting Katie Henry on March 6 and The Legendary Kennett Flash Open Mic with Todd Chappelle on March 8.

On February 26, the Colonial Theatre (227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, thecolonialtheatre.com/events) will host “SOLAS 30th Anniversary Tour” on March 8.