Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra Presents FOLK AND GOREY

Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra (CCCO), the region's newest professional orchestra, presents its debut season finale concert Folk and Gorey, on Sunday, April 14, 3 pm, at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 533 Main Street, Rt. 28, Harwich Port. The orchestra is conducted by Music Director Matthew Scinto. A reception follows the concert with an opportunity to meet the musicians. Conductor Scinto, Edward Gorey House Curator Gregory Hischak and Composer-in-Residence Francis Snyder offer a pre-concert discussion at 2:15 pm.

The triumphant bookend on its celebrated inaugural season, CCCO's concert Folk and Gorey features Composer-in-Residence Francis Snyder's final commission with the orchestra during his tenure. The work is a collaborative project with the Edward Gorey House, a Cape Cod house museum celebrating the American author, illustrator, playwright, set and costume designer. Snyder's commission features Gorey's short story The Doubtful Guest, a collection of fourteen rhyming couplets short two-line poems penned in the same meter.

Gorey's The Doubtful Guest collection, a vaguely sinister comedy of manners expressing the story of a solemn, mysterious, outdoor creature. The being is dressed rather ordinarily in sneakers and a scarf, appearing on a winter night at a family's Victorian home, never to leave again! Gorey's eerie and charming illustrations accompany the verses, making for an enjoyably strange read that entertains all ages. The iconic book published in 1957, the same year as Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat, and was influential in altering the future texture of children's books. Though it really isn't a children's book, it implies a theme of adolescence versus adulthood, and is vaguely autobiographical.

The Edward Gorey House celebrates and preserves the life and works of Edward Gorey, a home he purchased in 1979. The 200-year-old sea captain's home, inhabited by Gorey himself, displays his diverse and extraordinary talents and reflects his distinct personality on Yarmouth Port Common, Cape Cod. After Gorey's death in 2000, the house was converted into a museum dedicated to Gorey's life and works, as well as his devotion to animal welfare, raising awareness about local and national animal advocacy issues. The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust supports organizations for which Gorey expressed a fondness in his lifetime, including funding for numerous animal welfare organizations. The house and its annual exhibits open to the public for the 2019 season just prior to this performance on April 11 and remain accessible through December annually.

Celebrated Tenor Joshua Collier, hailed as a great Italian tenor on the make by The Boston Musical Intelligencer, is highlighted in Britten's stirring Les Illuminations. Folk music flows through the rest of the program, with works by 20th century composer, performer, educator, and ethnomusicologist B la Bart k and leading Romantic era Norwegian composer and pianist Edvard Grieg.

CCCO's first season Navigations 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.

Tickets to Folk and Gorey are $30 advance purchase general admission, $35 at the door, $15 for students ages 12 through college age, children under 12 are admitted for free. Tickets are available at capecodchamberorchestra.org, by calling 508-432-1668, or at the door by cash or credit card. For more information visit capecodchamberorchestra.org, email info@capecodchamberorchestra.org, or follow Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra on Facebook and Instagram.