From the Top at the Ocean City Music Pier

PBS Radio's From the Top, hosted by Christopher O'Riley, will feature local musicians this week on a program that was recorded earlier this year with the Ocean City Pops orchestra at the Ocean City Music Pier. The nationally syndicated show that promotes young people playing classical music, can be heard on WRTI Temple University's station (Ocean City on WRTQ 91.3)

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wrti/arts.artsmain?action=viewArticle&sid=17&id=1875169&pid=208.

This program, which is broadcast on Saturday afternoon and again on Friday at 7 pm, can also be heard over the internet at their web site,http://www.fromthetop.org/radio/thisweek, and is archived so it can be heard later at any time.

The show includes the Ocean City Pops, under the direction of William Scheible, and solo performances by sixteen year old violinist Amy Semes, from Broomall, Pa., and trumpeter Jacob Hernandez, 18, from Philadelphia, as well as Scheible, who also plays trumpet.

Christopher O'Reily gives Ocean City a good plugs and Amy's 102 year old great uncle, who lives in Ocean City, recalls patronizing the Ocean City Music Pier as a child, and is a big fan of classical music and opera. They talked with him and got him to admit the secret of his longevity - a Scotch a day, and listening to opera.

Amy has two sisters who also play the violin, which was selected as the instrument of choice by her parents because it was easy to carry around. She tells the story about how once, when she got hurt, her sister had to substitute for her at a performance that she too had to play, so her sister tied her hair back for once performance and let it down for another, and people didn't know the difference.

Fernandez, a protege of S, acknowledges that his friends come to his performances, but don't particularly care for the classical music, some of which is a century old.

If you go to the web site, besides listening to the show, there's also a short videotape of the Polaris Quartet, from Dayton, Ohio, rehearsing before they go on, giving a vibrant and spontaneous performance on the boardwalk outside the music pier.

As noted on the From the Top web site:

Show 239 | Ocean City, New Jersey
Recorded: Wednesday, August 31, 2011

This week, From the Top is at the Music Pier in Ocean City, New Jersey, joined by the Ocean City Pops under the direction of William Scheible. You'll hear a 16-year-old violinist play Wieniawski with the orchestra and an 18-year-old pianist play Bach. Also, the junior division winners of this year's Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition join Christopher O'Riley to perform Dvořák and a teenage trumpeter teams up with Pops conductor William Scheible to play the music of Vivaldi.

Performers and repertoire:
Violinist Amy Semes,16, from Broomall, PA performs I.Allegro Moderato from Violin Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op 14 by Henryk Wieniawski

Trumpeter Jacob Hernandez, 18, from Philadelphia, PA and Ocean City Pops conductor and trumpeter William Scheible perform I. Allegro from Concerto for 2 Trumpets in C by Antonio Vivaldi

Polaris Quartet (violinist Jenny Lee, violin, 17 from Bloomington, IN; violinist Billy Fang, violin, 18 from Dayton, OH; violist Demi Fang, 15, from Dayton, OH; and cellist Josh Halpern, 17, from Dayton, OH) performs I. Allegro, ma non tanto from Piano Quintet in A major, Op.81 by Antonín Dvořák

Pianist Kevin Sun, 18, from Carmichael, CA Performs I.Overture from Overture in the French Style, BWV 831 by Johann Sebastian Bach

Cellist Austin Huntington, 17, from South Bend, IN Performs I. Andante – Allegro vivace from Sonata No. 4 in C major, Op. 102 by Ludwig Van Beethoven