Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra Holiday Concert to Support Alzheimer’s Family Support Center

Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra (CCCO), the region’s newest professional orchestra, presents a holiday season benefit concert A Mostly English Holiday, on Sunday, December 15, 3 pm, at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 533 Main Street, Rt. 28, Harwich Port. Proceeds from the performance benefit in part the Alzheimer’s Family Support Center of Cape Cod. A pre-concert talk by Conductor Matthew Scinto will be held at 2:15 pm.

The CCCO takes a trip overseas with more beautiful English music for strings. Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis was inspired by this English Renaissance composer, a work for double string orchestra featuring many of our orchestra members. Antonio Vivaldi, the famous composer of the Four Seasons also gained much recognition from his concerti “L’estro armonico” (The Harmonic Inspiration); we will perform his passioned Concerto Grosso in G minor. Welsh composer Grace Williams, a student of Vaughan Williams, composed her “Sea Sketches” in 1944, comprising of five movements depicting various moods of the sea. And of course, be prepared to be serenaded by Sir Edward Elgar himself.

“I’ve always found English music for strings to be filled with nostalgia, warmth and hope, feelings that I find fitting for a holiday season,” shares CCCO founding Artistic Director and Conductor Matthew Scinto. “Highlights include Williams’ Sea Sketches, exploring the familiar moods of the sea through a little-known Welsh composer. Fantasia on a Theme combines the spirit of two composers who remarkably lived nearly 400 years apart – famous English Renaissance composer Thomas Tallis and Vaughan Williams, a prolific composer who found his voice at the turn of the 20th century.”

The Alzheimer’s Family Support Center is a non-profit organization serving families dealing with Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related diseases throughout Cape Cod. The non-profit organization’s mission is to identify and provide free personalized care planning and pragmatic counseling to the 10,000 families, individuals and caregivers on Cape Cod living with Alzheimer’s and other dementia-related illnesses to help them navigate the complexities and the challenges they face across the span of these diseases, while providing a research-based family and community-centered social model. Services include counseling, personalize care planning, community education, support groups, events and activities, information resources, referrals, outreach, dementia training and family and community centered care.

“We are quite proud to offer this concert to benefit the Alzheimer’s Family Support Center,” said Scinto. “This volunteer organization is providing free and necessary services to caregivers on Cape Cod, and deserves the support of our entire community.”

CCCO features four concerts in Season Two: Towards the Sea, 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. The season opener, Haydn the Pirate, performed in October, and is followed next by by A Mostly English Holiday, An Afternoon of Chamber Music on Sunday, February 16, and Towards the Sea, featuring a special commemorative piece honoring the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage to New England, on Sunday, April 19.

Committed to artistic integrity and excellence, Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra’s mission is to connect the diverse arts communities and individuals of Cape Cod inclusively. By collaborating with other disciplines of art and culture, the orchestra aims to create unique concert experiences while providing exciting, enriching and memorable orchestral music. Featuring living composers is at the forefront of the orchestra’s mission; bringing audiences closer to music and the beauty found across Cape Cod communities, positioned as an essential and educational element to each performance program. Other repertoire emphasizes the championing of works of living composers, as well as the music of the classical canon.

Tickets to A Mostly English Holiday are $30 general admission, $40 reserved seats in the balcony or on the floor, and free for all students and children. A VIP package, including one reserved seat, a complimentary CCCO t-shirt and pint glass, and a meet and greet with conductor is available at $100. Tickets are available at capecodchamberorchestra.org, by calling 508-348-9202, or at the door by cash or credit card, to venue capacity.

For more information visit capecodchamberorchestra.org, email info@capecodchamberorchestra.org, or follow Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra on Facebook and Instagram. To learn more about Alzheimer’s Family Center of Cape Cod, visit alzheimerscapecod.org.

Program and Artist Background:

WILLIAMS: Sea Sketches

ELGAR: Serenade for Strings

VIVALDI: Concerto Grosso “L’estro armonico”

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

About Dr. Matthew Scinto, Conductor
Matthew Scinto is an emerging conductor based in Cape Cod, where he currently serves as the founder and conductor of the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, and Interim Music Director for the Civic Orchestra of New Haven. Mr. Scinto received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting from Boston University, where he was a student of Stefan Asbury and David Hoose and twice received the Conducting Department Award for Excellence in Conducting. Mr. Scinto has studied conducting at the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center, and was invited back again in July 2018. While at Boston University, Mr. Scinto served as the Assistant Conductor of the Boston University Symphony, Chamber, and Opera Orchestras where he covered and conducted in numerous concerts and opera productions, including Boston University’s recent production of Le Nozze di Figaro in 2017. Matthew Scinto has worked with conductors Bramwell Tovey, Ken-David Masur, Stefan Asbury, Diane Wittry, Daniel Hege, Marin Alsop, David Effron, and Markand Thakar. He has conducted such orchestras as the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Symphoria, the New Haven Civic Orchestra, the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra, the Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestras, the Indian Hill Sinfonia, the Miami Music Festival Orchestra, the Syracuse University Symphony, and the Boston University Symphony and Chamber Orchestras.