March 19, 2024

Poplar Hill Music Series Continues

Poplar

The Music From Poplar Hill series will feature flutist Ceylon Mitchell in concert in September.

Tickets are on sale now for the event at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Valley Lee. It will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 pm Friday, September 17.

A star flutist in the Washington, DC, area as well as a prominent arts educator, advocate, and entrepreneur, Mr. Mitchell’s performance will be amazing, organizers say. He will be performing with an ensemble of gifted young musicians bringing their passion for the Brazilian choro and Afro-Latin chamber music to St. Mary’s County.

Tickets may be purchased here.

An educational program for youth will follow the next day, click here for details.

Mr. Mitchell, a 2021 Strathmore artist in residence, says, “the Brazilian Choro is an intriguing, imaginative, and beautiful music. This musical genre, birthed in Rio de Janeiro in the mid-19th century, represents the height of Brazilian nationalism. Like the national dish feijoada, where a lot of different ingredients are thrown in to make the stew, choro has its roots in African syncopated rhythms and European dance forms, including the lundĂș, the polka, and the habanera, creating a unique blend. Traditionally, the common instrumentation includes the flute playing ornamented melodies, the guitar and cavaquinho providing improvised harmonic and rhythmic accompaniment as well as the melodic counterpoint, and percussion, usually pandeiro, providing the rhythmic backbone aligned with the solo melody. The improvisatory nature of choro mirrors that of North American jazz and virtuosity is a hallmark of the style.”

He is also a music educator, with a private studio in Maryland, and serves as the Potomac Valley Youth Orchestra flute choir conductor. He previously served as a teaching artist with the Boston Flute Academy and as the director of the Boston University Flute Ensemble.

The church is at 19167 Poplar Hill Lane in Valley Lee.

The concert is sponsored in part by St. Mary’s County Arts Council.

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