Music on Sunday brings back popular favorites

For their 15th season, the organizers of the Music on Sunday chamber music series are bringing back audience favorites.

“Everything is returning by popular demand,” said Jack Cohan, a member of the Music on Sunday program committee.

“When you want a varied series and you want it to be the best quality that you can have, this is the way to go,” he said.

The series of five concerts takes place at Greenville’s Temple of Israel, a venue often lauded for its superb acoustics. The recently completed 14th season saw the largest audiences in the history of Music on Sunday.

Opening next season on Oct. 25 will be the American Chamber Players, perhaps the most frequent returning guest on the series.

The ensemble was founded by its artistic director, Miles Hoffman, a violist who lives in the Upstate. The group features five musicians with international careers.

“They always present an imaginative program and one of superior quality,” Cohan said.

Marta Felcman, a leading Argentine classical pianist, performs on Nov. 15. Felcman, who has been based in New York City since 1983, is an internationally recognized soloist and chamber musician.

“She’s been here several times,” Cohan said. “I think this will be her fourth performance with us.”

The only new ensemble appearing on the series next season will be 9 String Theory, featuring the Atlanta-based domra player Angelina Galashenkova and the classical guitarist John Huston. The two will perform on Dec. 6. (The domra is a long-necked Russian string instrument of the lute family with a round body and three or four metal strings.)

“They’re brilliant, virtuoso performers,” Cohan said of 9 String Theory. “They do a varied program, from classical to Romanian gypsy and Spanish music.”

The Greenville Brass Quintet returns with percussionist Sherwood Mobley on Jan. 31. The ensemble, which includes the Greenville Symphony Orchestra’s principal brass players, has brought lighter programs of Broadway and film music to the series in recent years.

“The Greenville Brass Quintet has a devoted following in town,” Cohan said.

The series concludes its season on Feb. 21 with two local favorites, soprano Brittany Hogan Alomar and bari-tenor Seph Stanek, accompanied by Cohan on piano.

Alomar and Stanek grew up in Greenville and both enjoy thriving careers in music. Alomar has sung in several opera and theater productions and has a prominent voice studio in Greenville. Among her varied accomplishments, Alomar sang the National Anthem at Wrigley Field for the Chicago Cubs.

Stanek, for his part, is a versatile performer in his fourth season with the famed New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players. He has appeared in nine off-Broadway shows and has been cast in a starring role in “Akhenaten: The Musical,” slated for Broadway in 2016.

Alomar and Stanek have performed twice with Cohan for capacity audiences on the Music on Sunday series, offering programs of mostly Broadway material.

“They brought out the biggest crowds both years,” Cohan said. “They have a local following and people love the Broadway stuff. They’re also dear friends and sing so well together.”

Season tickets for the Music on Sunday series are $65 each. Single tickets at the door are $20. Since the series began, student tickets have been offered for only $5 for each concert.

The Temple of Israel is located on 400 Spring Forest Rd. All concerts take place on Sundays at 3 p.m. For more information, call 864-292-1782.

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