
Classical music connoisseurs in and around Red Bank have long known that the borough has stood as the county’s capital for quality orchestral, chamber and choral concert offerings — all of it accessible minus the gown-and-tux price tags of the big-city halls and theaters. A big reason for that is the Monmouth Conservatory Of Music, whose monthly series of weekend afternoon concerts (in the casual and quite convenient setting of their downtown White Street all-purpose room) resumes on Sunday, September 21, with a recital of rare pedigree.
Going up at 4 pm and presented free of charge, the concert is a mother-son duet featuring pianist Nina Kogan and violinist Daniel Miklis — respectively the daughter and the grandson of legendary violinists Leonid Kogan and Elizaveta Gilels. Kogan often performed with her Ukrainian-born father — one of the Soviet Union’s most celebrated international musical ambassadors — and she extends the family business into a new generation with this program of chamber selections with her son. Bring a free-will donation to the door — and take it around the corner for more.
On Monday evening, September 22, Middletown Township Public Library continues the duo-format excitement on the greater Green with a 7 pm performance of classical Spanish and Argentine music. It’s a special setting featuring the talents of two members of the Red Bank-based Monmouth Symphony Orchestra — guitarist Keith Calmes and flautist Marjorie Koharski. The founder of the Festive Flutes troupe joins her fellow music educator colleague in a MTPL-produced program for which no registration is required (although prompt attendance is recommended).