Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

RED BANK: TWO NIGHTS OF CLASSICAL MUSIC

ron-levy-7967005Piano virtuoso Ron Levy (above) guests with the Monmouth Symphony in a season-capping event, Saturday night at the Count Basie. Up on Tower Hill, baritone Gerald Metz (below) is among the vocal artists teaming up in HEAVENLY HARMONY for the Monmouth Civic Chorus.

gerald-metz-5253288

There are surely worse dilemmas to be had in this world; more difficult choices to be made. But for local lovers of the classical repertory, this weekend poses quite the pickle, with two Red Bank venues hosting must-see events presented by a couple of the best-loved borough-based performing arts organizations.

It begins up on Tower Hill this Friday, when the Monmouth Civic Chorus continues its current season at First Presbyterian Church with a display of Heavenly Harmony that draws from the “visionary and triumphant” work of some choral music masters.

Then, on Saturday, down on Monmouth Street, the Monmouth Symphony Orchestra concludes another successful season at the Count Basie Theatre with an eclectic concert highlighted by an audience favorite that’s been called the ultimate musical marital aid and audio aphrodisiac.FRIDAY: Making themselves at home once again inside Tower Hill Church on Harding Road — a setting that much closer to heaven — the Monmouth Civic Chorus and artistic director Ryan Brandau aspire to even greater heights with Heavenly Harmony, an evening that spotlights the talents of special guests and veteran vocalists alike.

Featured on the 7:30 p.m. program are Five Mystical Songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day by Georg Handel, Lay a Garland by Robert Pearsall, and Choral Dances from Gloriana by Benjamin Britten. Joining the MCC for the occasion are soprano Jennifer Giere — an internationally acclaimed artist who performed the Karl Jenkins “Mass for Peace” The Armed Man (with an arrangement by Brandau) for the Pope’s recent visit to New York — and Eric Plutz, official organist at Princeton University.

Featured members of the Chorus include a pair of tenors: Warren Moe of Navesink, and Red Bank’s own James Scavone (perhaps even better known as the executive director of Red Bank RiverCenter) — and two accomplished baritones: Shore area stage star Kenneth Wasser of West Long Branch, and longtime MCC member/ administrator Gerald Metz of Freehold, a retired teacher in the Middletown school system who’s performed with orchestras under the direction of Leopold Stokowski, Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa and others (binge watchers may be interested in knowing that Gerald and wife Susan are the parents of Rebecca Metz, a recurring player in Showtime’s Shameless and Hulu’s Cam Girls).

Tickets for MCC’s Heavenly Harmony ($30 adult, $27 senior, $25 group, $5 student) and additional information are available at (732) 933-9333 or monmouthcivicchorus.org.

SATURDAY: When director Roy Gussman and the MSO take the Basie stage for their 8 p.m. season-capper, they’ll welcome guest soloist Ron Levy for a program that showcases the keyboard virtuoso on W.A. Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 14, K.499 and P.I. Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 3, as well as the Overture from The Judges of the Secret Court by Hector Berlioz.

The sweet spot of the evening’s performance is filled by Bolero, Maurice Ravel’s magnificent music machine that became a surprise best-seller (in an almost plain-brown-wrapper manner) in the wake of the Bo Derek box office boffo “10.”

The concert is preceded at 6 p.m. with an End of Season Gala Reception in the Basie’s Carlton Lounge, and at 7:15 p.m. by the always-illuminating introduction and artist interview conducted by MSO’s bass trombonist and program annotator Tom Avakian. Reserve tickets ($35; seniors $30; kids $5) right here.

 

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
Partyline
TRUMP FAN VICTORY STROLL
A Donald Trump supporter went for a stroll down Broad Street Wednesday morning in a celebration of his win over Vice President Kamala Harris ...
ON ELECTION DAY, REAL FOG TOO
Commuters wait for their train to emerge from the fog in Red Bank on Election Day 2024.
SUNDAY AT LUCIDA
Artist talk at Galerie Lucida with owner and curator Michael Mazzeo and the photographer and co-curator Gerald Slota. Sunday afternoon, Nove ...
REMODEL HALLOWEEN
  Despite undertaking an amazing renovation, the Red Bank family that lives at this home at South Street and Pinkney would not miss out ...
Spooky Celebrations on South Street
Happy Halloween – South Street Style. –Original before GPT– Happy Halloween-South Street Style.
MARIGOLDS FOR DAY OF THE DEAD
Marigolds were the most popular item at Floreria La Orquidea at 192 Shrewsbury Avenue over the past few days as folks bought up the flowers ...
TRICK OR TREAT DJ
A DJ rocks Deforrest Avenue from the front porch of Edgar and Carly Deronde as trick or treaters flock to the street on Halloween night. (ph ...
HALLOWEEN HAIRCUT
Rigo's barber shop on Shrewsbury Avenue always goes all out. Luis Lego gets a Halloween haircut.
T-REX ON RIVER STREET
Looks like a T-Rex is amuck on River Street (photo by Partyline contributor Chris Havens)  
Mysterious Creatures Parade Around Red Bank Charter School
Lots of strange creatures, like this green dragon, emerged from the Red Bank Charter School this morning and paraded around town! (photo by ...
HALLOWEEN SUNRISE
Halloween sunrise over the Navesink River.
SALON CELEBRATES TEN YEARS
Red Bank's L Studio salon throws a bash for its tenth anniversary.
ICE BOAT JACK O’ LANTERN
The ice boat emblazoned Red Bank borough seal in jack o’lantern form, at the jack o’ lantern drop at Riverside Gardens Park Thur ...
NEW MURAL TAKES SHAPE
The leaves aren’t the only thing getting a splash of color this Fall. On Shrewsbury Avenue, a vibrant mural is in process, adorning bo ...
Spectacular Autumn Sunset at Warwick Gardens
Autumn Sunset in Red Bank – Warwick Gardens on Pinckney Avenue. (photo by Partyline contributor Adam Kaplan)
EYES ON YOU
Huge eyeballs in a front yard in Red Bank. (photo by Partyline contributor Jeff Frieri)
VIDEO: RED BANK HALLOWEEN PARADE
 
MURALIST BRIGHTENS TACO SHOP
  Jim Fitzmaurice paints a new mural on the side of International Mexican Grocery  (which is not a grocery but an eatery very popular ...
BIG MOON AND BIG WIN FOR RBC
Football and a Full Moon: Taken around 7:30 PM on Friday, October 18 at Count Basie Field in Red Bank. The Red Bank Catholic football team d ...
HUNTER’S MOON LIGHTS UP THE NAVESINK
The full Hunter’s Moon over the Navesink River Thursday night. (photo by Partyline Contributor Terri Franco)