Wednesday, February 28 at 7:30 PM

Take a sunny Mediterranean adventure right here in Philadelphia! Join us for a lively evening of music of and inspired by Italy in the sanctuary of the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia with guest conductor Kristin Ditlow on the podium.

Our concert opens with a pair of works from the Baroque sound world featuring the harpsichord. First, we present Ottorino Respighi's first suite of Ancient Airs and Dances, modern orchestrations of lute melodies from the Italian Renaissance. Next is a concerto grosso by Arcangelo Corelli, whose Op. 6 influenced many other composers, highlighting our string principals, Rachel Segal, Carlos Rubio, and Noelle Grand. The concert concludes with Felix Mendelssohn's “Italian” Symphony No. 4, a joyful homage to the composer's travels through the region, reflecting on its awe-inspiring art and picturesque countryside.

Program: 

Ottorino Respighi: Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 1

Arcangelo Corelli: Concerto Grosso, Op. 6, No. 3

Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4

Location + Accessibility: 

The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia: 2125 Chestnut St. Philadelphia, PA 19103.

The sanctuary is located on the first floor and is wheelchair accessible. There is a wheelchair ramp at the Van Pelt Street entrance.

Tickets:

Tickets are $25 for general admission seating. They can be purchased in advance at the ticket link below or at the door.

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About Kristin Ditlow:

Conductor, pianist and coach Kristin Ditlow is enjoying a performance and teaching career throughout the United States and abroad. She has appeared in concert throughout North America, mainland China, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Austria, and the Czech Republic. She has conducted at the Eastman School of Music, the University of New Mexico, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Southwest, Amarillo Opera, Raylynmor Opera, Salt Marsh Opera, Robb Composer’s Symposium, Permian Basin Opera, and Opera Steamboat. She will make her Italian conducting debut this summer in Urbania, Italy, under the auspices of Fondazione Internationale Opera (FIO) and the Pergolesi Foundation and Festival.

Ditlow is also native to Pennsylvania and trained at Settlement Music School (and later taught there) with the late concert pianist Sandra Carlock. While living in Pennsylvania, she won the Abraham Poole Memorial Fellowship and the Katherine Garner Award at Settlement Music School before leaving to train at Oberlin. She also has served on the music staff at the Curtis Institute of Music and Opera Philadelphia.

Her solo debut piano CD, released in 2023, Passages, has received national accolades. Harry Musselwhite of the Rome News-Tribune wrote that “the recording … is sonically breathtaking and her playing ranges from intimate pianistic thoughts to thundering room-shaking outbursts. She is a consummate interpreter.” In a review by musicologist Ralph Locke, Boston’s The Arts Fuse remarks, “I have played this album repeatedly for weeks … [the performances] are deeply affectionate: I sometimes felt I could hear Ditlow thinking about the (silent) words, noticing a surprising modulation, or responding to the tension-and-release within a musical phrase.”

Ditlow holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Westminster Choir College, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Eastman School of Music, with further training at the Tanglewood Music Center, San Francisco Opera Center (Merola), and the Franz Schubert Institut. She holds the titles of Associate Professor of Vocal Coaching at the University of New Mexico and Music Director of the University of New Mexico Opera Theatre.