Classical choice Cellist, pianist to perform at BC3
BUTLER TWP — Cellist Robin Hasenpflug and pianist Elizabeth Etter will perform in concert at 2 p.m. March 1 at the Succop Theater at Butler County Community College, as part of the Local Artists Mini-Series.
Hasenpflug of Butler is the assistant principal cellist of the Butler Symphony Orchestra. She is a member of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra in Madison, Wis., and performs regularly with regional orchestras including the Erie Philharmonic and the Wheeling Symphony. In Germany, Hasenpflug has performed with the Pfalztheater Opera Orchestra.
Etter lives in Meadville and performs with the Erie Chamber Orchestra, which is conducted by Butler Symphony's Matthew Kraemer. She has performed on many stages throughout the United States including the Chautauqua Institution, Cleveland Museum of Art, and Carnegie Music Hall.
With the March 1 concert, Hasenpflug said she hopes to “spread the love and appreciation of hearing live music. I am so excited to play classical music for an audience in Butler. All too often, classical music gets a bad rap ... the snobby stigma, etc. I am really hoping there are folks in the area who venture in to a classical concert for the first time. I know they will really enjoy it.”
Hasenpflug and Etter have performed together before.
Hasenpflug said Etter was searching for a cellist in early 2014 and found her on recommendation from the personnel manager of the Erie Philharmonic. Etter was putting together a chamber music concert called “Gifts of Gratitude” that would be performed in Meadville, Hasenpflug said.
They also have performed as part of the Holter Music Festival in Italy this past July.
The program for the March 1 concert at the Succop will include a tango by Piazzola, Beethoven's “Sonata No. 4 in C Major for Cello and Piano Opus 102 No. 1,” Chopin's “Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor Opus 65,” and DeFalla's “Suites Populaire Espagnole.”“What I strive for as a performer is for my music to reach inside people and help turn on emotions. We have to be so professional all the time in life, so much so that we are almost not allowed to feel anything. My hope when I play is that I can get inside people's hearts and allow them to feel joy, sadness, anger ... and just let them connect to that, if even for a little while.”Tickets for the performance at the Succop Theater are $10, or $8 for senior citizens.For reservations, call 724-284-8505 or visit www.bc3.edu/theater. Tickets also will be available at the door.Local ArtistsThe Local Artists Mini-Series will conclude its 2014-15 season with a performance by the Tornado Big Band, students in grades seven through 12 in the Butler School District performing jazz, Latin, rock and classic big band tunes, at 7:30 p.m. April 30.Performing ArtistsBC3's Performing Artists Mini-Series still has two shows in the season: “Unsinkable Women: Stories and Songs from the Titanic with Deborah Jean Templin,” April 17; and The National Players in “To Kill a Mockingbird” May 2.PhilharmonicThe Pittsburgh Philharmonic Mini-Series will finish the season with “A Time to Shine,” showcasing the winners of the Philharmonic's Young Artist Concerto and Young Artist Composition competitions, on March 20; and “A Story to Tell,” on May 15.
