Bethel United Church of Christ is presenting a concert featuring the Second City Brass quintet on Saturday, December 5 at 7:00 p.m. as part of the church’s Music@Bethel Concert Series. Since 1999, the intimate and acoustically pleasing sanctuary of Bethel has hosted some of the world’s most accomplished singers and musicians from Chicago and beyond. The December concert will feature music composed by Bach, Praetorius, Jobim, Leroy Anderson, Jule Styne and more. The family-friendly programming will conclude with a sing-a-long of Christmas favorites.
Second City Brass (or SCB) was founded in 2008 and is dedicated to promoting the excitement and enjoyment of live brass music through performances, workshops and recordings. The quintet is in high demand and has performed in a number of prominent Chicagoland concert series, including the Barrington Area First Friday Concert Series, the Northbrook Public Library Concert Series, the Skokie Public Library Concert Series, the Glenview Public Library Concert Series and at many area schools, churches and colleges.
Instrumentalists include Benjamin Cord, trumpet, Liz Deitemyer, horn, Angela Golden DeStefano, trumpet, Dan Sartori, trombone and Cynthia Stark, tuba.
SCB is proud to feature local talent.Each member of the group is either a music teacher, studio musician, freelance artist and/or part of a community orchestra. Cynthia Stark is Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Elmhurst College as well as a current member of the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra. York High School’s own alumnus and former music teacher Curt Merrill has been contracted on several occasions to arrange for the group. The December concert will include Merrill’s arrangement of Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “Dindi.”
“The Second City Brass quintet is a talented, spirited and tight-knit ensemble that performs a wide range of music for brass. They are equally at home playing J.S. Bach or Vince Guaraldi. Their concerts are both entertaining as well as educational,” said Merrill.
Bethel United Church of Christ is located at 315 East St. Charles Road in Elmhurst. Tickets are available online through www.musicatbethel.com or by calling 630-279-4040. Ticket prices are adults $20, seniors $18 and students $5. A family pass is available at $45 for 2 adults and up to 5 children. Parking is free; use the Sandburg parking entrance from St. Charles Road, or enter from Huntington off Poplar Street. The church is handicapped-accessible.