BELFAST — In response to the devastating impact of hurricane Helene that has affected countless families and communities in Western North Caroline, Belfast Chamber Music (BCM) will hold a benefit concert, taking place on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, at 3 p.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 37 Miller Street in Belfast. Admission is free, with donations being accepted for relief programs in Western North Carolina, including the NC Arts Disaster Relief Fund and Mountain Housing Opportunities’ Housing Recovery Fund.

“Witnessing the recent destruction around Asheville, where my family lived for over ten years, has been heartbreaking," said Philipp Elssner, BCM’s artistic director, in a news release. "More than a month after Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, many communities in the region are still without water, power, infrastructure and a regular school schedule. Asheville’s art scene that has powered the region’s economy in recent decades has been destroyed. This concert aims to help artists and those most vulnerable in the area rebuild their lives.” 

The program will feature classical works by Mozart, Berio, Walton, and Puts. Elssner (violin/viola) will be joined by a line-up of artists: Anastasia Antonacos (piano), Fred Edelen (cello), and Lydia Forbes (violin).

Award-winning pianist Anastasia Antonacos has given notable performances around the world as a solo recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestra soloist. She is a faculty member at the University of Southern Maine Osher School of Music and co-founding pianist of the Portland Piano Trio and 240 Strings. Dr. Antonacos is the Artistic Director of Fox Islands Concerts, as well as the Commissioned Composer chair for the Maine chapter of Music Teachers National Association. Her solo CD, Colour is the Keyboard, was recorded and produced by Grammy winner Bob Ludwig of Gateway Mastering Studios.

Fred Edelen has performed throughout the US and Europe on both modern and Baroque cello as orchestral cellist, chamber musician, and recitalist. From 2003–2022 he was Assistant Solo Cellist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and was formerly cellist with the Houston Symphony and Principal Cellist of the San Antonio Symphony. He has appeared as soloist with the Phoenix Symphony, the San Antonio Symphony, and the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, and was a prize winner at the National Society of Arts and Letters Cello Competition.

Lydia Forbes, violin, has performed around the world as a soloist, chamber musician, and, since 2005, as a member of Maine’s DaPonte String Quartet. She has appeared as soloist at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Canada, with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, and with the Northwest Sinfonietta in the U.S.; chamber music festivals include Tanglewood, Bravo Colorado, the Portland Chamber Music Festival, and Encounters with Isaac Stern in Cologne. Additionally, Forbes has performed and toured with Het Zephyr Kwartet, Het Schönberg Ensemble, Ensemble Explorations and I Fiamminghi in Belgium, the Oslo Philharmonic in Norway, and the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam, the Osiris Trio, and L’Archibudelli in the Netherlands. 

Philipp Elssner is a violinist, violist, and music theorist currently based in midcoast Maine. As of June 2024, he is the newest member of Maine’s DaPonte String Quartet. His teachers include Jinjoo Cho at McGill, and Jaime Laredo and Jan Sloman at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He has performed around the US and Canada, and at music festivals including Encore Chamber Music, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival.

Belfast Chamber Music (BMC) was founded in 2024 by Philipp Elssner, a local artist. The goal of BCM is to give a platform to local musicians and invited guests, in order to provide the community with regular access to live classical music. 

For more information about the event, please contact Philipp Elssner at (828) 712-4129 or email belfastchambermusic@gmail.com, and visit: www.philippelssnerviolin.com/belfast-chamber-music/