EVENTS

Internationally acclaimed recording artist, Robert Secrist, will spotlight works from his current album in progress "From Here to Antiquity" featuring a select repertoire that spans 500 years of music from classical literature to Broadway and beyond.

Following the concert, Observatory staff will provide guided tours of the night sky (weather permitting) through our many telescopes on site, including the apochromatic Zerochromat telescope in our historic observation dome.

$30 General Admission, $25 Observatory Members, Children Under 16 FREE. Attendance to this event is limited - reserve your seats early!

PROGRAM

Luis Milan (1500-1561) - Three Pavanas

J.S. Bach (1685-1750) - Gavotte & Rondo (bwv 995), Presto (bwv 995)

Mauro Giuliani (1780-1840) - Sonata in C Major

Heitor Villa Lobos (1887-1959) - Preludes & Etudes

Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909) - Asturias

Herman Huffield - As Time Goes By

Richard Rogers - Blue Moon

Henry Mancini - Moon River

Johnny Mandel - The Shadow of Your Smile

Jerome Kern - Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Richard Rogers - The Sound of Music

Harold Arlen - Over The Rainbow

(arrangements by Robert Secrist)

ROBERT SECRIST, award-winning classical guitar virtuoso and internationally acclaimed recording artist, has impressed audiences and critics alike with his captivating lyric and dynamic musicianship since he made his New York debut at Carnegie Recital Hall. New York Times journalist, Raymond Ericson, has hailed Secrist as a performer with, “a natural grace that never loses sight of a rhythmic base … extraordinarily poetic.” His teachers have included celebrated Italian guitarist, Oscar Ghiglia, world renowned Russian violinist, Leonid Bolotine, and the legendary Spanish master, Andres Segovia.

Secrist graduated from the Mannes School of Music with the “best performance award,” the only guitarist in the school’s history to receive this honor. His artistry earned him an appointment to the faculty immediately upon graduation. Holding the further distinction of being the first North American to win the IV International “Alirio Diaz” Competition in Caracas, Venezuela, Secrist received high personal praise from the esteemed composer/guitarist Laurindo Almeida. His recording credits include two albums for the Musical Heritage Society label garnering praises from Stereo Review --- “Secrist seems to make the music come more alive with effective phrasing, dynamics, technical wizardry and panache.”

Under his own recording label, founded in 2017, BE NICE OR LEAVE RECORDS, Secrist is building a unique library of projects which include the titans of the classical guitar repertoire, yet go above and beyond the realm of traditional literature to include one-of-a-kind arrangements of 20th and 21st century music of diverse genres and geographies. Secrist's all-Bach album entitled, “BACH TO THE COUNTRY” features two transcribed Lute Suites; Prelude, Fugue & Allegro; plus one of the most demanding masterworks in the classical guitar literature --- the incomparable Chaconne from Violin Partita (BWV1004). Currently, Secrist is working on an album entitled, “FROM HERE TO ANTIQUITY” featuring classical guitar works spanning 500 years of music, featured in this performance..