Academy Concerts present program in Tarentum on October 5
“ACADEMY CONCERTS” Series presents its first concert in the 2025-2026 season, hosted by Central Presbyterian Church in Tarentum on Sunday, October 5th at 2:00 PM.
PITTSBURGH, PA, September 29, 2025 (PittsburghNewsWire.com) — Academy Concerts, led by Artistic Director Dr. Warren Davidson, will present its first concert of this season – its 11th – at Tarentum’s Central Presbyterian Church. In this program titled “Friends of Ukraine,” the Academy String Quartet will salute through music, nations that have supported Ukraine in their struggle: Spain: Joaquin Turina La oracion del torero, Czech Republic: Bohuslav Martinu Serenata #2, Sweden: Wilhelm Stenhammar Allegro, Germany/ Austria: Beethoven Opus 18, #4, in C minor. In addition to these colorful works, the concert will feature a Ukrainian piece, Vasyl Barvinsky’s profound Elegy.
A special collection will also be taken to support Ukrainian children who have lost a parent or parents to the war. Those donations will be sent to Ukraine by the VOVK Foundation.
The 2025-26 season of Academy concerts at Central Presbyterian Church includes this opening Fall concert on October 5th, then three additional programs to round out the season – one for the holidays on December 14, another on March 15, 2026, and the final concert for of the season on May 10, 2026.
In the December 14th program, the fabulous soprano Katy Williams, a frequent guest artist with the Pittsburgh Symphony orchestra, joins the members of Canzona (Nicholas Will, organ, and Warren Davidson, violin) for a concert attuned to the Advent season.
The program centers on the fascinating variety of musical settings of the Ave Maria, both familiar and unfamiliar, from Italy and Austria to the Philippines. the performance also includes a violin sonata by Vivaldi, an organ Noel by Louis-Claude Daquin, and the glorious O Holy Night by Adolphe Adam.
On March 15th, 2026, the Academy String Quartet will present “Domestic and Imported Lyricism.” In this program, the famous Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings is matched with his friend George Walker’s Lyric for Strings. A fake Haydn piece – the well- known Serenade, actually written by Roman Hofstetter – is put in perspective with a real Haydn quartet, his Opus 9, #2, in E flat major. In its first performance anywhere in a string quartet version, the Academy String Quartet will also perform a charming, quirky piece by American composer Elaine Fine, titled “In an Old House in Paris,” based on Ludwig Bemelman’s beloved book, Madeline, with Donna Penoyer as narrator.
The concert on May 10th, 2026, features violinist Andrew Giordano and pianist Nathália Kato Giordano. This husband-and-wife team perform together as Duo Pragma and take special pleasure in introducing audiences to wonderful but little-known repertoire. In this performance, in addition to their usual violin/piano works, they will be joined by violinist Warren Davidson for La Bella Cubana by José White and the Suite Antique by Albert Stoessel.
All concerts this season begin at 2:00 pm.
“Academy Concerts” is the name of an existing effort to provide more live chamber music concerts venues to our region, in places where they are scarce. “Bringing great music to neighborhoods,” these concerts are being presented in many different locations in the greater Pittsburgh area.
“We’re pleased to be able to bring these fine musicians to our neighborhood” remarks Dave Rankin, Director of Community Engagement for FCP Servies, the outreach arm of Tarentum’s Central Presbyterian Church. “Concert go-ers would have to travel into the city to enjoy this live music if it were not for these programs,” continues Rankin. “To have this live music right in our own backyard is amazing!”
Music lovers can learn about all the Academy Concerts – at Central Presbyterian in Tarentum, at Old St. Luke’s in Carnegie, at Allegheny Unitarian on Pittsburgh’s Northside, and at First United Methodist Church in Greensburg – on the Academy Concerts website: academyconcerts.org
At Central Presbyterian, concert admission is free, donations are welcome, and refreshments follow every program. Central Presbyterian Church is located at 305 Allegheny Street in Tarentum, PA 15084. For more information, call (724) 224-9220, or visit CentralPresbyterianChurchTarentum/Facebook, facebook.com/AcademyConcerts, or CPCTarentum.org.
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