Listen to music and practice your German

We would like to introduce you to artists from the greater Portland area who will present to you a wide variety of beautiful music, followed by a little Kaffeeklatsch and meeting the artists in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

Sunday, September 12
3:00p.m.
‘Die schöne Müllerin’
(‘The beautiful miller maiden’)
Song Cycle by Franz Schubert on poems by Wilhelm Müller
featuring Christopher Wicks, Baritone,
and Debra Huddleston, pianist.

In this cycle of 20 romantic songs, Schubert describes the wandering, the love, the disappointment and finally the tragic death of a young journeyman who follows a brook to a mill where he finds work. He falls in love with the young miller’s daughter who responds only tentatively because her heart belongs to a hunter. In the end, the young man, in his despair, drowns himself in the brook – the last song is a lovely lullaby by the brook, promising the poor lover peace and eternal sleep.

Christopher M. Wicks, baritone, holds master's degrees in organ and musical composition, and he is a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists. A veteran of several choral groups in this area, including Portland Opera, he has studied voice with Debra Wilkie of Marylhurst University, and Gail Desmarais of the University of Montreal. He is the organist at two churches in Salem.
Debra Huddleston, collaborative pianist, holds a master's from the Hartt School in Connecticut.  She is active as a church organist, accompanist, coach and choral director, with faculty positions at George Fox University and Linfield College. She studied music at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.

Note: the program will be one hour with a brief intermission

The concert is followed by a little ‘Kaffeeklatsch’ where you can meet the artists in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, in the spirit or the original ‘Hausmusik’, a charming tradition whose origins are in Europe, and especially in Germany.

The Society’s piano is in disrepair, and we hope with these series to contribute a little towards the purchase with the proceeds or our performance series. There will be no cover charge; instead pastries and beverages will be for sale, and additional donations will be appreciated.

Please contact Edith with questions and recommendations.