PROGRAMS, DATES, LOCATIONS

Festival 2025 Overview – A Season of FIRSTS!

Come enjoy 3 weeks of exhilarating chamber music in Delaware in 12 performances by 17 musicians from around the nation and the world. This year’s theme, , “firsts”, includes 7 small ensemble programs, 2 recitals featuring “keyboard firsts” for harpsichord and piano (all in Wilmington), and 3 programs in the charming and historic town of Lewes, Delaware. A special program, “Gypsy Life” will take place in Greenville, DE at Stonegates with a lavish post-concert reception. Festival highlights include pianists Victor Asuncion (Steinway Artist), and Read Gainsford, harpsichordist Gabriel Benton, and 3 programs with mezzo soprano Gina Perregrino (fresh from her debut this season at the Met). Favorite string and wind players from past seasons return, joined by new performers on clarinet, viola, and double bass.

Tuesday 6/10 (Grace) 7pm | Echoes of Old Russia - Shostakovich and Prokofiev
Well-known works by Ukrainian-born Sergei Prokofiev (violin sonata in D Major), and the St. Petersburg native, Dmitri Shostakovich (his famed piano quintet), and his charming, little-known “Five Pieces for Two Violins and Piano”. Enjoy hearing from these “Russian giants” of the last century.
(Asuncion, Pritchard, Ransom, Azikiwe, Wang)

Wednesday 6/11 (Lewes) 7pm | String Splendor – Haydn and Dvořák Firsts
Hear the “Op. 1” from the father of the string quartet (Josef Haydn), and Viola Quintet, Op. 1 by the greatest Czech composer of all-time, Antonin Dvořák. Haydn’s grace and wit and Dvořák’s folksy melodies and rhythms are sure to delight!
(Pritchard, Ransom, Azikiwe, Thomas, Wang)
(this program runs approximately 60 minutes, followed by artists’ mingle)
FREE CONCERT but you must register at https://delawarelibraries.libcal.com/event/14403983

Sponsored by Lewes Public Library and Coastal Concerts

Thursday 6/12 (Grace) 7pm | Keyboard Firsts - Part I (Mozart, Beethoven, Clementi)
Three revealing works make up this one-hour program with no intermission. Hear a Mozart sonata on the harpsichord, echoing the sounds that were in Mozart’s ears. And enjoy early works for piano by Beethoven and Clementi.
(Asuncion, Benton)
(this program runs approximately 60 minutes with no intermission, and is the first of two recitals that focus on “firsts” for harpsichord and piano)

Friday 6/13 (Grace) 7pm | Opus 1 – Haydn, Mendelssohn, Dvořák
Mendelssohn’s first opus, scribed at age 13, is a lovely but rarely programmed piano quartet. Hear it, along with the “Op. 1’s” from the father of the string quartet (Josef Haydn), and the Czech master Antonin Dvořák (his Viola Quintet, in A minor). Mendelssohn’s virtuosity, Haydn’s grace and wit, and Dvořák’s folksy melodies and rhythms are sure to delight!
(Asuncion, Pritchard, Ransom, Azikiwe, Thomas, Wang)

Tuesday 6/17 (Grace) 7pm | Bach to Mozart
Gina Perregrino, fresh from her Met debut, joins the Serafins for glorious arias by Mozart and Handel in a program that also offers a soulful Bach Cello Suite, Telemann Trio Sonata for violin, oboe, continuo, brilliant keyboard sonatas by Scarlatti and more... This is a “don’t miss” for lovers of Mozart and Baroque masters.
(Perregrino, Dee, Velez, Ransom, Azikiwe, Malan, Benton, Murphy)

Wednesday 6/18 (Lewes) 7pm | Bach and Beyond
Enjoy arias by Mozart and Handel, a Bach Cello Suite, the blend of oboe and strings in a Telemann Trio Sonata, and the unique and folksy sound of Marin Marais’ Five Old French Dances for Viola and Harpsichord.
(Perregrino, Dee, Velez, Ransom, Azikiwe, Malan, Benton, Murphy)
(this program runs approximately 60 minutes, followed by artists mingle)
FREE CONCERT but you must register at https://delawarelibraries.libcal.com/event/14403984

Sponsored by Lewes Public Library and Coastal Concerts

Thursday 6/19 (Greenville) 4:30pm | Gypsy Life (special ticket $35)
The Serafins bring on some summer heat with Haydn’s Gypsy Trio, a Czardas, the virtuosic Hungarian Rhapsody by Liszt and the fiery finale from Brahms G Minor Piano Quartet (“Zingarese”). This concert kicks up some fun “Gypsy Style”! SEATING IS LIMITED
(Ransom, Azikiwe, Malan, Gainsford)
(this program at Stonegates Retirement Community runs approximately 60 minutes, and a premium meet-the-artists reception follows)

Friday 6/20 (Grace) 7pm | French Firsts - Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, Saint-Saens, Farrenc
Come hear the light and witty animal caricatures by Saint-Saens (Elephant, Swan, Tortoises) that showcase the Double Bass. Also, his first and only Oboe Sonata. Debussy and Ravel ‘s first opuses are now time-honored works for solo piano you will hear. And what could be more lovely than hearing mezzo, Gina Perregrino sing art songs by Poulenc and Fauré? Louise Farrenc, 19^th Century French composer, penned her first Piano Quintet (with double bass) as her Op. 1. This varied program is full of depth, breadth, wit, and grace!
(Perregrino, Dee, Ransom, Azikiwe, Malan, Mapp, Gainsford)

Tuesday 6/24 (Grace) 7pm | Czech Please! – Dvořák, Smetana, Martinu
Dvořák’s ever-popular “American” Quartet and the rich and evocative Smetana Piano Trio bring masterworks from the most famed Czech composers of all time.
The fascinating and colorful Madrigals for Violin and Viola by Martinu add a bit of spice to this program!
(Grossman, Ransom, Shagidullina, Krueger, Gainsford)

Wednesday 6/25 (Lewes) 7pm | Czech This – Dvořák and Martinu
The rich sonority and compelling rhythmic vitality of these two substantial works bring the range and variety of string ensemble playing into the spotlight. You will hear Dvořák’s beloved “American Quartet”, and Madrigals for Violin and Viola by Martinu. Then - stick around to chat with the musicians!
(Grossman, Ransom, Shagidullina, Krueger)
(this program runs approximately 60 minutes, followed by a mingle with the performers)
FREE CONCERT but you must register at https://delawarelibraries.libcal.com/event/14403985

Sponsored by Lewes Public Library and Coastal Concerts

Thursday 6/26 (Grace) 7pm | Keyboard Firsts – Part II (R. Schumann, C. Schumann, Brahms)
If you ever considered what were the first published works for piano by the Schumanns, you will hear them in this unusual program that offers Robert’s Abegg Variations, Op.1; and, Clara’s Four Polonaises, Op.1. We round out a program of Schumann “firsts” by including the C Major Sonata, Op.1 penned by their beloved friend, Johannes Brahms.
(Gainsford)
(this program runs approximately 60 minutes with no intermission, and is the second of two recitals that focus on “firsts” for keyboard)

Friday 6/27 (Grace) 7pm | Masterful Firsts – Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann
You probably never heard Beethoven’s famed Moonlight Sonata in the first edition version "for harpsichord!" But, in this performance, you will hear it the way Beethoven may have in his day! The grand finale of the 2025 festival brings firsts from great masters – Mendelssohn’s very first String Quartet, and Schumann’s Piano Quintet – a timeless audience favorite will bring uplifting energy to the conclusion of this year’s Serafin Summer Music!
(Grossman, Ransom, Shagidullina, Krueger, Gainsford, Benton)

SSM 2025 Artists

Hal Grossman, Eric Pritchard, Kate Ransom, Julianne Murphy (violin)

Amadi Azikiwe, Adelya Shagidullina, Lionel Thomas (viola)

Charae Krueger, Jacques-Pierre Malan, Guang Wang (cello)

Douglas Mapp (double bass)

Gina Perregrino (mezzo soprano)

John Dee (oboe); Joey Velez (clarinet)

Victor Asuncion, Read Gainsford (piano)

Gabriel Benton (harpsichord)

SERAFIN SUMMER MUSIC 2025 | June 10 - 27

Serafin Ensemble