Brierwood Ensemble Presents: Seaside Serenade

Immerse yourself in the sounds of the sea with the Brierwood Ensemble at Seaside Serenade! Join us on Sunday, March 23, at 5 PM at Kenan Chapel in Landfall for an enchanting evening of music inspired by water and coastal life. Experience Handel’s beloved Water Music alongside two movements of the Lighthouse Suite, composed for the ensemble by Ryan Mulder. Bassoonist Helena Kopchick Spencer and harpist Christina Brier present the Wilmington premiere of Waves by Gernot Wolfgang, while lively sea shanties add to the evening’s vibrant energy.

This free concert is open to the public, with tickets available at the N.E. Branch Library of New Hanover County. Don’t miss this musical voyage! Learn more here.

"Romance in the Air" features Henriette Renie's trio for violin, bassoon, and harp. Renie's trio recalls music by Saint-Saëns and Fauré in its grandiose Romanticism and charming elegance. We will also feature repertoire by Fauré and Elgar as well as a movement of Kevin Kaska’s Concerto for Harp and Orchestra.

Tickets are free, but must be picked up at the N.E. Branch Library of New Hanover County. The tickets will be available starting on Monday, March 18. We recommend that you pick up your tickets right away as they tend to sell out quickly.

Kenan Chapel Concert Information

This concert features both traditional carols and beautiful classical chamber music that evoke emotions of joy and peace during this holiday season.

A reception will follow in the fellowship hall of the church.

Visit our Eventbrite page today to purchase your tickets!

This concert features both traditional carols and beautiful classical chamber music that evoke emotions of joy and peace during this holiday season.

Tryon Palace is thrilled to welcome back the Brierwood Ensemble for Chamber Music by Candlelight.  This intimate and powerful holiday performance takes place in Tryon Palace’s lavishly decorated Council Chamber.  Performing with both strings and woodwinds, the group delivers a moving musical experience that you will not want to miss.

Based out of Wilmington, North Carolina, the Brierwood Ensemble is chamber music quartet of talented musicians from diverse backgrounds who enjoy sharing their music through stories, history, and engaging programming.  Members of the ensemble include violinist Linda Estep, violist/violinist Clark Spencer, bassoonist Helena Kopchick Spencer, and harpist Christina Brier.  When performing, the members often share informal program notes with their audience, as well as their insights into the historical and cultural context of their musical selections. “We want to bring people joy. And we want concertgoers to leave having learned something new,” Brier says.

The event concludes with a post-performance dessert reception hosted at the Commission House, across from the Palace Gates.

This is a limited ticket event that sells out every year! Tickets are on sale now.

Attendees, please enter the Palace grounds through the Eden Street Gate.

The Brierwood Ensemble will be the featured performers for the Brooklyn Arts Music Academy’s Enchanted Garden Fundraiser. To attend the event, please RSVP using this link.

September 29 - Brierwood Ensemble + Daniel McCloud | 7:30 pm

The Brierwood Ensemble (Christina Brier, harp; Linda Estep, violin; Clark Spencer, viola; Helena Kopchick Spencer, bassoon) joins with composer-percussionist Daniel McCloud to perform music that evokes light, color, and the natural world. This recital features the world premiere of Dr. McCloud’s Moonbow, a four-part suite inspired by the hues of the gray spectrum – Gainsboro, rhythm, alabaster, and eigengrau – and intended to capture the warmth and comfort of an intimate gathering of friends on a clear summer night. Other works on the program include selections from UNCW alumnus Ryan Mulder’s North Carolina Lighthouse Suite and French Romantic composer Henriette Renié’s Trio in B-flat Major.

Come enjoy an evening of beautiful music at 7:30PM at Saint Andrews-Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1416 Market Street, Wilmington, NC. Doors open at 6:45PM.

The Brierwood Ensemble is thrilled to perform its spring concert in the gorgeous sanctuary Saint James Episcopal Church (25 S 3rd St.) in Wilmington, NC.

Join us for a relaxing and delightful evening of chamber music. The program includes Vivaldi’s G minor chamber concerto, a selection from Martinu’s Madrigals for violin and viola, a movement from Henriette Renie’s trio for violin, bassoon, and harp, and William Grant Still’s Out of the Silence for solo harp.

Chamber Music by Candlelight returns for the 2021 holiday season! This concert will take place in the reverent and beautiful sanctuary of St James Episcopal Church. This concert features both traditional carols and beautiful classical chamber music that evoke emotions of joy and peace during this holiday season. Free admission and masks required.

Brierwood Ensemble violist Clark Spencer takes center stage in a solo recital!

The Brierwood Ensemble presents Candlelight Christmas at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Beaufort, NC. The concert features festive works by French Baroque composers Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, and Jean-Marie LeClair, along with Carlos Salzedo’s solo harp arrangement of the traditional carol I Wonder As I Wander and selections from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s beloved holiday ballet The Nutcracker. The Brierwood Ensemble was co-founded in 2016 by Wilmington-based musicians Linda Estep (violin), Clark Spencer (viola/violin), Helena Kopchick Spencer (bassoon), and Christina Brier (harp). Committed to sharing both familiar and lesser known works of classical music with a wide range of audiences, members of the Brierwood Ensemble introduce each musical selection with brief notes on its historical background and cultural context.

All are welcome! The concert is free.

Charles Koechlin (1867–1950), Trio in G, op. 92 for violin, viola, and bassoon

• II. Moderato sans lenteur

• III. Fugue. Allegro con moto

St. Philips’ Summer Concert Series

Handel, Water Music

Handel/Halvorsen, Sarabande con variazioni

Ryan Mulder, “Ocracoke” and “Bald Head Island” from North Carolina Lighthouse Suite

Boccherini, Night Music from Streets of Madrid

Elgar, Chanson de matin & Chanson de nuit

Bartok, Romanian Dances

Musical impressions of morning, noon, and night by composers from all around the world—from Ravi Shankar’s raga-based Enchanted Dawn and Gernot Wolfgang's jazz-infused Rays of Light to Arthur Foote's wistful At Dusk and Luigi Boccherini’s spirited Night Music from the Streets of Madrid

Musical images of the British Isles, including Arnold Bax’s haunting Phantasy Sonata, Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Six Studies in English Folk Song, film composer John Williams’s depiction of the Eó Rossa tree of Celtic folklore, and a set of lively Scots-Irish fiddle tunes

André Jolivet’s meditative Pastorales de Noël, festive Baroque chamber works by Charpentier and Leclair, and traditional Christmas carols—all performed in the soft glow of candlelight in the Gothic-style sanctuary of St. John's Episcopal Church

André Jolivet’s meditative Pastorales de Noël, festive Baroque chamber works by Charpentier and Leclair, and traditional Christmas carols—all performed in the soft glow of candlelight in historic Tryon Palace

Diabolical and fiendishly virtuosic music of Couperin, Tartini, and Saint-Saëns, paired with Halvorsen’s haunting Sarabande con variazioni on a theme of Handel, Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, and Tournier’s enchanting Féerie for harp and strings

with guest violinist Christine Meyer Maynard

Enjoy classical tunes and a refreshing beverage – or two – while relaxing in Fermental's outdoor beer garden!

We’ll preview a piece or two from our upcoming “Ghost Stories & Fairy Tales” subscription concert and help you get into the festive autumn spirit with some waltzes and rustic folk dances.

Romantic music inspired by the sea, from the North Carolina coast to the Mediterranean—including Saint-Saëns’s incandescent Fantaisie, a suite of rousing sea shanties, and a special collaboration with guest soprano Nancy King on Chabrier's L'Invitation au voyage, an evocative setting of Baudelaire's Symbolist poem about a pilgrimage to the mythical isle of Cythera.

• Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936), Balletto from Ancient Airs and Dances, Suite No. 1, arr. for violin, viola, bassoon, and harp
• Ryan Mulder (b. 1995), Ocracoke, Currituck, and Bald Head Island from North Carolina Lighthouse Suite for violin, viola, bassoon, and harp
• Emmanuel Chabrier (1841–1894), L'Invitation au voyage for voice, bassoon, and harp
• Louis Spohr (1784–1859), Trio in F minor for violin, bassoon, and harp

intermission

• Edward Elgar (1857–1934), Chanson de matin, op. 15, no. 1 and Chanson de nuit, op. 15, no. 2 arr. for violin, bassoon, and harp
• Charles Koechlin (1867–1950), Trio in G Major, op. 92 for violin, viola, and bassoon
• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921), Fantaisie, op. 124 for violin and harp
• Sea Shanties Suite: "Blow the Man Down," "The Coasts of High Barbary," and "Spanish Ladies," arr. for two violins, bassoon, and harp

Savor the last days of summer with some relaxing classical music and a refreshing beverage (or two) in Fermental's spacious outdoor beer garden! No cover charge.

Setlist includes favorites from the Baroque (Mouret, Vivaldi, Telemann, J.S. Bach, Handel), Classic (Mozart, Haydn), and Romantic (Schubert, Schumann, Massenet, Ivanovici) eras.

The Brierwood Ensemble performs a recital of Romantic music inspired by nature and the sea.

• Henri Sauguet (1901–1989), Barcarolle for bassoon and harp
• Ryan Mulder (b. 1995), Ocracoke and Bald Head Island from North Carolina Lighthouse Suite for violin, viola, bassoon, and harp
• Emmanuel Chabrier (1841–1894), L'Invitation au voyage arr. for viola, bassoon, and harp
• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921), Fantaisie for violin and harp, op. 124
• Edward Elgar (1857–1934), Chanson de matin, op. 15, no. 1 and Chanson de nuit, op. 15, no. 2 arr. for violin, bassoon, and harp
• Louis Spohr (1784–1859), Trio in F minor for violin, bassoon, and harp
• Traditional sea shanties arr. for two violins, bassoon, and harp