Granby Education Foundation grant awarded to music series

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The Granby Education Foundation has again demonstrated its strong support of the Bruce Porter Memorial Music Series (BPMMS) with a grant of $2,000 for the 2018-19 Season. Sponsored by the music ministry of South Congregational Church, the Bruce Porter Memorial Music Series was founded to fulfill the dream of long-time music director Bruce Porter to bring music of exceptional quality to the town of Granby. 

The Granby Education Foundation (GEF) is a nonprofit organization that nourishes educational excellence by raising private funds in support of innovative educational initiatives for people of all ages in Granby. The energy of the GEF mission is clear in their new tagline, “Enrich, Energize, Engage: Lifelong Learning,” as is the commitment the foundation has made to the community. 

This is the third year that the GEF has provided essential funding for the BPMMS. With the help of these grants, the music series has hosted an array of talented and well-received performers over the years. Examples from last season include the collaboration between jazz bassist Nat Reeves, his State of Emergency Band, and the poet Kate Rushin in October 2017, and a spectacular concert by The New England Ringers in December that featured hundreds of handbells and chimes played with such precision that the group brought a full house to its feet more than once. 

This fall, the seventh season of the series will open on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 4 p.m. with pianist Benita Rose and saxophonist Tony Gibbs presenting classical music in the sanctuary of South Congregational Church. The concert will include a sonata originally written for violin by Cesar Franck, arrangements of hymn tunes, a set of variations on the popular Carnival of Venice and Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody. 

The programs on the remainder of this year’s series will feature organist Jason Roberts on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019; the Hartt School Chamber Choir directed by Dr. Ed Bolkovac on Sunday, Mar. 10; and Les Amies de Théodore, a Baroque ensemble, on Sunday, Apr. 28. 

The concerts in the Bruce Porter Memorial Music Series are free to the public, with a suggested donation of $10 to support the series. 

South Church is an accessible facility. For more information call 860-653-7289 or visit www.southchurchgranby.org