This month the Annisquam Village Church (AVC) will kick off it's 2024-2025 music performance series on Oct. 19 with "Devil's Box and Glory of God The Soul of the Violin from Paganini to Bach, Bluegrass, and Beyond," featuring AVC Artist in Residence and violinist Scott Moore.
Violinist and composer Scott Moore embarks on this musical journey celebrating the violin at the Annisquam Village Church on Saturday, October 19 at 7:30 p.m. A solo recital/lecture led and performed by Moore answers the questions, "When is a fiddle a violin, and why has it been called 'the devil's box'?", "How did a gourd become a $20 million work of art?", and "What were the dark secrets behind Nicolò Paganini's otherworldly abilities on the instrument, and did history's first rock star really make a deal at the crossroads?"
In this tour -de-force Moore illuminates how music is also geometry, physics, theology and a window on the cosmos itself; and how Bach can inspire us to be better humans, 300 years after his death. David Benjamin, Chair of the AVC Music Committee, looks forward to this unique evening of music."
Essentially, Moore will present a thousand-year musical journey, fiddle in hand—"no magic carpet required!" This past summer, Moore gave audiences a sneak peek of the program and audiences were reportedly captivated.
According to Gloucester's Victoria Cowling Chu, “Scott Moore is superb! With an international keyboard performer as my mother, I grew up surrounded by world famous musicians. Scott would fit right in. He has such mastery of his instrument and his art that, without a single sheet of music, he gives us beautiful music drawn from the most varied roots, and makes it seem like he’s just improvising on a lazy afternoon.”
An enthusiastic collaborator on stage and in the recording studio, violinist and composer, Moore has forged a reputation as a skillful and inventive musician unbound by genre. Since moving to Gloucester in 2019, the Kentucky native has become Concertmaster of the Cape Ann Symphony and Symphony by the Sea, while creating new scores for productions by the Louisville (KY) Ballet and theater group Lanes Coven. He and his wife, Erica, operate Open String Recordings, providing creative, professional string arrangements for bands, solo artists, composers, and filmmakers. As AVC Artist-in-Residence, his portfolio includes solo and group performances ranging from Bach and bluegrass to Thelonious Monk, and a growing list of world premieres.
Devil's Box and Glory of God: The Soul of the Violin from Paganini to Penderecki to Bach, Bluegrass, and Beyond is Saturday, October 19 at 7:30 PM at the Annisquam Village Church, 820 Washington Street Gloucester. The Ticket price is $30, Suggested Donation. For further information, Call: 978-281-0376 or email: avchurch820@gmail.com
