“Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart.” – Pablo Casals.

When your heart is seeking beauty, the In-Home Concert Series Committee helps you find it.

The series, set in living rooms of local residents, provides an intimate, perfect place to experience the divine. Six concerts – three classical and three jazz – feature well-respected, world-renowned and local artists.

Held in the winter season on Sunday afternoons, patrons enjoy two sets of music with an intermission allowing for personal time with the musicians.

Carol Coates, who has chaired the committee for nearly 20 years, said the concerts are a way for people to make new friends, enjoy special concerts and spend an afternoon in lovely local homes.

“Our hosts are so generous with their homes,” Coates said. “They provide a perfect setting for these concerts.”

This is the 28th season for the series and the committee has been busy with arrangements for the first concert, set for Jan. 20, 2019. Each production starts at 4 p.m.

Coates, with her committee of five, arranges for the artists, lines up the homes, has young people available to move furniture, sets up chairs and helps with the additional details to create an ambiance that cannot be matched in a more theatrical setting.

“We want the homeowners to feel comfortable having people in their homes,” Coates said. “We do the work to get a living room ready for a concert. When the event is over, the homeowner can’t tell anyone has been there.”

Refreshments are served during intermission, so the committee also is in charge of catering.

“We have wine and light hors d’oeuvres, as well as non-alcoholic beverages,” Coates said.

The In-Home Concert Series, under the auspices of the Fountain Hills Cultural and Civic Association, was inspired by the late Evelyn Breting, who helped start the program in 1981.

She was quoted as saying about the series, “It’s the way chamber music should be listened to…the way it started.”

The current committee concurred. Jean Linzer, another early committee member, said the music in individual homes sounds “more beautiful, more real,” than if you were listening in an arts center.

The other committee members, Bev Tall, Margaret Standewick, Anita Glenister and Sharon Vandenberg, are involved in all aspects of the planning, and each member has a specialty. Linzer handles publicity. Tall prints programs for the classical concerts. Standewick, Glenister and Vandenberg work with providing refreshments with the help from the Four Peaks Women’s Club.

Coates said concerts vary in size depending on the size of the home.

“We think everyone will be pleased with the homes this year,” she said. “They are all lovely, and will be great for the concerts they host.”

The following is a brief outline of the concerts and description of the artists scheduled for the 2019 season:

Classical Series

Joseph Wytko

Classical saxophonist Joseph Wytko is past recipient of the prestigious Solo Recitalist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has performed solo recitals in Carnegie Recital Hall and San Francisco’s Herbst Theater and has appeared as soloist with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the World Saxophone Congress Orchestra in Minneapolis as well as orchestras in Europe and Mexico. The San Francisco Chronicle described as a performer with “astounding musicianship – virtuoso playing – a winner. The Arizona Republic called his music, “flawless.”

Anna Chepikova

PianistAnna Chepikova has a wide range of stylings, from classical masterpieces to Scott Joplin, Bach to Dave Brubeck, Chopin to Broadway, Mozart to Adele and Elton John.

Chepikova was born in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Russia. She began playing piano when she was three and had her first professional appearance at the age of five. She has won numerous awards and honors.

She moved to Scottsdale from Minneapolis, Minn., and has been performing and teaching in this area for several years. Her shows have been called “electrifying.”

The Kent Camerata

The Kent Camerata is a professional vocal/instrumental ensemble. Founded in 1995 as part of Kent State University's “Kent-in-Florence” music program, this unique group took its name and inspiration from the Florentine Camerata of the Renaissance. Since their debut tour in Italy, they have performed to great appreciation in many parts of the world.

The core members of the group, soprano Amanda-Joyce Abbott, mezzo soprano Mary Sue Hyatt, bassoonist David DeBolt and pianist Jan Meyer Thompson, along with affiliate artists, violist Nancy Buck and flutist Linda Brunner perform in a variety of combinations. Their quick-paced programs of colorful repertoire include masterpieces by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Rossini, Schumann, Brahms, Ravel, Fauré, Bridge, Britten, Barber, and Loeffler. Through engaging audience rapport, the Kent Camerata members share the meaning and enjoyment of these works.

Jazz Series

We3

We3 consists of Renee Grant Patrick, Suzanne Lansford and Nicole Pesce.

Patrick has connected with individuals and crowds with her voice and music over the past 12 years in the Valley. Her music is shockingly honest and emotionally charged. Patrick sings a variety of genres from Jazz Standards, to classic R&B.

Lansford began her music career with classical lessons and quitting them at 13 to play jazz at the Arizona Biltmore and other venues and radio shows across Phoenix and Scottsdale. She has a wide repertoire with her violin, having won bluegrass fiddle championships, as well as working in Latin, jazz, classical, blues and more.

Pesce has been recognized by The Arizona Republic as one of the “top ten musicians to hear in Phoenix.” She enjoyed a residency as the house pianist at the Ritz Carlton in Phoenix and has entertained audiences with everything from Bach to Lady Gaga. Fun fact: Pesce has a repertoire of more than 12,000 memorized songs; she has been called “the human iPod.”

Mary Petrich Trio

Creative saxophonist Mary Petrich has been developing her own vision for the past 20 years.

With an abiding love for free style improvisation and the intimate collaboration of small group settings, Mary Petrich is equally at home playing standards and working in larger group formats. Large group work includes the Phoenix Symphony, the Grammy award-winning Phoenix Chorale, the Az. Music Festival Orchestra, and the Nash Composer Coalition.

WildeP’lay

WildeP’lay is the musical collaboration of singer/saxophonist Donna Wilde and pianist/keyboardist Richard Palalay. As well as being accomplished songwriters, they are veteran performers who have appeared together in many different venues across the valley including Fountain Hills Theater. They have been featured performers on local TV and radio shows, and even in a segment for an upcoming HBO special. Donna and Richard recently wrote the radio theme song for the Phoenix radio show Buhay-Buhay.