International Music Event, Historic Site

 Challenge Local Pennsylvania Point of View

 

(Boalsburg, PA) -  Where is it that a Russian pianist from St. Petersburg with a doctorate from the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory and a French pianist who has played all over Europe and at Carnegie Hall in New York City meet to present an intimate evening of chamber music from Italy, Russia, France, Hungary and Austria from the 17th to the 20th century?

You might guess in Paris or in London, but the correct answer is in Boalsburg, a little village near Penn State University, at the internationally renowned but locally unnoticed Boal Mansion Museum, where pianists Svetlana Rodionova and Cecilia Dunoyer will join string and woodwind musicians from the Penn State School of Music to present “Music at the Boal Mansion,” a spring concert and reception on Saturday, May 1, 2010.

 

Photo captions: Guests at the annual “Music at the Boal Mansion” on May 1 will enjoy classical music in the 1898 ballroom and champagne and fine hors d’oeuvres (see photo) in the 1798 dining room of the internationally acclaimed but locally unheralded Boal Mansion in Boalsburg. For ticket information, contact the Boal Mansion Museum at 814-466-6210 or office@boalmuseum.com. For details, access http://boalmuseum.com.

 

“We’re accustomed to being ignored,” says Boal Mansion CEO Christopher Lee, an eighth generation member of the Boal family whose ancestors include Christopher Columbus, Napoleon Bonaparte and Robert E. Lee.

“The local point of view has difficulty understanding exceptional cases, and this year’s ‘Music at the Boal Mansion’ concert is truly exceptional, a real gem of an event,” says Lee. “We’re very grateful to Tony Costa of Penn State’s School of Music for pulling together such an exceptionally rich program. It’s a gift to the local community, though it’s a challenge to locals to really appreciate what’s being offered.”

Ms. Rodionova will perform two Rachmaninoff preludes on the Boal Mansion’s Steinway piano and will join Robyn Dixon Costa (oboe), Daryl Durran (bassoon), David Stambler (saxophone) and Max Zorin (violin) in exciting duo and trio combinations. Ms. Dunoyer, will join members of the Chihara Trio in a performance of Mozart’s masterpiece “The Kegelstatt-Trio.” The evening will also feature members of the Pennsylvania Quintet performing reed trios. 

The two-hour program also includes two breaks for champagne and abundant savory and dessert hors d’oeuvres provided by the top local restaurants. Past participants have described “Music at the Boal Mansion” as “the best party ever” but the annual event has never been filled to capacity.

“I really feel sad for anyone who ignores such an exceptional event,” says Lee, “but we’re used to being ignored locally all while being celebrated internationally by the likes of England’s BBC-TV, PBS-TV, Belgian National Public TV and educators and scholars from all over the United States and Europe.”

The Boal Mansion Museum has been the Boal family home since 1789 and opens for visitation on May 1. It is the site of the Columbus Chapel, a centuries-old Spanish chapel that belonged to the family of Christopher Columbus and was inherited and imported to Boalsburg in 1909 by his descendants in the Boal family. The Chapel contains an Admiral’s Desk that belonged to Columbus, fine European paintings and statues from the 15th through 18th centuries, a lock of hair of Napoleon and two pieces of the True Cross of Jesus Christ.

“Local people think it’s just an old house,” remarks a slightly frustrated Lee. “Overworked State College social studies teachers have ignored efforts to connect their students with what’s in their own back yard, but international scholars and visitors really get what a gem this place is.  This top-notch international program is one more example of all that. I hope a few more local people open up to what it’s all about and attend. They’ll be amazed.”

 “Music at the Boal Mansion” takes place on Saturday May 1, 2010, at 8 p.m. at the Boal Mansion, 163 Boal Estate Drive in Boalsburg. Tickets are $75 per person and benefit both historic preservation and Penn State University’s “Music at Penn’s Woods” in June. For reservations, contact the Boal Mansion Museum at 814-466-6210 or office@boalmuseum.com. For details, access http://boalmuseum.com.