Music on Sunday series mixes familiar favorites, eclectic new voices

The Music on Sunday series at Temple of Israel in Greenville will continue its tradition of musical variety this season, bringing back popular performers while introducing new artists to the series.

Alan Weinberg, who chairs the Music on Sunday committee alongside co-chair Ross Abrams, said the goal is to offer programs broad enough to appeal to listeners with different musical tastes.

“We have an eclectic concert series,” Weinberg said. “Even within a concert, there’s going to be a variety of music, types of music played, so there should be something there for everybody.”

This season’s lineup includes several returning performers, among them the jazz groups such as the Matt Olson Quartet (Nov. 15) and West End Mambo (April 4) in addition to the classical piano duo David and Lisa Kaiser (Jan. 17). The series also will introduce new performers, including soprano Chelsea Holmes (opening the season on Oct. 11) and Ensemble Radieuse (Feb. 14), a Spartanburg-based classical music group.

Holmes, who has family in the area, will present a program that combines classical music with Broadway selections. Weinberg said her performance is among those he is particularly anticipating.

Crowd-pleasers

The return of the Kaisers promises to be a crowd-pleaser, Weinberg said. The pianists appeared in the series about two years ago, and their performance prompted audience members to request a return performance.

“The audience was extremely enthusiastic,” Weinberg said.

The Kaisers perform together on a single piano, creating what Weinberg described as “20 fingers on one keyboard.” This season, the series will have a full-size Steinway grand piano available for their performance.

The returning artists reflect the series’ tradition of revisiting performers who have proved successful with its audience. But Weinberg said the programming also deliberately avoids becoming predictable.

This season also continues another popular Music on Sunday tradition: a complimentary wine-and-cheese reception with the performers following each concert.

Music on Sunday strives to make classical, jazz, Broadway and other musical traditions part of the same conversation — offering familiar favorites while leaving room for discovery.