The Serenata Music program featuring Graeme Lord , clarinet, and the London Symphonia String Quartet with commentary by Tom Allen was a fitting end to our 20th season. The eclectic choice of music (Gerald Finzi, from Five Bagatelles, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, from Clarinet Quintet, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, from Clarinet Concerto in A Major, Steve Reich, New York Counterpoint, and Brahms, Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in B Minor Op. 115) provided the audience with much to absorb. Mr. Allen s commentary added to the evening s pleasure. Graeme Lord s empathic playing of the Brahm s quintet contrasted to the jolting Steve Reich piece in which Mr. Lord played solo against 10 clarinet lines which he had previously recorded. it was an artistic tour de force. We look forward to hearing moire from Mr. Lord.
The final London Symphonia concert with Tanya Miller conducting, not only gave us a world premiere of Alexis Marsh s flute concerto with Laura Chambers, flute , but also a stirring rendition of Shostakovich s Chamber Symphony. Beethoven s 7th symphony proved to the audience that our local symphonia can do justice to this venerable music.

SERENATA MUSIC PROGRAM 2025-26

Saturday, October 4, 2025 7:30 P.M. Metropolitan United Church, London Symphonia,
David Jalbert, piano.

Friday, November 14, 2025, 12:30 P.M. von Kuster Hall, Western University. The Musicians from Marlboro.

Saturday, January 17, 20206. Metropolitan United Church,. London Symphonia, Lara St. John, violin.

Saturday, April 18, 2026, 7:30 P.M. Graeme Lord, clarinet, London Symphonia String Quartet, Tom Allen, commentator.
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See our concert listings on the right for more good music in the London area.
We encourage you to tell your friends to follow us at serenatamusic.com. They can receive our email notices if they send us a note to serenatamusic@gmail.com or call us at 519-852 8332.
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The Serenata Music schedule for 2025-26 is as follows:

Saturday, October 4, 2025. 7:30 P.M. Metropolitan United Church,
London Symphonia, Mozart, Ravel, and beyond. David Jalbert, piano.
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Friday, November 14, 2025, 12:30 P.M., von Kuster Hall, Western University, The Muisicians from Marlboro.
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Saturday, January 17, 2026, 7:30 P.M. Metropolitan United Church. London Symphonia, The Ancient Flame. Lara St. John, violin.
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Saturday, April 18, 2026. 7:30 P.M. Metropolitan United Church. London Symphonia. The Brahms Effect with Tom Allen, narrator, Graham Lord, clarinet.

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For tickets to all Serenata Music concerts scroll down.
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Serenata Music concerts are at the von Kuster Hall, Don Wright Faculty of Music, Western.
London Symphonia Concerts are at the Metropolitan United Church, 468 Wellington St., London.
Other performances are at the Wolf Performance Hall, London Public Library, 251 Dundas St.
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Tickets Are Available From
London Symphonia-Serenata Music Concerts
London Symphonia box office.
https://londonsymphonia.ticketspice.com/; contact@londonsymphonia.ca or call 226. 270. 0910




Tickets Are Available From

London Symphonia-Serenata Music Concerts
London Symphonia box office.
https://londonsymphonia.ticketspice.com/; contact@londonsymphonia.ca or call 226. 270. 0910
Mailing list
If you would like to be added to our email list please go to the contact page and send an email with your name and email address.
Group rates for Music Teachers and students are available by contacting Serenata Music by email or telephone (519) 433-8332
 

Biographies

Renée Silberman
Founder of Serenata Music Concerts
Renée Silberman

Founder and Director of Serenata Music Concerts



Renée Silberman, essayist on topics of musical interest, has authored program notes for performances in concert halls in Canada and the U.S. Her material accompanies all recitals on the Serenata Music Series. She has provided material for concerts at Carnegie Hall and for events at Baruch College in Manhattan. Ms. Silberman has also contributed the liner notes to many CDs, including those by Sergiu Schwartz, violin and Alec Chien, piano, by the Serafin String Quartet, and by Coenraad Bloemendal, cello, and Erica Goodman, harp.


Recognized for meticulous scholarship and a lively style (“according to Renée Silberman’s uncommonly informative program annotations….[which] shed much interesting light,” Harris Goldsmith in New York Concert Review), she creates articles richly detailed, educational and entertaining. With a background in cultural history, she places the purely musical aspects of her writings within the context of the times. She explores the interrelationship of the dynamics of cultural movements that influenced composers and the inner motivations pressing composers to seek new directions. Her research embraces subjects ranging from Purcell and English song to the art of modern French song; from the quartets of Haydn to those of Bartok and Shostakovich; from Court orchestras to concentration camp orchestras.


Renée completed biographical sketches of Maria Rosé and Gordon Jeffery, which appear in the volume London: 100 Fascinating Lives (Lorimer, Toronto, 2005). She has maintained a presence as music columnist for Beat Magazine and The London Yodeller, as a critic and as a commentator on topics of cultural interest.



Following family involvement in music production in Pittsburgh and New York, Renée began an independent career as a concert organizer. After exploring the possibility of presenting events in the 1990s, Renée developed the formal Serenata Music program, which has been in place since 2003. Her enthusiasm remains undiminished, as she sees the series move into its second decade.



Ms. Silberman is recognized for her avid support of musicians at every stage of their artistic development. She encourages music education for people of all ages. Above all, her strong belief in the thrill of live performance is the driving force behind the creation of Serenata Music and its continuing success.