Final Free Summer Noontime Concert!

Don't miss the final concert of our free Noontime Concert series this Wednesday, August 29, featuring baritone Avery Griffin and pianist Scott Bailey in a program of art songs by French, German and American composers. The concert will begin at noon and end by 12:45- you are invited to bring a bag lunch to eat; St. John's will provide drinks and cookies.

Avery Griffin is currently pursuing a master's degree in vocal performance/pedagogy at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, where he studies privately with Elem Eley and is a member of both the Westminster Choir, run by Dr. Joe Miller, and Kantorei, a chamber ensemble dedicated to the performance of early and modern choral music directed by Dr. Andrew Megill. In addition to his studies, Avery is also an active church musician, singing with Trinity Church, Princeton, under Tom Whittemore and the St. Thomas men and boys choir on 5 th avenue in Manhattan, under John Scott.

Avery did his undergraduate work in voice at Boston University's College of Fine Arts, where he studied with Phyllis Hoffman. While a sophomore at BU, he received first place in Division 2 of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Boston chapter competition. He received the Harold Zulallian Jr. scholarship awarded to a junior for distinction in performance and academic achievement, and was one of two seniors selected to present the annual Ellalou Dimmock honors recital.

Avery is actively committed to the performance of new music. As a member of Time's Arrow, one of BU's student new music ensembles, he performed works by Dominick Argento, Wolfgang Rihm, Martin Amlin and James Radford. He is a founding member of NotaRiotous, a Boston-based chamber ensemble dedicated to the performance of microtonal music. He has performed the world premieres of James Bergin's Kyrie and Ezra Sims' Im Mirabell (the latter composed for NotaRiotous).

Scott Bailey is currently an adjunct professor of music at Westfield State College and private instructor of piano and accompanist at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. He has served on the faculty at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and works as a freelance accompanist and teacher throughout the Pioneer Valley as well as Berkshire County. He has accompanied or worked for various organizations in Western Massachusetts including the Hampshire Choral Society, The New Opera, Berkshire Lyric Festival, Mass MoCA, The Drury Drama Team, and the Greylock Theater Project. He is the music director at the First Congregational Church of North Adams, United Church of Christ, and is coordinator of their North County Music Series, a concert series featuring local and emerging musicians from Berkshire County and beyond..