National Association of Composers USA (NACUSA)/Mid-Atlantic presents “Nights and Magic”

National Association of Composers USA (NACUSA)/Mid-Atlantic 

presents “Nights and Magic” 

Sat. Sept. 13 2025--1:00 pm EST

The Concert is held at the 

Coastal Virginia Unitarian Universalists 

809 S. Military Highway Virginia Beach VA 23464 Free and open to the public but donations will be received through PayPal; Parking is free For more information contact Harvey Stokes at (757) 768-6263 or Betty Wishart at [email protected] 

Featuring works by John Winsor Harvey Stokes and Ian Guthrie 

John Winsor: The Phoenix (2017) 

Ian Guthrie: Danse Adage 

Harvey Stokes: “. . . (passive) aggression . . .” from Piano Sonata No. 11 

Ian Guthrie: “Nightfall” from Where Dreams Come True 

Ian Guthrie: Piano Sonata No. 2 (2025) 

Performers: 

Hardwick Chamber Ensemble: 

Natalia Goodloe violin 

Dionne Smith violoncello 

John Winsor clarinet 

Jeanette Winsor piano 

Benjamin Garner piano 

Ian Guthrie piano 

Liana Valente soprano 

The Mid-Atlantic chapter of the National Association of Composers USA will open its 2025-2026 concert season with the “Nights and Magic” concert at 1:00pm on September 13th at Coastal Virginia Unitarian Universalists in Virginia Beach Virginia. 

Highlights of the concert include Ian Guthrie’s piano masterwork “Piano Sonata No. 2” which was composed for and premiered recently by pianist Jeong Hee in South Korea at the Kumho Art Hall. Guthrie is a Professor of Music at Calvary University in Kansas City Missouri and will be performing the work on this concert. 

Soprano Liana Valente will be accompanied by pianist Jeanette Winsor in a performance of Guthrie’s “Nightfall” from the song cycle Where Dreams Come True. The cycle was written from poetry by Sara Teasedale and the poetry suggests an evolution from daydreams to actual dreams. 

Pianist Benjamin Garner will be performing the initial movement from Harvey Stokes’ Eleventh Piano Sonata which was written for pianist and professor Jennifer Cruz from Central State University. The work projects elements of "aggression” in the opening movement and "serenity" in the second movement respectively in a "postmodern" manner. 

The Hardwick Chamber Ensemble (HCE) has been a mainstay in the Hampton Roads arts community since 1988 and will be performing John Winsor’s The Phoenix (2017). The work is a programmatic depiction of the flight fall death and resurrection of the mythical bird. HCE is a non-profit organization fostering the community's appreciation of classical chamber music and cultivate understanding taste and love of music. 

The National Association of Composers/USA (NACUSA) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. Founded by Henry Hadley in 1933 it is one of the oldest organizations devoted to the promotion and performance of American concert hall music. Many of America's distinguished composers have been among its members. NACUSA presents several chamber music concerts each year that feature music by its members. NACUSA has chapters in the Mid-South region Los Angeles New York San Francisco Tennessee Texas the Mid-Atlantic region and Washington Oregon. 

NACUSA/Mid-Atlantic is also a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization and was established as a regional extension of the parent NACUSA organization in 1997 by John Winsor. It performs one or more chamber music concerts each year that feature music by its members. 

https://www.nacusamusic.org/

Host or Publisher NACUSA/Mid-Atlantic