Rita Moerschel + 2 : On Wings of Song

The concert will feature works by Women composers from America: Amy Beach and Mabel Daniels, and Europe: Lili Boulanger, Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann.It will include duos and trios.

Hailing from Canada, violinist Catherine French is a 20-year member of Boston Symphony Orchestra. An accomplished soloist and chamber musician, she’s won grand prizes in the Canadian Music Competition, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio Competition and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s National Music Festival – Canada’s three major music competitions. She has soloed with many leading Canadian orchestras and has been featured with the Juilliard Orchestra, under the direction of James DePriest; with the Boston Pops, under the direction of John Williams; and at Carnegie Hall, under the direction of David Gilbert. She has performed at several North American chamber music festivals and as part of the Prelude series at Tanglewood, the BSO’s summer music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge. French, who began studying violin at age four, has been lauded for her “superb lyric” playing and “amazing level of artistry” in The Strad, a magazine devoted to string music.

Cellist Joel Moerschel recently retired following 33 years with Boston Symphony Orchestra. He has been the cellist with Collage New Music, an ensemble specializing in contemporary music, since 1976; has performed with several other ensembles, including the Muir String Quartet and Boston Musica Viva; and has given recitals of standard cello and piano literature throughout the country. In addition, Moerschel has taught at Wellesley College and Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute.

Pianist Rita Southworth Moerschel has been active in the Boston music world since 1970, first as a graduate student at New England Conservatory of Music and then as a performer and teacher. Specializing in collaborative piano, she has given recitals with members of the Boston Symphony as well as freelance musicians. She’s been on the faculty of the All Newton Music School in West Newton since 1981. She holds a Master of Education from Curry College (in Milton), where she’s now a senior lecturer in the Fine and Applied Arts Department.