All Seasons Chamber Players to Perform Sunday at Library as Tribute to Mary Meehan

Classic musical enthusiasts will be pleased to learn that the Fort Lee Public Library will be giving a free concert on Sunday at 2:30pm by the All Seasons Chamber Players--one of the most popular group of chamber musicians in the state.

Library director Rita Altomara said that they are always a hit when they come to play at the library.

“They have been playing at our library for [about] 25 years," she said. "They are old friends and they come back practically every year and do a concert here."

Altomara said that whenever they do play “they usually have a full house.”

The program is entitled “Czechs and Balances” and will feature a number of pieces by Czech composers in the first half of the program. The second half of the program will be dedicated to other notable masterworks of chamber music. The concert’s guest pianist will be Steven Beck of Manhattan, described by the New Yorker as “one of the city’s most admired young pianists.”

Some other pieces on the program:

• Antonin Dvorak’s Sonatina in G Major for Violin and Piano, Op. 100
• Bohuslav Martinu’s Trio in F Major for Flute, Cello, and Piano
• Johannes Brahms’s Trio in B Major, Op. 8

The All Seasons Chamber Players will be performing on the library’s new Kawai grand piano, acquired through a bequest from the estate of Mary Elizabeth Meehan. In fact, the entire concert is a tribute to Meehan.

Mary Meehan was a resident of Fort Lee who passed away in her 90s. In her will, she left her entire estate to the Fort Lee Public Library with the provision that the money be used as a memorial to her and her family.

“What we want to do is honor her, and her gift to the library. So we’re dedicating a number of concerts to her,” said Altomara.

The All Seasons Chamber Players are in their 30th anniversary season. They have performed over 600 concerts in the New York-New Jersey area and have been featured on many television programs such  as Cablevision’s MetroArts/13 programs, COMCAST and WTT-35, as well as local television spots. They are also Artistic Excellence award winners from the Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs.

Sunday's concert is one of 15 free public concerts and funded by the New Jersey State Council of the Arts, the Bank of America Foundation, and through funds administered by the Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs. Additional support is provided by the institutions sponsoring concerts, the Bergen Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, the Verizon Foundation, Columbia Savings Bank, Lillian P. Schenck Fund, Target, Shop Rite of Hackensack, the Bloomingdale’s Fund of the Macy’s Foundation and Friends of All Seasons

This concert is one of many in the Friends of the Library concert series. Another will be held on May 1, and another on June 5.

Doors will open for Sunday's concert at 2:00 p.m. for early seating. The library is located at 320 Main St. and is handicap accessible. For more information, call the library at 201-592-3614.