GUILFORD — Guilford Free Library invites the public to a summer evening of music and light refreshments in a beautiful setting that only Vermont can provide.
On Sept. 7, at 7:30 p.m., two world-class musicians perform a benefit cello celebration to support the work of the Guilford Free Library.
Guilford resident Judith Serkin, with her colleague Paul Wiancko, will perform cello duets spanning four centuries of music at the historic Guilford Center Meeting House.
Tickets are $25, and include a selection of desserts prepared by Guilford residents.
“Don't wait to purchase yours,” warns Library Trustee Laura Lawson Tucker: “This will be a popular event, and one of the joys of this concert is where it will take place: our very special historic meetinghouse.”
Guilford Center Meetinghouse, which is also known as Guilford Center Universalist Church, is on Guilford Center Road. The 1837 meeting house features Greek and Gothic Revival architectural elements.
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
“We had a similar concert concert for the library several years ago,” explains Tucker, “and if it is anything like that, I can only describe it [as] … magical. The setting was beautiful, the food delectable, and the music sublime. This year, the combination of Serkin and Wiancko promises to be exquisite.”
Cellist Judith Serkin, daughter and sister of pianists Rudolf Serkin and Peter Serkin, respectively, began her cello studies in Puerto Rico with Marta Casals Istomin and continued with David Soyer of the Guarneri Quartet at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music.
She was also a student of Mischa Schneider of the Budapest String Quartet.
Serkin was a member of the Iceland Symphony and of both the Guilford and the Hebrew Arts (now known as the Mendelssohn) string quartets.
A founding member of the Soldier Creek Music Festival in Nevada, she has been a frequent participant at the Yellow Barn and Marlboro Music School festivals, and has graced many Music from Marlboro tours.
She has performed across the United States and Canada, and extensively throughout Japan. A member of the Windham Ensemble, she has long made her home in Guilford.
Serkin will be joined by cellist and composer Paul Wiancko, who has performed worldwide - from concertos in Warsaw's National Philharmonic and Brazil's Teatro Nacional to chamber music in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to jazz at the Hollywood Bowl and the Blue Note.
At 29, he has already collaborated with many of today's iconic performers: Midori GotÅ, Yo-Yo Ma, Richard Goode, Etta James, Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Dave Stewart, and Joe Cocker.
The Guilford Free Library is one of the state's oldest continuously operated public libraries. It was founded in 1890 out of a bequest by Cynthia King. The money she left to the town of Guilford was for the purchase of books. The catch: the town would have to build or acquire a building to house them.
The current home of the library was built in 1891 on land owned by William Barney. The cost of the building was $300. The Guilford Free Library opened on July 2, 1892. Prior to this, the town of Guilford maintained a small public library from roughly 1790 to 1815.
Each year, Town Meeting appropriates money in support of the library and its building. Also each year, the Guilford Free Library trustees raise money to purchase new books and provide programs.
“The Guilford Library has been run for many years under the wonderful guidance of [Director] Cathi Wilken, who … has shown herself to be a quite-fabulous reader at the library's Tuesday storytime hour for pre-schoolers,” Tucker says. “I would not limit it to just that: Her storytelling has been a great experience for families and children.
“Cathi also uses the library to do amazing work with children from Guilford Elementary School, providing students with backup support when their school library is closed. She also for a while led the French Club from the library.
Wilken is dedicated to attending senior luncheons where she brings books. She also visits those in Guilford who for one reason or another can not get out to the library. “Instead of their coming to the library, she brings the books they need to them,” Tucker explained.
“Our library may seem to have a small collection, but it can serve its community exponentially through the services of inter-library loan. With this service, the library is able to supply most of what everyone wants to read or see in Guilford,” Tucker says.
Benefits such as “A Cello Celebration” help to ensure Guilford keeps its small library vibrant, says Tucker.
“I don't know why I even call the library small. For all it does for us in Guilford, it is a large institution indeed,” she adds.