Join us for our third concert of the season with Dr. Anthony Pattin, pianist.
St. Tim’s Discovers, the music series based at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Perrysburg, continues the 2023-24 season by presenting Toledo native Dr. Anthony Pattin, classical pianist, and Lesli McCage Simmons, clarinetist. The March 3 program is offered in honor of the late Dr. Hollis Merrick. According to his wife, Hollis had a life-long appreciation of classical music. Dr. Mary Smith Merrick has provided this recital as a gift to the wider community to honor her late husband.
For the March 3 event, the recital space will open at 2:30 PM. Admission is free, and there is no reserved seating. St. Timothy Episcopal church is located at 871 East Boundary, Perrysburg. The facility is accessible and offers ample parking.
About the artists: Anthony Pattin has had an extensive and varied performance career, beginning with his professional orchestral debut with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, performing Gershwin’s Concerto in F. Since that time, he has performed with the symphonies of Alabama, Arkansas, Tuscaloosa (AL), and Abilene (TX) among many others. He has appeared in Chicago, Los Angeles and twice in New York City in the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Pattin was a touring artist under the sponsorship of the Alabama State Council of the Arts. While in Alabama, he received the prestigious Governor’s “Artist for the New Millennium” Award in 2001. Currently, Pattin is the organist/pianist for First St. John Lutheran Church in Toledo. For the past seven years, he has been a part of the MostArts Music Festival and Piano Competition at Alfred University (NY). Pattin serves as piano soloist, chamber musician and as a piano competition judge for MostArts Festival. He has seven recordings (CD) available on the APT label.
Collaborating with Dr. Pattin will be Toledo area clarinetist Lesli McCage Simmons (pictured above), currently the clarinet instructor for the University of Toledo. Previous Toledo area performances include appearances with the Toledo Symphony, Sono Novo Chamber Orchestra and the Ballet Theater of Toledo. A native southener, she studied at the Universities of Montevallo (AL) and Alabama, at Tuscaloosa. While in Alabama, McCage Simmons performed with the Alabama Symphony, Huntsville Symphony and the Tuscaloosa Symphony. Here in northwest Ohio, she has performed several times on “Live from FM-91” on WGTE radio.
About the music: The March 3 recital offers many favorites from the solo piano repertoire, including Le Tombeau de Couperin by Maurice Ravel, Prelude in G Major by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Novelette in F Major by Robert Schumann. Among the several twentieth century compositions are Three Visions by William Grant Still, Spiritual Suite by Margaret Bonds and Suite from the Victorian Kitchen by Paul Reade. Ms. McCage Simmons, who first worked with Pattin while they both were at Montevallo, will join Tony for two selections for clarinet and piano. They will perform Johannes Brahms’ Sonata for Clarinet, movement III (Andante con moto) and Leonard Bernstein’s Sonata for Clarinet, movement I (Grazioso).