St. George's Cathedral is pleased to present two Thursday Noonhour Concerts on June 19 and June 26 as part of Kingston's First Capital Days. Admission is by donation, and the 40-minute events begin at 12:15 pm.

On June 19, trumpeter Lawrence House (a member of the Kingston Symphony Brass Quintet), and keyboard player Aurora Dokken (Queen's School of Music and formerly Chair of Keyboard Studies at Texas A and M University) will perform a program of 19^th- and early 20th-century Canadian heritage popular “salon” music, beginning with a trumpet-piano arrangement of the traditional folk song “Once a Canadian Lad” (Un Canadien errant), written in 1842 during the time that Kingston was First Capital. In that same year Calixa Lavallee, composer of our National Anthem, was born in Quebec, and his composition entitled “Meditation” is also featured on the program. Other composers will be represented through a selection of instruments (trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, piano and harpsichord).
 
On June 26, the Kingston Chamber Players (Gisele Dalbec, violin, Eileen Beaudette, viola, and Michel Szczesniak), piano, will perform a program of 19^th-century European music by Schumann (Novelette op. 21 no. 1), Schubert (Nocturne), Glinka (Russian Folk Songs), Chopin (Polonaise Op. 26, no. 1) and Donizetti (Concertino for violin and viola). This will give the audience a flavour of the popular and lighter classical music composed and performed in Germany, France, Russia and Italy at the time that Kingston was our First Capital.

Gisele Dalbec is concertmaster of the Kingston Symphony and adjunct lecturer in violin at Queen's School of Music. She features as soloist on the recently-released Kingston Symphony CD “Tapestry.” Eileen Beaudette is adjunct lecturer in viola at Queen's School of Music and principal viola of the Kingston Symphony. Pianist Michel Szczesniak, trained at the Manhattan School of Music, is well-known as a soloist, teacher and chamber-music collaborator.

For more information, visit www.stgeorgescathedral.on.ca or call 613-548-4617.