Celtic to Classical live concerts to return Aug. 11-12

Celtic to Classical will return to Southern Delaware in mid-August for a fifth season, with a program designed to delight fans of all ages and musical genres.

Playing piano, violin and flute, Celtic to Classical co-founders Sheridan Seyfried and Ya-Jhu Yang will present a 60-minute program featuring classical works by Beethoven, Handel and Mozart, along with Celtic fiddling, New Age music and Jethro Tull’s arrangement of a famous Renaissance madrigal.

Highlights include a thrilling four-hand piano performance, a lively flute-violin duet and an original arrangement by Seyfried.

The duo will perform identical programs Wednesday, Aug. 11, at Epworth United Methodist Church in Rehoboth Beach, and Thursday, Aug. 12, at St. Martha’s Episcopal Church in Bethany Beach. Both performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

In keeping with the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and the State of Delaware, unvaccinated and immunocompromised individuals are asked to wear masks. Persons with a cough, fever or COVID-like symptoms are asked to refrain from attending.

In lieu of ticketed admission, Celtic to Classical accepts a free-will offering, with a suggested contribution of $15.

“We very much missed connecting with our audiences at the beach last summer during the pandemic,” Seyfried said. “While we won’t have as large an ensemble as in previous years or perform at as many venues, we’re looking forward to presenting an eclectic program for live audiences.”

Sheridan Seyfried and Ya-Jhu Yang have degrees in composition from Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute and the Manhattan School of Music in New York, where their teachers included Richard Danielpour, Jennifer Higdon and Nils Vigeland.

Their works have been performed around the world by musicians and ensembles including David Shifrin, Ida Kavafian and the Santa Fe Symphony. In 2013, Sheridan Seyfried’s “Violin Concerto” was premiered by Pacific Symphony concertmaster Dennis Kim, who has performed with Celtic to Classical. Ya-Jhu Yang’s piano trio, “Letters to Formosa,” was performed at the Kennedy Center as a prize winner of the 2009 Washington International Competition.

Seyfried, whose parents Elise and Steve Seyfried founded the venerable Rehoboth Summer Children’s Theatre in 1982, spent many summers at the beach while growing up. The Celtic to Classical summer performances are inspired by the musical eclecticism of Andrea Clearfield’s Philadelphia Salon concerts and motivated by a desire to find joy in different modes of musical expression.