Summer concert series wraps up

WINSTED — The Housatonic Philharmonic Trio provided the music for the ninth and final installment of Winsted Friends of Main Street’s summer concert series, which took place on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 4, in East End Park.

The trio of musicians hails from the Berkshire Mountains. A rough headcount of the audience revealed that there were around 100 people in attendance who were treated to American and Celtic-styled folk music that spanned 300 years, back to the 1700s. 

The word “philharmonic” can bring to mind visions of gigantic orchestras with scores of musicians playing dozens of instruments, but Paul Rice, fiddle and banjo player, addressed the possible misleading name his trio goes by when he said with a smile prior to beginning the music, “We’re glad to be here, but we left the other 83 members at home.”

This lighthearted demeanor carried over into the music, as the band began with a series of up-tempo tunes that deftly transitioned from an Irish jig to a couple of very fast, fiddle-heavy songs.

The band played songs from Northern Ireland with music played on a hammered dulcimer.

The trio was able to skillfully continue to play despite a momentary delay owing to a possible missing penny whistle. At this point, a few of the members in the audience were inspired to get up and dance to the music. 

As the sun went down and the lights in the park came on, the Philharmonic picked the pace back up, playing a bluegrass-style banjo tune from the 1800s that kept many of the audience members’ toes tapping throughout. 

As has been the case with many of the artists in the Summer Concert Series, between songs the group gave the history behind many of the songs, whether Union songs or traditional Irish folk tunes.

The balance of a fast and slow pace along with very diverse genres continued as they began to come to a close with a lively Civil War tune followed by a slower wedding song, then a square dance song featuring an entertaining back and forth exchange between the fiddle and banjo.