Opus Black Strings to perform April 24, 2019
Oneida Public Library welcomes back the Opus Black Strings on Wednesday, April 24, at 7 p.m. for a free concert of classical, contemporary and jazz favorites as performed on violin, viola and cello.
Opus Black Strings is an alternative string trio that plays both classical and pop music with exemplary skill and panache. The trio features Elizabeth Simchik on violin, Allyson Sklar on viola and Kristen Kopf on cello.
Simchik, professionally known as “Liz Fiddle,” is the founder of Opus Black and currently runs a contemporary music studio in Durhamville. She teaches violin (both classical and modern), viola, bass, guitar, piano and mandolin. She also teaches string instruments to Holy Cross Academy students. A graduate of Vernon Verona Sherrill High School in 2002 and of Onondaga Community College, class of 2005, Simchik has performed ever since in a variety of groups and settings in the region, including the New York State Old Tyme Fiddlers Association. With Opus Black, she has performed at the Kallet Civic Center, the Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute, the Stanley Theater and many other venues.
Violist Allyson Sklar, who received her bachelors from Hamilton College and a masters in music education from the Manhattan School of Music, currently owns and operates the Valley Talent Education Center in Utica, where she taches violin, viola, Suzuki violin groups, chamber music and a summer music camp. She has performed classical music with several New York City orchestras, the Utica Symphony and the Spiwak Quartet. She is also the co-director of the Mohawk Valley Strings and senior advisor for the Junior B-Sharp Musical Group. In addition to Opus Black, Sklar has played with local groups like the FAB Trio and Craobh Dugan, Utica’s Irish music association.
Cellist Kristen Kopf, a co-creator of Opus Black, has been teaching music in the North Syracuse School District since 1992 and currently teaches at the Gillette Road Middle School. She has been giving private music lessons as well since 1984. A graduate of Syracuse University school of Music, with both bachelors and master’s degrees, she has performed with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra; produced and directed the Ex-Trem Strings Experience in Syracuse in 2007; and in 2009 she produced and directed the Rox Block Party, which brought together regional and national music talent to address social change through music and art. Kopf has also been a guest conductor for several string festivals nationwide and presented at many conferences and workshops focused on “alternative string styles.”
Opus Black’s concert at the OPL is free and open to the public.
Big book sale at the OPL April 25-27
For warm-weather reading, Oneida Public Library is having a used book sale with the best of donated fiction and non-fiction books Thursday, April 25, from 12 to 6 p.m.; Friday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Also on sale will be a large selection of children’s books, large-print adult books and popular used DVDs.
Saturday’s sale is “Bag-a-Buck” day, during which book buyers can purchase a large paper bag for a dollar and fill it with as many items as will fit.
All proceeds benefit the Oneida Public Library.
For more information, stop by the library at 220 Broad St., Oneida, or call 315.363.3050.