By Chris Reagle

Wicked Local Rochester

Fri Jul 18, 2008, 01:01 PM EDT 

Marion, MA - The Buzzards Bay Musicfest ended its week-long offerings of classical orchestra and chamber music Sunday in Tabor Academy’s Firemen Center for the Performing Arts with the auspicious accomplishment of having never played the small piece in all of the music fest’s 12 years. 

During that time, 100 different works in a variety of styles and ensembles ranging from duos to full orchestra repertoire have been presented, according to Buzzards Bay Musicfest Maestro Russell Patterson, who’s been music director for all of the dozen years the musicfest has come to Marion. 

The Buzzards Bay Musicfest, which began July 9, with an orchestra performances of works by Bach, Strauss, Faure and Mozart, followed Thursday and Saturday evenings with chamber music featuring the 

works pf Devienne, Herzogenberg, and Doppler, Spohr, and Franck respectively. 

Sunday’s matinee wound up the musicfest with Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, Opus 84, followed by Brahms’ Double Concerto in minor, Opus 102, which featured soloists Janna Lower on violin, and Mark Tanner on violoncello. Lower, dressed in black and silver sequined string top and an ankle length scarf-style skirt, added drama to an already dramatic piece with her emotive playing For a dozen years, Patterson, Lyric Opera of Kansas City Conductor Laureate, has led a dynamic assemblage of world renown musicians through a week of performances of some of the most beautiful and difficult compositions in a series of free concerts designed to ignite a sense of wonder and love of classical and chamber music. An open rehearsal on Wednesday included a children’s time, where children could ask the musicians questions. 

On the final day of the music fest, the auditorium of the Fireman Center was filled, which thrilled organizers of the music fest who thought they would have to compete with the sunny, not-overly-humid weather to fill seats.