ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. — On Friday, July 11, 2025, the Chesapeake Orchestra performed its third concert of the season as part of the River Concert Series, featuring three works by composer Felix Mendelssohn: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64,” and “Symphony No. 4, ‘Italian.’”
Conducted by Music Director Jeffrey Silberschlag, the performance featured Concertmaster José Cueto as the soloist for “Violin Concerto in E Minor,” a technically demanding 30-minute routine that drew a standing ovation from the hundreds of concertgoers who came from all across the county to attend a River Series program now entering its 27th year.
The concert’s program was previously played as part of the Alba Music Festival this May, also directed by Silberschlag.
As its name suggests, Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is inspired by Shakespeare’s play of the same name, and the music is meant to express the imagery of those famous scenes. Speaking to the audience, Silberschlag explained before the performance that the long runs of notes played by the strings are meant to represent the sound of a butterfly’s wings or fairies, while later in “The Dance of the Clowns,” lower instruments like the bassoons are made to sound like the “hee-haw” of a donkey — or more specifically, the character Bottom from Shakespeare’s play.
The event was accompanied by 10 food trucks selling a wide variety of cuisine, from Jamaican jerk to Korean barbecue to American classics. The food trucks can be found lined up along College Drive and normally open between 6 and 6:15 p.m., remaining open until the end of the performance.
As part of The BayNet’s coverage of the event, we took a handful of pictures of concertgoers enjoying the festivities, found below. A huge thank you to all those who participated!
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