Strathearn Music Society Review – Celebrating Jerome Kern
Fri 26th June 2026
After its main season of chamber music Concerts in Crieff, Strathearn Music Society customarily presents a relaxed summer special where audience members can bring their own drinks and nibbles to cafe-style seating in St Andrew’s Halls and enjoy an evening of light entertainment. The plan for 2026, until twenty-four hours beforehand, was to create a Parisian atmosphere with accordion music from Les Trois Blondes and presumably a glass or two of French wine, but this sadly had to be cancelled at the last minute due to injury. We’re fortunate, though, in having a wondrous agency north of the border known simply as Classical Musicians Scotland who were able to ride to the rescue and immediately conjure up a replacement, so instead of an evening of Gallic magic we were taken back to early 20th century America and Broadway with a Celebration of Jerome Kern. The performers were soprano Sarah Shorter and tenor Christian Schneeberger with Derek Clark at the piano who with great charm and wit delivered a delightful sequence of songs interspersed with entertaining and informative background. All seasoned operatic professionals, they radiated a warm affection for this nostalgic music, including clear favourites such as “A fine romance”, “The way you look tonight”, “Smoke gets in your eyes” and “All the things you are”, as well as others not so well known. The evergreen “Ol’ man river” was particularly touching as a piano solo, no doubt evoking for many listeners the memory of the unforgettable Paul Robeson.
The Committee and members of Strathearn Music Society will surely be enormously grateful to all concerned for the enormously successful outcome of this event.
