As most of our fans, friends, and family know, we’ve been lucky enough to secure a regular gig at Firefly Bistro in South Pasadena. Regular gigs are hard to come by, particularly when you play in a woodwind trio! We’ve coined it “Second Sundays” and it is a once-a-month opportunity to relax and hear live chamber music while you enjoy a delicious dinner and the company of friends. What more could you ask for?!
Let me give you a little bit of the background of how we got here –
We were introduced to owners Carl Weintraub and Paul Rosenbluh through a collaboration that we did with the West Coast Composers’ Forum, lead by composer Joe Sorce. Remember that new album of all new chamber music that we worked on last year?! (You can purchase here). One of the composers from this collective, Ross Wright is a neighbor of Paul’s and they’ve had many informal chamber concerts in their restaurant on Sunday afternoons between brunch and dinner. What’s great about the music industry is the ability to think “outside the box” and redefine the concert space. An intimate concert in a small restaurant can be more personable than sitting in a beautiful concert hall with lots of distance between you and the performer. And this is precisely the type of thing that we like to get involved in with Third Wheel. After we were introduced to Paul and Carl by our friends, they seemed very receptive to the idea of having an evening of chamber music at their restaurant. They are great advocates of live music! After working out the details, Second Sundays was started in March 2013!
What I’ve learned from working in Third Wheel is that opportunities exist when you are willing to do the leg work. Adrienne and I had countless meetings with different restaurants, trying to sell our “Wine and Wheels” idea of an exclusive concert and dining event, but in the bad economy it never really took flight. This idea has now morphed into what we provide monthly at Second Sundays – food, drink and great chamber music, in an intimate space. I’m glad Paul and Carl took a chance on us – we’re still hoping that this concept develops into something bigger that attracts other local ensembles, but until then…you’ll find us over at Firefly this Sunday night!
Won’t you join us? You never know who you might meet.
