Coming up in Philly music: More to life than politics with Dolce Suono

The men who created the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence didn’t spend all their time pondering political issues. George Washington was an avid dancer. Thomas Jefferson played the violin, collected musical scores, and participated in chamber-music sessions with his Monticello guests. Dolce Suono’s Music in the Second Capital concert series spotlights Philadelphia’s musical culture in the years our founding politicians roamed its streets.

The Atlantic was a formidable obstacle, but music by Mozart and Haydn survived the crossing, and they’ll be represented on an October 15 program along with Vivaldi, Corelli, and the American statesman-composer Francis Hopkinson. The Haydn will be a chamber arrangement of a symphony collected by Jefferson. The Mozart will be his challenging quartet for oboe and strings, led by one of the Curtis Institute’s most distinguished younger graduates, Katherine Needleman, the Principal Oboe of the Baltimore Symphony. The other performers include Dolce Suono stalwarts like pianist/harpsichordist Charles Abramovic and Dolce Suono’s live-wire founder, flutist Mimi Stillman.

The Dolce Suono Ensemble will present Music in the Second Capital on October 15 at 3pm at Old Pine Street Presbyterian Church, 412 Pine Street, Philadelphia. Tickets ($10 to $30) are available online and at the door.