In keeping with the 100th birthday celebration of the Westport Public Library, everyone is invited to read L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This book was quite popular in 1908 and has achieved remarkable longevity as a children's tale, a classic movie, a Broadway show, and a study in politics and economics.
We usher in this shared reading experience known as WestportREADS on Saturday, March 1 with a performance by the Flying Monkey Woodwind Quintet at 12:30 p.m. in the great hall. This quintet, which is actually known as the Norwalk Symphony Woodwind Quintet features Kathie Sumrow flute,Tony Marra oboe, James Forgey clarinet, Mary Drake bassoon and Maria Sommer french horn. They will be playing selections from the musical The Wizard of Oz interspersed with classical and popular favorites.
The sonorities of a woodwind quintet are quite unique and may be sampled with Ludwig van Beethoven's Quintet in E-flat Major, Franz Danzi's Wind Quintets, George Perle's Wind Quintets or Solaris' American Quintets. One may also listen to the original movie soundtrack of The Wizard of Oz, the 1998 Broadway production or the 1989 London version.
