Conductor Anthony LaGruth and baritone Daniel Klein are getting to be regulars at .
On Sunday, LaGruth led the Garden State Philharmonic in a late afternoon lawn concert, pausing the music briefly when Klein took to the stage to invite the audience to return this upcoming Saturday and Sunday for Gioachino Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.”
The performances are part of the North Shore Music Festival, which will conclude on Aug. 11 with Giacomo Puccini’s opera, "La Bohème."
This is the second year for the festival, which began last year as spearheaded by Klein, the organization's executive director, in partnership with .
LeGruth will return to conduct both operas, featuring small chamber ensembles, at the preserve’s Hempstead House.
At Sunday’s performance, concertgoers gathered under trees for shade, enjoying a number of pieces including selections from Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story,” John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever,” and some Glenn Miller hits. And, to entice the crowd back for the weekend, the philharmonic performed the overture to “The Barber of Seville.”
Audience members lingered after the show, enjoying the light breeze from the Long Island Sound in an idyllic setting.
The North Shore Music Festival continues with “The Barber of Seville” Saturday, July 14, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, July 15, at 3 p.m. The group returns to perform "La Bohème" Saturday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. .