Festival’s opening concert draws well

Organizers of the Corona del Mar Baroque Music Festival — a pet project of artistic director and conductor Burton Karson, which is in its 29th year — were pleasantly surprised by the crowd at the first concert of the weeklong festival Sunday night.

“Ticket sales were very slow, but yesterday’s house was full, and that was very encouraging,” Karson said.

The concert consisted of several short concertos by Handel and Vivaldi as well as pieces by Telemann and Purcell. Although the economy had brought down donations and ticket sales in the early going, Sunday’s attendance yielded hope and higher expectations for the other four concerts in the series.

This year’s program features several works by Purcell and Handel, played by small ensembles to small audiences, much like Baroque times. Each performance typically draws 100 to 200 people and takes place in local churches and the Sherman Library & Gardens.

At 8 p.m. Wednesday and Friday there are chamber music concerts at the Sherman Library & Gardens, 2647 E. Coast Hwy., Corona del Mar, and the finale will be 4 p.m. Sunday at St. Mark Presbyterian Church, 2100 Mar Vista Drive, Newport Beach.

For a complete program, visit www.bmf-cdm.org.

— Alan Blank